'Calhoun, one of the most gifted historians of the Gilded Age, turns his attention to the Grant administration with a meticulously researched, shrewdly argued, and elegantly written contribution.'- Journal of Southern History The hefty goal of interrogating the well-established historical negatives of Grant’s presidency demands nothing less than the diligent methodology of a disciplined investigator-and Calhoun delivers.'- Congress & the Presidency 'Calhoun traces Grant’s transformation from a celebrated general to an emerging politico who shrewdly survived the period when Andrew Johnson’s presidency was rendered irrelevant. 'Calhoun’s work deserves to educate the public as to how a general can ride a wave of popular support to change the nation while avoiding demagoguery.'- The History In sum, this book is a long overdue re-evaluation of a pivotal presidency in America’s political history. It also offers a straightforward examination of the scandals associated with the period, highlighting the “embattled” nature of Grant’s presidency and the deep antagonism that marked his relations with key critics such as Charles Sumner, Henry Adams, and Benjamin Bristow.

Grant provides a detailed discussion of the administration’s endeavors in a variety of areas-Reconstruction and civil rights, economic policy, the Peace Policy for Native Americans, foreign policy, and civil service reform. He explores Grant’s leadership style and traces his contributions to the office of president, including creating a White House staff, employing modern technology to promote the mobility of the presidency, and developing strong ties with congressional leaders to enhance executive influence over legislation. As a political historian with a vast knowledge of nineteenth-century America and an extensive array of original sources at his command, Calhoun approaches Grant’s presidency not as an incongruous or inconsequential sequel to his military career but instead as the polestar of American public life during a crucial decade in the nation’s political development. These concerns, the issues of politics and governance, are at the core of this book. Most biographers focus on Grant’s military career, giving less attention to the significant and complex questions that marked his presidential terms. Calhoun examines Grant’s administration in depth, offering a fresh look at the 18th president’s policies and actions during his two terms in office (1869–1877). For the first time in almost a century, this book by the distinguished historian Charles W. Grant (1822–1885) was an embattled president, enormously popular with the American people, yet the target of unrelenting censure by political enemies. As controversial in politics as he was in the military, Ulysses S.

Ulysses s grant book