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Ulysses S. Grant - Warrior President

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I have always been ambivalent about Ulysses S. Grant, both as a General and as a President. His record as a General was one of success, but at the expense of an enormous amount of blood. His administration was rocked with scandals, so severe that had they happened in modern times, it is unlikely that he would have survived as President. Yet, his greatest failing was also his greatest strength. He was a man of utmost character and principle, and he found it difficult to understand that other people did not share those traits. Lacking this sense of cynicism towards others, it was impossible for him to anticipate the unsavory actions of his nonmilitary associates. This is all the more unusual, because he never had any difficulty discerning the deceptive practices of his battlefield opponents.
This tape has forced me to rethink my opinion of Grant the General. His record of successive victories is largely unmatched in American military history, and his conquest of Vicksburg was one of the most well-planned military operations in the history of the world. He also was a great strategic thinker, understanding that the fall of Vicksburg doomed the Confederacy. Until I viewed this tape, I had no appreciation for Grant as an original military thinker. After seeing the descriptions of how he carried out many of his campaigns, it is clear that he was a great military commander and the person most responsible for the Union victory.
My opinion of his presidency has also been rather low, but this tape has forced a serious upward revision. He faced enormous problems, the intransigent elements in the South refused to accept anything but apartheid, and if Grant made a mistake, it was in realizing that military defeat did not change the attitudes in the South. He just could not comprehend the deep hatred for blacks that was a fundamental part of the psyche of so many southern whites.
This tape also reminds us that the United States citizenry has experienced terrorism in the past. The white supremacist groups that arose after the Civil war terrorized blacks and white sympathizers for almost a century. People were brutally killed, homes burned and bombed so that black people were forced to accept a denial of their rights as citizens. Grant did all he could to help the freed slaves, but the country had no stomach for any additional federal action and most people just wanted the whole problem to go away. Ironically, the one solution that may have worked was for the U.S. to annex the Dominican Republic and turn it into a state that black people could migrate to. Grant proposed the plan to congress, but few were willing to accept a black run state on equal terms with all others.
This tape is one of the best in the biography series produced for PBS. Grant is truly an American hero, and like so many, was humble in his enormous success. If he had not been there to save the union, it is doubtful that Lincoln could have done it. I enjoyed this tape so much, I watched it twice just to see if I had missed anything the first time.

After watching numerous DVDs about the Civil War, I became intrigued about Hiram Ulysses Grant. This DVD filled in a lot of gaps and I learned some interesting things about him. In 1821, the American Colonization Society was formed to return blacks to Africa (thus the colony of Liberia). Lincoln gave this concept consideration. What I learned in the DVD was that in his presidency, Grant pushed for the annexation of Hispaniola, not to relocate blacks (and get rid of them), but to give them the option to leave, thus impressing upon white southerners the importance of black people in their labor force and encouraging them to pay better wages and treat their employees better so that they wouldn't relocate to the Caribbean instead. He tried, unsuccessfully, twice to push this through. His efforts to ensure that black Americans were treated fairly (prosecuting KKK members in South Carolina) caused him a lot of grief and contributed to his failed presidency.

His name doesn't ever pop up in discussions of great presidents, and he doesn't seem to be appreciated as an American very much either, or not as much as I think he should.

Buy the video, see what you think.

Ulysses S. Grant was an extremely difficult man to get to know. He was shy, taciturn and not in the habit of revealing his feelings to many outsiders. It's always been difficult for historians and film makers to accurately portray the man and most often, they have failed in their interpretations. Though the American Experience PBS project is at the apex of historical biography, this one on Grant falls a bit wide of the mark.

Problems abound from the get go: the production is uneven, occasionally plodding and doesn't reveal much of Grant as a human being. Though they take pains to introduce his parents, siblings and give a thorough overview of his childhood, there is something intangible missing. Though he was retiring, Grant was still a vibrantly alive man. He had fierce appetites and had a desire to be somebody. None of this is really explored in the film and it results in massive frustration for the discerning viewer.

The interviews with historians are uneven. Unfortunately, the producers elected to have Geoffrey Perret air his opinions on Grant, none of which are historically valid or interesting. Brooks Simpson and John Simon fare much better, and their views are entertaining and reliable.

