[There are a
number of significant
anniversaries in 2019, so for this New Year’s series I’ll highlight a
handful of such historical anniversaries. Leading up to a special weekend post
featuring exclusive AmericanStudier predictions on the year ahead!]
On the 150th
anniversary of his inauguration, the inescapable truths about President Grant,
and how to move beyond them.
On March
4th, 1869 Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated as President of
the United States. Grant was replacing the truly odious
Andrew Johnson, one of the worst presidents (and most
tragic and destructive mistakes) in American history, and so he was bound
to look pretty good in comparison. And his measured and thoughtful inaugural address indicated
the possibility of an impressive and influential presidency to come: in his
adamant support
for the 15th Amendment and African American suffrage in
particular; but also for example in his argument in favor of “the proper
treatment of the original occupants of this land,” including advocacy
for Native American citizenship. At this pivotal moment in American history,
with so much of the post-war era yet to be decided and shaped, this former
general with no prior governing experience seemed to be poised to help guide
the nation in progressive and productive directions.
Unfortunately,
that “no prior governing experience” part ended up influencing Grant’s
presidency far more fully and disastrously than his impressive ideas. Grant
brought a number of friends and allies with him to his administration, both as
Cabinet members and as appointees to other positions, and trustingly delegated
authority to them (as perhaps any president has to, of course). When time and
again a shockingly high
percentage of these administration members were revealed to be taking
part in corrupt schemes, Grant tended to stand by them, at least initially;
while as far as historians can tell he neither knew about nor profited from any
of those schemes, his friendship with and support for these scandalous figures
inevitably and unquestionably sullied his
own image and reputation. As much as I’d like to argue (and partly will in
a moment) that the scandals didn’t define Grant’s presidency, the simple truth
is that his was one of the most scandal-ridden in American history (perhaps the
most so until, I dunno, right
now), and will always be associated with that corruption.
If we can’t
change the events of the past, however, we can and should think about
collective memories, about what we most fully and centrally remember about
historical events. And without denying the factual realities of the Grant
Administration scandals, I would nonetheless argue that the historical emphasis
on them is related to the triumph of neo-Confederate narratives
of Reconstruction, the Civil War, race,
and much
else in the late
19th century (and ever
since). That is, frustratingly bad as Grant was at managing his corrupt
friends, he was in other ways the progressive president foreshadowed by his
inaugural address: helping gain passage
of the 15th Amendment, opposing the Ku
Klux Klan, and, perhaps most influentially, founding
the Justice Department primarily to advocate for African American rights; and
appointing his friend and Civil
War comrade (and amazing American) Ely Parker as the first Native American Commissioner
of Indian Affairs, and working toward a very different and more peaceful relationship
between the federal government and Native American tribes. If Grant’s corrupt
administration contributed to the failure of some of these initiatives (and I’m
sure it did, although white supremacist opposition contributed even more), that’s
no reason for us to forget or minimize their existence as we celebrate the sesquicentennial
of this presidency.
Next anniversary
tomorrow,
Ben
PS. What do you
think? Anniversaries you’d highlight or predictions you’d share?
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