No April Fool’s joke, today. Instead, enjoy another surprising, but true, story about Ulysses S. Grant.
Posts tagged "Ulysses S. Grant"
Welcome to Ohio: We’ve had more presidents die in office than most states have had elected.
It’s Presidents Day, so let’s have some Fuck Yeah It’s Complicated Presidential Trivia:
Ohio has a somewhat dubious claim to have been the home to more presidents than any other state. - We’re neck-and-neck with Virginia, no matter how you count it, so let’s say we have a friendly rivalry.
Seven out of Eight Ohio presidents were Republicans. - Don’t rejoice just yet Democrats, William Henry Harrison was a Whig, who was actually born in Virginia, and died of Pneumonia after only 30 days in office. Maybe we should just let Virginia have William Henry Harrison and the “Mother of Presidents” title. This whole William Henry Harrison thing isn’t working out.
Republicans shouldn’t be reveling in their Ohio president popularity either, because Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote and both James A. Garfield and William McKinley were assassinated.
Once you add Warren G. Harding’s death by heart attack, Ohio only has a 50% survival rate for sitting presidents. Only eight presidents have ever died in office, and half of those were from Ohio. At this point, politically ambitious Ohioans should make a note to eat well, get enough exercise, and take security very very seriously.
President Ulysses S. Grant Declared Christmas a Legal Holiday in 1870
Christmas in the American Civil War (1861–1865) was celebrated in both the United States and the Confederate States although the day did not become an official holiday until five years after the war ended. The war continued to rage on Christmas and skirmishes occurred throughout the countryside. Celebrations for both troops and civilians saw significant alteration. In 1870, Christmas became an official Federal holiday when President Ulysses S. Grant made it so in an attempt to unite north and south.
File this under: “Surprising Things About Ulysses S. Grant I Did Not Know”
The standard rap on Grant is that he was a drunk who surrounded himself with spoilsmen who stole the country blind. In an era of scandals—the Crédit Mobilier’s siphoning of millions in the construction of the transcontinental railroad, the Tweed Ring’s bilking of New York in awarding city contracts, the Whiskey Ring’s dodging of the tax on booze—Grant was said to turn a blind (or drunken) eye to all manner of wrongdoing. Beyond that, the simple soldier was over his head in the White House. At a time of rapid economic change, he hadn’t a clue how to manage an increasingly sophisticated economy.Considering the current state of the American economy, this last charge might now be the most damning, if true. But it’s not true. And Grant’s surprisingly sophisticated handling of economics, especially in the wake of the Panic of 1873, suggests that he deserves better from the historians than he has been getting.
Weekend homework: Read H.W. Brands on Ulysses S. Grant (from our latest issue, Politics) and come back Monday morning ready to talk about all things Civil War.
Remember when we got all serious about Ulysses S. Grant? Well, there’s more where that came from (see above), if you want to do some digging.
(via cargohoo)
New Design in the Fuck Yeah Ohio Skreened Shop
Ohio: It’s Complicated, for when your love of Ohio collides with current political nonsense or Ulysses S. Grant. Embrace the complexities.
Previously on Fuck Yeah Ohio:
Fuck Yeah Ohio is all about awesomeness and badassery. We’re all about “FUCK YEAH!” even though, sometimes, an “it’s complicated” would be in order. Remember when we talked about Prescott Bush?
Ulysses S. Grant is also one of those complicated folks, so let’s take a break from our normal politics moratorium to talk about one of his failings and his ultimate redemption.
During the Civil War, in an attempt to combat funding the Confederates via the illegal trafficking of cotton, General Grant signed General Order No. 11, which expelled the Jewish community from his military district covering large parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. This order is widely regarded as the single most anti-semitic official order ever made by the US Government.
Since Fuck Yeah Ohio is all about “FUCK YEAH!”, and has no patience for bigotry of any kind, why does Grant get an entry in the Ohio Badass Hall of Fame? Doesn’t this blatantly anti-semitic, hateful, order disqualify him from ever being mentioned?
No, and here’s why: He changed. He apologized and worked very hard to redeem himself in the eyes of the Jewish community.
Prompted by President Lincoln, Grant quickly revoked General Order No. 11. He would later say “I have no prejudice against sect or race, but want each individual to be judged by his own merit. Order No. 11 does not sustain this statement, I admit, but then I do not sustain that order.”
He would go on to win the majority of the Jewish vote and, once elected to the presidency, he appointed more members of the Jewish faith to public office than all previous presidents combined. He also spoke out for Jewish rights multiple times, intervening on their behalf in Russia and Romania, and became the first American President to attend a synagogue service. His death was mourned in the Jewish community and his funeral attended by a rabbi.
Ulysses S. Grant proved that he was capable of changing for the better and we should celebrate that fact, especially in an election year, when our friends and family may disappoint us. Maybe they’re capable of change too. Perhaps, in the future, they’ll become advocates for the things and people they now oppose.
Further Reading:
- Gen. Grant’s Uncivil War Against The Jews - The Jewish Week
- A reappraisal of Ulysses S. Grant - Jewish Herald Voice
- General Grant’s Infamy - Jewish Virtual Library
- Ulysses S. Grant and the Palestinian Envoy - Jewish American History Foundation
Video: Real News: REAL HISTORY: GRANT AND APOLOGIES (by ThomasPaine3)
You know you’ve condemned your child to a lifetime of endless badassery, when you name him Ulysses.
Some quick facts about Ulysses S. Grant:
- He was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio.
- He is widely regarded as a military genius.
- He basically won the American Civil War as a General and helped stabilize the country afterwards in his two terms as president.
- He won passage of and helped enforce the 15th amendment.
- He effectively destroyed the Ku Klux Klan (Yes, it came back, but not until decades later).
- His face is on the $50.
- He had a proper presidential beard.
I wonder what he’s doing now…
Hat tip: Columbus is Capital
Video: Disney’s The American Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant (by DisneyEducation)