Much of the documentary focuses on Grant's Presidency, which is a curious facet of the film. The revisionist aspect of the show reveals USG to have been a much better President than he's given credit for, but the content again induces more questions than it answers.

Grant was a fascinating man with rare depths of emotion and feeling. He's worth getting to know, even though the journey is sometimes a complex experience. That description would sum up this futile attempt to shine a light on the psyche of this remarkable man. Though the film has definite merit, it simply doesn't begin to showcase what an incredible man Grant was. The definitive film of Grant has yet to be made.

"Ulysses S. Grant: Warrior / President: American Experience" is over three hours long, but if you are interested in history and want to learn a key time in America's history this is a must . Ulysses S. Grant was a fascinating man and the greatest hero of the Civil War, more popular than Abraham Lincoln during his lifetime. This biography as two parts: 1) Grant as successful general and strategic military thinker and 2) as President facing enormous problems, including terrorism and financial collapse.

Grant is sort of a "Horse Whisperer" in his youth - calm and firm. He learned early to keep silent and observe the world around him. There is much background on his family and Grant's military education at West Point. He was not the most disciplined student but his grades in math pulled him through. He had famous classmates, including Robert E. Lee. His participation in the Mexican American War of 1846 gave him access to Generals that used clear direct language and ideas on strategy. Grant learned much during the two years he was in battle.

Although quiet and hard to understand, you realize from Grant's actions he has a fierce and furious need to excel and succeed. His emotions are kept in check and a "poker face" is his shield from the hurts of life. Although shy, he was vibrant, virile with a deep desire to be somebody.

Grant was a great military commander of utmost skill and ability to see the big picture and make key strategic decisions. He knew the enemy, and had no problem figuring out what they were thinking. The Vicksburg victory was brilliant and showed his enormous part in the Union's victory. Overall the documentary explained all his battles and unmatched success in battle. I did not realize how much Lincoln depended on Grant until viewing this documentary and how humble Grant was.

The years as President shows an entirely different grant, unable to "conduct a symphony". In the theatre of war, Grant was a genius. In the politics of Washington, he faced enormous problems, plus his trust in colleagues was curious. Grant had to face an angry defeated South, who refused to accept the blacks. They turned to terrorism of their former slaves, burned homes, shot them like game and formed the KKK. They terrorized blacks and white sympathizers until around the 1950's. An idea that Lincoln had considered was that freed slaves need a place to migrate to. Grant proposed a black run free state in the Dominican Republic. He tried twice, but it did not have political backing. Overall, through guiding a nation after a debilitating war, financial crisis, and many other challenges, Grant held the country together, despite his reputation as a so-so President.

Grants life and times are deftly revealed on this amazing video. This video is one of PBS's best and sheds new light on an important time and man.

Late year in celebrating , rightly, the military exploits of General William Tecumseh Sherman and his "bummers' who wreaked havoc all through the Confederacy in the waning days of the American Civil War I, perhaps, slighted the organizational and strategic battle plans of his superior, the commanding general of all the Union armies, General U.S. Grant. I attempt to make amends here as we mark the 139th anniversary of the commencement of that war.

This three hour plus PBS "American Experience" documentary tells the average viewer probably much more than they would ever want to know about the career, with all its successes and failures, of one Ulysses S. Grant. As always in a PBS production there are the "talking heads", mainly historians here, who try to flesh the meaning of Grant's career, the fistful of attributes that led him to successful military achievements and also helped shed light on his less than stellar presidency. And as always there is plenty of still photography, much of it not previously familiar to this reviewer, and re-enactments of the major events in Grant's life.

There are few surprises here, although to my surprise a number of commentators noted that Grant, not Lincoln was the most popular American figure of the 19th century. As the recent bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth demonstrates that is clearly not verdict of history, at least for latter centuries. That said, there is a compelling argument to make, and that is made by some of the commentators here, that Grant was the prototype for the successful modern warfare commanding general once the increase in industrial production provided the massive resources necessary to wage such war and create widespread devastation. I would only add that only in the context of the sacred Union cause and its adjunct, the abolition of slavery does his rise make sense.

