ulysses s. grant is considered to have been?

Question

a good but not quite great president, a failure as president, a good president who had bad advisors, an adquate if unimaginative president, or a president who diminished corruption in washington?

Answer 1

Of your choices, I suppose "good president with bad advisors" is closest. In any case, there are a lot of myths and images about Grant that are unwarranted.

First of all, though Grant DID have a drinking problem that affected him during his time in the army BEFORE the Civil War, there is no evidence it was a factor either during his period as a Union officer (esp. general) OR his Presidency.

It is well-known that there were several scandals during the Grant administrations, that a key reason this happened was that Grant could be TOO loyal and trusting, and also that he himself was not implicated in ANY scandal.

Aside from the scandals, Grant actually accomplished a great deal in a very difficult time --coming out of a Civil War, trying to put a nation back together, and especially trying to establish and protect the rights of the freedmen (recently freed slaves), and acting as a calming influence in this difficult time. (He also had some key successes in foreign policy.) One reason Grant's reputation suffered was no doubt the OPPOSITION in the South, and by many in the North, to the Reconstruction efforts. More recent biographies and assessments of Grant have shown a much greater appreciation for his accomplishments and personal character in the office.

Here are a few to check (starting with the summaries & reviews at the links given):

Ulysses S. Grant: The Unlikely Hero (Eminent Lives)
by Michael Korda
http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=9780060590154

Ulysses S. Grant: [The American Presidents Series] by Josiah Bunting
http://www.amazon.com/Ulysses-S-Grant-American-Presidents/dp/0805069496

Ulysses S. Grant—Soldier and President by Geoffrey Perret
http://media.www.lawrentian.com/media/storage/paper409/news/2002/04/05/ArtsEntertainment/Perret.Book.Defends.Grants.Successes.Strategies.And.Sensibilities-229938.shtml?sourcedomain=www.lawrentian.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com

For a summary of some of the key points in this 're-evaluation' read an interview with Jean Edward Smith (author of) *Grant*, including the following:

"Well, I think the record speaks for itself. I think that Grant deserves rehabilitation. Grant really, during the reconstruction period, was one of the most powerful men in Washington, Andrew Johnson notwithstanding. And Grant pushed reconstruction in the South. Grant sought to secure the rights of African Americans, rights that they had been Granted under the Constitution against great opposition. And he continued to do that in the White House, he continued to fight on behalf of native Americans. It's a much different figure from the one he's commonly depicted as.

"During his lifetime, Grant was revered, elected twice with overwhelming majority, the only President between Jackson and Wilson to serve two full terms in the White House consecutively. Grant's been trashed, I think, because of what he stood for. He stood for equal rights for African Americans, he pressed rights for African Americans during the reconstruction period. In the 1880s, that was no longer popular. And history, from the 1880s on, was written by, largely, by white supremacist historians, lost cause historians, and Grant was made into a villain as reconstruction was made into a villain."
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june01/grant_05-07.html

Answer 2

Ulysses S. Grant was considered a great general during the Civil War. However, as a president he was ineffective and considered an alcoholic and his "friends" took advantage of his position for their personal gain.

Answer 3

In Grant's time there were no approval polls so his popularity as president is unknown. As far as streets named after him... well Fillmore, Chester and Garfield have lots of streets in large cities named after them. The monument named after Grant in front of the Capitol building was commissioned in 1902... 20 years from his death. I would doubt that he was popular in his presidency for two reasons.... he governed through a period of Reconstruction (so he wouldn't have been popular in the South) and his cabinet was plagued by scandals. I just have a hard time believeing that his contemporaries would find him popular as a president. At the same time, he won the Civil War and he was the commanding general who really broke the Southern rebellion... he did what two other generals could not do. It is for that (not for the presidency) that I think warranted him the monument.

Answer 4

A drunk.