by Ray Keating
The Keating Files – May 31, 2020
The History Channel’s Grant documentary ranks as a long overdue masterpiece.
This miniseries tells much of the story of Ulysses S. Grant, the general who led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War and served as a two-term president of the United States in the aftermath of that bloody conflict and during Reconstruction. And the creators of Grant offer this biography in straightforward, honest fashion. It’s not hagiography; it just sound history.
But by simply treating Grant fairly, and therefore coming to recognize his noteworthy accomplishments, this documentary serves as part of a much-needed corrective to the abuse that Grant has suffered at the hands of biased, revisionist pro-South historians who sought to justify the Confederacy’s actions. Tragically, as the Civil War moved further back in time, more Americans simply forgot their history, and proved amazingly susceptible to the southern “Lost Cause” spin and re-writing of the causes, purpose and execution of the Civil War. Most bewildering perhaps is how many historians bought into this.
Consider that when Ulysses S. Grant died in 1885, and for a good time thereafter, he was recognized as one of the great leaders in American history – along with Washington and Lincoln, for example, as Teddy Roosevelt noted. But subsequently, Grant’s reputation plummeted, to the point of being relegated to the status of a drunk, a butcher and a corrupt president.
But the Grant documentary shows us a very different man – a great leader, though certainly with flaws and weaknesses as is the case with all of us, who played a central role in saving the Union and ending the atrocity of slavery in the U.S. It was President Abraham Lincoln and Grant who completed the Founders’ work when it came to what was stated in the Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.”
Grant’s perseverance is made clear, for example, in terms of facing assorted failures and working to support his family under dire circumstances. In fact, it was mainly long separations from his family, coupled with periods of inaction, that led to his drinking. His masterful abilities as an aggressive military strategist and to see how battles developed while on the ground were highlighted in the miniseries, as were his victories that were essential to the Union prevailing, along with some terribly costly mistakes as well. But hearing Grant’s own words, we gain insights into his humility, and an unflagging willingness to take responsibility for his actions and the results of his decisions.
The Civil War takes up the bulk of this documentary, but some time also is spent on Grant’s presidency. From that, we see a man who again took responsibility, fought for equal rights for former slaves, and was anything but corrupt. There was more to say about and for Grant and his presidency, including positive steps taken by him and Congress that provided a sound foundation upon which the U.S. economy would grow for decades to come (see my recent column on Grant that covers some of this).
We also see something very special about Grant at the end of his life. While suffering from terminal cancer and facing bankruptcy, he fights on trying to write his memoirs and save his family from poverty. He finishes the book, dies three days later, and the memoir becomes one of the greatest books written by any president, and it does save his family from poverty.
The production value of the series is top notch, with Justin Salinger at the center, exceling in his portrayal as a steely, determined Grant. Malcolm Venville deserves high praise as the director of the miniseries with its often-powerful reenactments, and kudos to the various executive producers involved, including Ron Chernow, Pulitzer-Prize winning biographer and author of Grant, and Academy-Award winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio.
Before the miniseries aired, since we live in the age of Twitter (and that’s not a positive thing these days), DiCaprio tweeted about the miniseries. It was nice to see him sum matters up this way: “Ulysses S. Grant was regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in United States history, and as the 18th President, he united a country that was divided during the Civil War.” Straightforward and correct.
As is so often the case with documentaries in recent times, they can rise or fall based on the experts who are relied upon, put on screen, and quoted. Venville and the Grant team chose wisely, including Doug Douds, Colonel USMC retired and professor of U.S. Army War College; Caroline E. Janney, director of the Center for Civil War History at the University of Virginia; and Joan Waugh, author of U.S. Grant: American Hero, American Myth. Of course, Chernow also lends his expertise on screen, as do several others.
Directly addressing in the documentary Grant’s dramatic decline in terms of reputation, Doug Douds explained, “The Lost Cause narrative is really an effort of the South to say, ‘How did we sacrifice so much for a cause so bad as slavery?’ So they changed the narrative. ‘No, no, it was about state’s rights and independence.’ And so that narrative has become the predominant narrative, and I think, a part of it gets buried in there is the role of Grant.”
These revisionists managed to turn history on its head, transforming Robert E. Lee, the traitor, into the hero, and Grant, defender of the Union, the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, into the villain.
Thankfully, the realities of what the South was doing and what the North was defending come out in this miniseries. For example, the reason for why so many men in the North fought was addressed by Caroline E. Janney. She observed, “Many people in the United States thought this experiment that the Founding Fathers had put in place was in fact still an experiment and was in jeopardy. This notion of fighting for the Union was tied up in believing that what the Founders had created was in fact worth fighting for, and worth saving.”
And then we have Grant’s own words throughout. And they include the following direct declaration, which comes early in the miniseries: “There were but two parties now: traitors and patriots.”
And at the close of the war, regarding Lee’s surrender, Grant reflected, “I felt like anything rather than rejoicing at the downfall of a foe who fought so long and valiantly and had suffered so much for a cause, though that cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which a people ever fought.”
If you didn’t see this six-hour series when it aired on the History Channel last week, have no fear. It’s available for streaming now at History.com, and I trust it will be available soon via other streaming services, and for purchase in digital and Blu-Ray formats. Grant warrants inclusion in your own history library (if you don’t have a book and video history library, then this is the time to start), as well as being spread far and wide to classrooms across the entire Union – south, north, east and west.
As I wrote in my previous column on this topic, Ulysses S. Grant deserves to be recognized as one of the greats in American history for his accomplishments on and off the bloody fields of the Civil War. Thanks to the History Channel’s Grant miniseries, more Americans will understand and agree.
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Ray Keating is a columnist, economist, podcaster and entrepreneur. You can order his new book Behind Enemy Lines: Conservative Communiques from Left-Wing New York from Amazon or signed books at RayKeatingOnline.com. His other recent nonfiction book is Free Trade Rocks! 10 Points on International Trade Everyone Should Know. Keating also is a novelist. His latest novels are The Traitor: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, which is the 12th book in the series, and the second edition of Root of All Evil? A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel with a new Author Introduction. The views expressed here are his own – after all, no one else should be held responsible for this stuff, right?
Also, tune in to Ray Keating’s podcasts – the PRESS CLUB C Podcastand the Free Enterprise in Three Minutes Podcast