The documentary painstakingly takes us through Grant's rough and tumble childhood; his early not very glamorous military career, including service in the Mexican War a touchstone for all later military leadership on both sides of the Civil war; his various business failures prior to the war; his slow emergence as the decisive military leader and strategist in the Western campaign culminating in the massive Union victory at Vicksburg; his subsequent elevation by an admiring Lincoln to commander of all the Union armies, including the decisive and costly final marches, like Cold Harbor, that haunted him and later historians and that marred his overall achievement particularly when the Southern school of Civil War historical interpretation was in its ascendancy; his post-Civil War actions as a military commander which tried to recreate a single nation; his two term presidency, including the various financial scandals that are forever attached to his terms of office; his earnest, and unsuccessful, attempts to integrate the newly liberated freedman into the Southern society, including his forthright actions against the Klan in the early 1870s; and finally his post-presidential life including a worldwide grand tour and the writing of his memoirs.

Nothing here will contribute to an argument for his outstripping of Lincoln as the decisive figure of the American 19th century. But know this: all labor militants and other progressives honor General Grant, and his subordinate General Sherman, for their military leadership in ending chattel slavery in this country. That was no mean task as this documentary amply demonstrates.

As I watched this PBS Home Video of "Ulysses S. Grant: Warrior President," I was very conscious of how this documentary compared with the celebrated Ken Burns documentary on "The Civil War." First, I was very much aware of the stylistic differences between the two, especially in terms of Michael Whalen's music, which tended to remind me of the background music I often hear on computer games. I make a point of watching "The Civil War" once a year, so I plead guilty to thinking that is the way any and all documentaries dealing with that topic should sound and look. Second, I came to the conclusion that the strongest part of this documentary was the second half, focusing on Grant "The President." Written, produced, and directed by Elizabeth Deane, the second videotape has the advantage of going well beyond the end of the Civil War and therefore constantly providing us "new" information. The first half, done by Adriana Bosch, bears the burden of covering most of the same ground Burns did tracking Grant's military career as "The Warrior."

Certainly I learned more about Grant's accomplishments as President than I had ever heard before, since the history textbooks tend to focus on the scandals that plagued his administration rather than his attempts to bridge the animosity between North and South that continued for years after the Civil War ended. Ultimately, I was struck by two central ideas behind this documentary. The first was that Grant was the most popular American figure of the 19th century. This is one of those ideas that seem obvious once you consider it; after all, Lincoln was not beloved until he was dead and buried. But I would have named Andrew Jackson as deserving that honor, forgetting for a moment how much he was hated in certain quarters. The second idea offered up confirms the first, and that is the argument that the death watch for Grant, as he was dying of throat cancer and struggling to finish writing his memoirs so his family would be taken care of after he was gone, was responsible for bridging the sectional differences between North and South.

This might be a romanticized assessment of the situation, but by the end of this documentary there is a desire for Grant's legacy to be more than the best selling memoirs of the 19th century. "Warrior President" justifies this conclusion by focusing throughout on how Grant was an honorable man, a reasonable man in unreasonable times as we are told several times, who tried to provide equality for African Americans. Grant always admitted to his errors, both on the battlefield and in the White House, and along with the way he handled Lee's surrender, would be the most compelling evidence of the man's personal honor. Furthermore, the documentary does not gloss over the man's many failings. However, there is a concerted effort to look at both his generalmanship on the battlefield and his memoirs as clear evidence of a superior mind.

Finally, I am struck by the idea that if it were not for Grant's memoirs we would have little basis for insights into what the man was ever thinking. "Ulysses S. Grant: Warrior President" offers a nice combination of biographical detail with critical insights from a variety of talking heads. Grant is one of those historical figures whose reputation will always be in a state of flux depending upon what emphasis you place on various aspects of his life. This documentary does not compel a particular conclusion, since the case it advances is be no means dogmatic, but it does offer up a series of perspectives for viewers to consider in reassessing the man.

