Upper West Side sticks up for Drunk Republicans
For which I suppose I should be eternally grateful, our UWS Correspondent defends:
Marc,Entertaining and insightful stuff, as always.
But I think you're being too rough on U.S. Grant. A lot of people consider him to be one of the more misunderstood men in U.S. History.
I, for one, am a great fan of the man. He overcame a lot of adversity in his life. Plus I always root for the short guys. (Grant stood under 5'8''.)
As you are a truth-seeker and an enjoyer of history, I would refer you to this link. http://www.mscomm.com/~ulysses/ I particularly enjoyed the FAQ and Drinking links.
It is meant to be a pro-Grant site. But, I think you'll agree it's well documented as well as quite even-handed - see this quote for example:
The Battle of Shiloh: Though Grant and Sherman deny until their deaths that they were surprised here, the evidence is persuasive that they were. Grant's iron will and stubbornness resist disaster and the Union holds the field on the second day.
Grant was a popular whipping boy even back in the times of his successes. Lincoln was constantly defending him. My two favorite quotes about Grant come from Lincoln.
Upon hearing a complaint that General Grant drank......"Drinks, does he? Well, find out what he drinks and send a barrel of it to my other Generals!"
Upon hearing criticism of Grant's character and competence... "I cannot spare this man... he fights."
Cheers.
Blog on.
Frank
Now that's all well and good, but Lee was the better General. The North had all the military and economic (and moral) advantages. Yet U.S. Grant had to win by sacrificing tens of thousands soldiers to Robert E. Lee's superior military skill.
By contrast, Reagan, at the head of democracy, an inherently tricky and fickle force to marshall, defeated the Soviet Union in less than 9 years after his inauguration.
Remember, in 1979, President Carter had ceded American moral authority on both the foreign front (such as Afghanistan) and the domestic one in his infamous Malaise speech. (It's really a remarkable abdication of leadership -- read it in its entirety).
Reagan, mostly singlehandedly and from pure force of character, led the nation to defeat the Soviets, launch the economic boom we still enjoy today, and brought American idealism back to American minds.
He belongs on the $50, Grant doesn't.
