General Impressions of Grant as President

I am far from done researching President Ulysses Grant. In general, Grant is an icon for me, whose life draws some parallels with that of George Washington and invites comparison. Up until Reconstruction, I think it can be argued Grant was an essential civilian leader. President Andrew Johnson had done so little to advance the cause of national re-unification and reconciliation that Grant's credibility and expertise was vital to the United States neither lapsing back into war or a state of much more chaos than it already  experienced.

With that said, Grant made some horrible mistakes as a politician. He allowed three or four homes to be bought for him and his family, around the country by supporters of his. One of these homes was purchased while he was a serving general and given under the auspices of '...from a grateful country.' I can almost understand that one. But for the subsequent homes I cannot understand this. Those homes were bought strictly during his tenure as a civilian leader. And, someone would have to think a lot of themsleves to think they deserved gaining a free house every few months or so.

Further, in allowing himself to be drawn into a gold speculation scandal dring his first administration, even if it was adriotly or without his conscience deliberation, I think he made a terrible mistake. And, at this point, I am not willing to say that he had no culpability in the "Gold Twins" controversy that led to America's first "Blak Friday" Wall Street market crash.

President Grant had absolutely no background in finance. In fact, his own finances were far from expertly handled. While U.S. Grant was a man of many skills: dependable leadership, complex military logistics management, integration of land and sea-borne forces in practical application, strategy and tactics, negotiations and civil administration, he had virtually no experience in high finance. What little he knew about any finances was constrained to whatever he might have picked up working at his family's tannery in Ohio. Yet, U.S. Grant was not a dope. He knew what he was good at and what he had no valuable knowledge about. So, by virtue of the mere fact that he associated, on a social basis, with gold and land speculators like Jay Gould, I am unconvinced that Grant had no idea that such speculators would try and turn a quick buck from insider information provided through his administration.

I cannot 100 percent say that Grant knowlingly did any misdeed. However, I can understand it if it happened. By and large, with the exception of the Civil War years, Grant had a midling military and business career. There were long periods of time when Grant's and his family were supported by hand-outs or jobs given him by relatives, of both his and his wife's. Though a good man, Grant was humbled many times by circumstance. His marriage to Julia Grant was hallmarked by long periods of separation and living hand-to-mouth more times than not. After he became a national hero and celebrity, as well as a coveted national leader, there is something almost reasonable about him wanting to do more for his wife and children than simply exist. Maybe he could have believed that a little inside information to the odd speculator or so was innocuous. But then, he didn't know what would come of it and the consequences such practices would have on the national scene.

Well, I am sorry but I am not going to say that U.S, Grant was either dumb or naive. I find it hard to believe that the man, the only man, to ever whip General Robert E. Lee was either. I am going to have to research the heck out of this, but I am going to find it hard to argue myself into believing that U.S. Grant had no idea what he was doing with a gang of gold speculators over lunch on more than a few occasions. Further, he gave these men access to inside information, knowingly or not.

Of some note is that one of Grant's many strengths was etimating the characters of the people around him, and it would be strange that this virtue entirely abandoned him post the Civil War.