Review of American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant by Ronald White

Ulysses S. Grant may have been a great general, but as president of the United States, he was a dismal failure.  Although personally honest, Grant was a man of mediocre intellect and was a terrible judge of character who appointed unqualified and corrupt associates and presided over one of the most scandal-ridden administrations in United States History.  Or so we have usually been taught.  For decades, this unflattering description of Grant and his presidency has been a staple of American History courses. In recent decades, however, several historians have made attempts to “rehabilitate” President Grant. Ronald C. White’s American Ulysses: A Life of Ulysses S. Grant (2016) is the latest in a line of more sympathetic Grant biographies. White disputes much of the conventional wisdom regarding Grant, arguing that Grant was much more talented than he is usually given credit for and that his presidency was far from a failure.

Regarding Grant’s mental abilities, White admits that the general was no brilliant scholar on the level of Adams, Jefferson, or Theodore Roosevelt, but shows that he was far from dim-witted.  White points out that Grant had a great gift for mathematics, so much so that he considered becoming an instructor at West Point.  White also turns Grant’s famous comment that “much of the time [at West Point], I am sorry to say, was devoted to novels” (34) on its head.  He examines the specific novels that Grant read, arguing that even though Grant may have neglected his formal studies to read them, the novels expanded his view of the world and of the human psyche, which would greatly benefit him in the future.  While in Mexico, Grant took in all he could about the culture, geography and language (he was one of the few US soldiers who learned some Spanish) of the region.  The most well-known example of Grant’s mental acuity, however, are his insightful Memoirs, universally hailed as one of the best works of this genre ever written.  White makes a persuasive case that Grant’s mind was anything but dull.

Another Grant stereotype that White confronts is the general’s alleged lack of spirituality.  Many who have written about Grant have made much of the fact that he did not regularly attend Sunday services and never officially joined any church. Nevertheless, White argues that “the story of [Grant’s] relationship to religion is more complex than is usually understood…his piety was practical” (491).  As White points out, Grant prayed throughout his life, gave money to foreign mission efforts, and attended services when he could.  Moreover, his Methodist upbringing influenced him to adopt a tolerant mindset toward Indians and ultimately, to adopt the cause of the freedmen in the South. 

Finally, White tackles the common belief that Grant’s presidency was an utter failure.  Despite the scandals that occurred during the two terms of his presidency (for which only indirect blame can be assigned to Grant), President Grant enjoyed many successes.  First, with the help of his Secretary of the Treasury George Boutwell, Grant defeated Jay Gould and Jay Fisk’s scheme to corner the gold market, thus preventing a likely financial collapse.  Second, at a time when relations with Great Britain were strained, Grant worked for peace with Great Britain, greatly improving relations with the former mother country. Finally, Grant promoted friendly and generous policies toward American Jews, Native Americans, and especially African-Americans.  In regard to the latter, Grant generously supported the Freedman’s Bureau and signed into law the Ku Klux Klan Act, which dealt a deadly blow to the terror organization’s activity and undoubtedly saved the lives of many freedmen.  No less a leader than Frederick Douglass said of Grant, “To him more than any other man the Negro owes his enfranchisement and the Indian a human policy…” (659).

Regarding the scandals during Grant’s presidency, White does not excuse them, but rather attributes them to Grant’s own positive qualities, including his loyalty to his subordinates, his hatred of interpersonal conflict, and his belief in the good in all people.  White elaborates on this by quoting Grant’s Methodist minister Otis Tiffany, who wrote

Absolutely incapable of servility, [Grant] could not suspect other men of fawning sycophancy.  The soul of honor and manliness himself, a man who was a stranger to indirection and falsehood, General Grant could not comprehend how men could be dishonorable, and false by method (569).

American Ulysses is a tour-de-force of biographical writing.  White’s writing style is highly engaging, so much so that much of book (for example the parts on Grant’s service in the Civil War) reads like a hard-to-put-down novel.  The book suffers from a few minor errors, but these are extremely few.  In addition, there are a few curious omissions, like the famous story of the boy Ulysses (actually, “Hiram” at that time) trying to get a bargain on a horse and the promotion of the adult Grant to four-star general, but these omissions hardly detract from the quality of the book.  Those interested in the life of this pivotal figure in American History could do no better than to read American Ulysses.