His biggest contribution was obviously as the Commander General of the Northern army that defeated General Lee at Appamattox.
Grant probably wasn't the smartest general we've ever had, but he was arguably one of the most tenacious. Because of his army experience he had a good working knowledge of basic things like supply management, battle lines and topography. These are often tedious things that generals don't fool with but Grant was up on every minor detail and his strategic thinking was brilliant.
If it weren't for Grant there is a better than great possibility that Abraham Lincoln would not have been elected. The previous command generals didn't take the war seriously and didn't want to dirty their hands, consequently the north was losing. Eventually they knew they would win simply because the north had more man power but the north was sick of the war and wanted it over.
Grant executed the president's wishes and he did so brilliantly.
2007-04-29 11:14:39
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answer #1
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answered by Jackie Oh! 7
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at the outset of the Civil War, the Union's "name" generals in the East were not having much success - in fact, the war was supposed to be an easy Union victoy, but was dragging on and losing support.
Grant, a West Point graduate initially turned down when he requested to serve, was something of a newcomer and a maverick, and he started winning in the Mississippi campaigns, creating momentum for Union forces in general. Lincoln called him the only general not afraid to fight.
He later became president at a time when westward expansion into native lands really took off. His administration became notable for becoming very corrupt.
In a nutshell: he was the north's top Civil War hero, who went on to become president, and proved that war heroes do not necessarily make good presidents.
2007-04-29 17:36:29
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answer #2
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answered by kent_shakespear 7
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All of the above answers are good, but one thing overlooked was his friendship with General Sherman. If it wasn't for Grant allowing Sherman to go on his march though Georgia then who knows how much longer the civil war would have lasted.
2007-04-29 17:40:25
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answer #3
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answered by Anonymous
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Ulysses S. Grant
Late in the administration of Andrew Johnson, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant quarreled with the President and aligned himself with the Radical Republicans. He was, as the symbol of Union victory during the Civil War, their logical candidate for President in 1868.
When he was elected, the American people hoped for an end to turmoil. Grant provided neither vigor nor reform. Looking to Congress for direction, he seemed bewildered. One visitor to the White House noted "a puzzled pathos, as of a man with a problem before him of which he does not understand the terms."
Born in 1822, Grant was the son of an Ohio tanner. He went to West Point rather against his will and graduated in the middle of his class. In the Mexican War he fought under Gen. Zachary Taylor.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Grant was working in his father's leather store in Galena, Illinois. He was appointed by the Governor to command an unruly volunteer regiment. Grant whipped it into shape and by September 1861 he had risen to the rank of brigadier general of volunteers.
He sought to win control of the Mississippi Valley. In February 1862 he took Fort Henry and attacked Fort Donelson. When the Confederate commander asked for terms, Grant replied, "No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted." The Confederates surrendered, and President Lincoln promoted Grant to major general of volunteers.
At Shiloh in April, Grant fought one of the bloodiest battles in the West and came out less well. President Lincoln fended off demands for his removal by saying, "I can't spare this man--he fights."
For his next major objective, Grant maneuvered and fought skillfully to win Vicksburg, the key city on the Mississippi, and thus cut the Confederacy in two. Then he broke the Confederate hold on Chattanooga.
Lincoln appointed him General-in-Chief in March 1864. Grant directed Sherman to drive through the South while he himself, with the Army of the Potomac, pinned down Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
Finally, on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered. Grant wrote out magnanimous terms of surrender that would prevent treason trials.
As President, Grant presided over the Government much as he had run the Army. Indeed he brought part of his Army staff to the White House.
Although a man of scrupulous honesty, Grant as President accepted handsome presents from admirers. Worse, he allowed himself to be seen with two speculators, Jay Gould and James Fisk. When Grant realized their scheme to corner the market in gold, he authorized the Secretary of the Treasury to sell enough gold to wreck their plans, but the speculation had already wrought havoc with business.
During his campaign for re-election in 1872, Grant was attacked by Liberal Republican reformers. He called them "narrow-headed men," their eyes so close together that "they can look out of the same gimlet hole without winking." The General's friends in the Republican Party came to be known proudly as "the Old Guard."
Grant allowed Radical Reconstruction to run its course in the South, bolstering it at times with military force.
After retiring from the Presidency, Grant became a partner in a financial firm, which went bankrupt. About that time he learned that he had cancer of the throat. He started writing his recollections to pay off his debts and provide for his family, racing against death to produce a memoir that ultimately earned nearly $450,000. Soon after completing the last page, in 1885, he died.
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Grant was a leading figure in one of the most important eras in American history. The Civil War. He played a huge part in ending this traumatic and tragic war. As an American, I would say that this is what makes him so important a figure in our history. Best of luck on your paper!!
2007-04-29 17:35:59
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answer #4
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answered by Candace C 5
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