This biography begs for the reconsideration of U.S. Grant as one of the greatest military leader/presidents in our country's history. Talk about the rise of the underdog, how about a failed realtor and store clerk, a bottom-rung West Point grad and a notorious drinking habit to boot? When the biography discloses his natural instincts on horseback and his mathematical mind, I knew he shared the hidden traits of future greatness, like those of Alexander and George Washington.When you fuel your interest in this man by reading his personal memoirs, you will crave more information.He was the first army general to unify the other branches into one assault force, although he admits to scant study of Hardee's strategy manual, the vogue of militarists to that time.What is more telling about the man is how easily he grasped vocal commands, read field charts and decided as facilely as he did his sums.More surprisingly, Grant underated his writing abilities that drew the likes of Mark Twain to be his Boswell. He is probably the humblest man of action to wear a military uniform, altogether placing him in a forgotten time in our nation's history. Imagine a general without sycophants, an entourage of public relations men, who rode alongside his men or in front of them, longing to get back to the quiet life as a math teacher. Those are the humble beginnings to a very remarkable man of uncommon decency and morality that will not be forgotten or underated by this historian.

Every American should see this DVD. It's an amazing story of one of our greatest Presidents. Grant never has received the kind of respect that he should. He was a truly great man as both General and President.

I watched this on the heels of Ken Burns' Civil War. This documentary takes an in depth approach to reveal Grant's role as a soldier and later as President. Often dismissed as a drunkard and a simpleton, this film offers a new look at Grant, and one that seems to be more honest. One of the things I found so compelling about this film as that it doesn't gloss over Grant's failings to emphasize his triumphs. It is a very well-rounded look at his life.


As a solider and general, Grant was tenacious with a keen mind that was often unappreciated in his time. Grant made his share of mistakes, but he was the only general in the North that could maneuver with Lee. Grant earned the respect of Lee, who had totally out-generaled Grant's predecessors. One of the things that struck me about Grant was his willingness to admit to and learn from his mistakes on the battlefield.

As President, Grant took office during an especially turbulent time. The film details his struggles with the issues of African-American equality and Southern violence towards blacks, while trying to reshape the U.S. as a single nation. He also had to deal with scandals involving members of his administration. Despite some of his missteps, Grant would win a second term.

Throughout the film, Grant's family life is given as much prominence as his military and political achievements. He was very close to his wife and children, holding their company and support above all else. His early childhood and relationships with his own parents and his in-laws are also given discussion.

In the years following his Presidency, Grant would time and again succeed and fail in business and other enterprises. In the end, what remains on display is the man's sheer willpower, as he races against time to complete his memoirs before throat cancer claims his life. This seems to be the main thrust of the documentary, that Grant was the perfect example of the average American during his time. A simple man, intelligent, but not always in ways you could see. Courageous, driven by a desire to succeed and prosper, even if he didn't always do so. Grant was a remarkable man and this was a worthy treatment of his life.

Grant is one of the most confusing figures in our American History, because he was so conflicted as a man. Here is why:

*He comes from a family that was against slavery, but marries a woman who owned slaves.
*In 1861, he wrote his father a letter expressing no desire to help blacks but freed a slave he owned, rather than selling him and making a quick $1,000, even though he was broke and needed the money.
*He was a complete failure in life, until the time (the War) came when being a failure wouldn't do.
*He defeats all the odds and becomes a great general and a so-so President (his administration is rocked with scandals and racial unrest) and when he dies, he is back to where he started prior to 1861.

Despite all of this, I came away respecting the man after watching this DVD. Why? Because he was a fighter, he reinvented himself, and no other white man in the 19th century (except for Lincoln) came close to wanting to solve the race problem and bring Americans closer.

Grant was not a saint when it came to race, but he believed (after the war) that America must hold its promise to all people (regardless of race). He tried, really tried to keep his promise to the black race but politics, the North's boredom, and the South's racism got in the way. It will take another 80 years before another president would send federal troops to the South and finish the job of Lincoln/Grant.

However the most touching part of this video is seeing Grant (suffering with cancer) rushing against time to leave his family financial security. Regardless of what you think about the man, this last deed shows the essence of this man and this DVD makes it clear....Grant was a reasonable man in unreasonable times.