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Ulyssess Grant Pros And Cons

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Ulysses S. Grant Hiram Ulysses Grant was born on April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Born into a middle class family, he was the first son of Jesse Root Grant, a tanner and businessman, and Hannah Simpson Grant. A year after his birth, his family packed their bags and moved to Georgetown, Ohio. Here Grant spent the majority of his childhood, one he deemed “uneventful.” The son of an outgoing father and reserved mother, Grant took after the latter, characterized as shy in his childhood. He was abhorrent toward the idea of taking over his father’s tannery business, a fact his father slowly came to realize. So rather than inheriting his father’s business, Grant was arranged to enter the United States Military Academy at the age of 17. …show more content…

Grant was subsequently stationed in St. Louis, Missouri, where he met his future wife, Julia Dent. After proposing in 1844 and before the couple could wed, Grant was shipped off for duty in the Mexican-American War where he served as quartermaster, overseeing the movement of supplies. Perhaps it was during this time Grant began to develop his leadership skills, as he was under the command of General Zachary Taylor and later General Winfield Scott. After close observation of their military tactics and leadership skills, Grant had the chance to lead a group into combat, and was afterwards praised for his unwavering bravery under fire. Although successful in the war, it was during this time Grant developed strong feelings of opposition toward the war, and he saw it as an unfair battle America waged to gain territory for the spread of …show more content…

Often times he seemed bewildered, looking to Congress for direction. As one visitor to the White House said he possessed, “a puzzled a pathos, as of a man with a problem before him of which he does not understand the terms.” Though quite honest, Grant had a knack of appointing people who were not morally sound. Although he was successful in pushing through the 15th Amendment, Ulysses S. Grant’s double-term was dominated by scandals and dishonor. After his retirement from presidency, Grant encountered, again, hardship in his civilian life. He co-owned a financial firm with Ferdinand Ward, only to have his partner embezzle investors’ money. The firm went bankrupt in 1884 along with Grant, and in the same year he was informed he was suffering from throat cancer. After such disappointment and grief, Grant partnered with a friend named Mark Twain in order to publish his memoirs, a piece of business that earned his family $450,000. Ulysses S. Grant died on July 23, 1885—just as his memoirs were being published—at the age of 63, in Mount McGregor, New

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