Guelzo on Grant

I pondered what to post about Grant as I promised. I was set to write something on the Cuban revolution that gathered immense steam in 1869. The elites mostly from the Democrat party were hysterical for war, yes, so soon after the Civil War, they wanted to commit American troops to go to war with Spain over Cuba. This little vignette may make it in the book. I have not decided.

The Cuban question reminded me of how many things do not change. The media elites wanted to go headlong into a conflict in the same manner and with the same passion that we are bludgeoned to go to war with Russia over Ukraine. The Democrat papers in NYC, were the worst—New York Herald, NY World, Evening Post, Sun, Evening Telegram, etc., beat the drum for the their various factions inside the Democrat party constantly, for years. The only sane paper at this time was the now discredited New York Times. It really was once a great paper.

Grant resisted the war hysteria—likely another mark against his tenure as President from the Oligarchical Party! Regardless, it was their war, not our war. The threat to the shores of the United States did not necessitate military action at this time. Republicans mostly supported staying out of it, while sympathizing with the belligerents in Cuba. Similar to our present climate, many people could not make the distinction that while one might sympathize with a cause, but committing lives and fortunes to support that cause was another matter altogether.

Just as I was getting ready to write up a lengthy piece on Cuba, my son sent me a link to an op-ed about Grant that appeared in the Wall Street Journal. I am not a fan of supporting corporate (legacy) media, so, I have made sure it will always be accessed by archiving it, here.

Before I continue, in my estimation, Guelzo is the most thoughtful American historian of not just our lifetime, but quite possibly the last 100 years. His ability to concentrate on the most important and complex ideas, and understand them, is superb.

I cannot recommend his writings enough. Yet, I have a few observations on his piece that appeared in the the WSJ.