Ulysses S. Grant
Born: April 27, 1822
Died: July 23, 1885
Slaves Owned: 1
Known For: Being a Civil War Union army commander and war hero. Robert E. Lee surrendered to him. Being the 18th president. Being entombed.
Grant was the last enslaver president. He claimed not to be an abolitionist, but unlike the rest of the slave-owning presidents, he seemed to have some sense of the wrongness of it and willingly freed his slave. He also actually worked on some level of equality in Reconstruction. However, he was also working for assimilation of Indigenous people, as well, which as we know was devastating.
Because Reconstruction was such a time of compromising and deal-making, most of the presidents from this era are looked at as ineffective. His pre-presidency days definitely come across as more interesting than his time as president.
This is another person who we see was a war hero turned president in this nation's history. white people really like turning war heroes into our leaders, even if it's not necessarily a good match.
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