- Joined
- Dec 21, 2015
Along with the recent article about Timothy Good's presentation, I have also included an explanation of "Grant as a slave owner", as I believe that for those who are unfamiliar with the history, may assume that Grant owned all of the slaves at White Haven, which he did not.
By Edward Husar Herald-Whig
Posted: Apr. 28, 2018 9:45 pm
QUINCY -- National Park Service historian and author Timothy Good says Ulysses S. Grant should be considered "one of the great civil rights presidents in American history."
But Grant wasn't perfect. At one point in his life, Grant was actually a slave owner, but his views evolved over time as he went on to become a renowned Civil War general who fought to end slavery and later, as president, championed the 15th Amendment giving African-Americans the right to vote.
Good, who is now the superintendent of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, previously spent eight years as superintendent of White Haven, the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site south of St. Louis.
While at White Haven studying Grant's life and writings, Good said he came to know "another side of Grant that very few people know today."
In a talk Saturday at the Quincy Public Library as part of the two-day Ulysses S. Grant Symposium taking place at multiple locations in Quincy, Good told a capacity audience that Grant was raised in Ohio by strict abolitionist parents who preached against slavery.
His parents' teachings, however, were in conflict with the pervasive practice of slave ownership and the **** beliefs that existed in much of the country back in the mid-1800s.
Slave ownership "was an incredibly powerful economic force" at that time, Good said. By 1860, 40 percent of all American wealth was invested in enslaved African-Americans, and 75 percent of all American exports were being produced by enslaved African-Americans, he said.
Amid this cultural backdrop, Grant entered the West Point military academy in 1839 and graduated four years later. His first assignment took him to Jefferson Barracks south of St. Louis. While there, he visited with the family of his West Point roommate, Frederick Dent, and met Dent's sister, Julia. They became engaged in 1844 and were married in 1848 at Julia's home, a slave plantation.
Grant's parents refused to attend the wedding.
"To them, this was appalling," Good said. "He was marrying into a slaveholder's family."
After he was married, Grant had several other military assignments before he eventually left the military and moved to his in-laws' property in the mid-1850s to farm, sell firewood and take on other jobs.
At one point Grant acquired a slave from his father-in-law. But in 1859, Grant decided to free the man, William Jones.
"He could have sold him for a significant amount of money, and Grant was desperately short of funds at this time. But he simply gives William Jones his freedom," Good said.
By doing so, Good said, Grant had taken "a subtle step back" to the philosophical teachings of his abolitionist parents.
more here: http://www.whig.com/20180428/ulysses-s-grant-touted-as-one-of-the-great-civil-rights-presidents#
Did Ulysses S. Grant Own Slaves During the Civil War?
Prior to the Civil War Grant lived with his wife Julia and their four children in St. Louis, Missouri, at his father-in-law’s White Haven plantation estate from 1854 until 1859. At some point during this experience Grant obtained a slave named William Jones. The sole document we have confirming Grant’s ownership of Jones is a manumission paper freeing Jones on March 29, 1859, written in Grant’s own hand
How, when, and why Grant obtained a slave are all unknown, although Grant’s mentioning of Frederick Dent suggests that he most likely purchased Jones from his Father-in-law (Grant also had a brother-in-law named Frederick Dent who was serving with the U.S. Army in the western frontier at this time. The brother-in-law could have sold Jones to Grant, but these circumstances suggest that it was unlikely). Grant never mentions Jones in any correspondence or in his Personal Memoirs, so we don’t know his thoughts on this matter. What happened to William Jones after his emancipation is also a mystery lost to history.
There are literally no other pieces of historical evidence to suggest that Grant ever owned slaves at any point after 1859. The quote about Grant not being able to find any good labor is a complete fabrication and you will not find it in his edited papers or any newspapers from the time. It’s simply not true.
More here https://pastexplore.wordpress.com/2...-the-civil-war/amp/?__twitter_impression=true
By Edward Husar Herald-Whig
Posted: Apr. 28, 2018 9:45 pm
QUINCY -- National Park Service historian and author Timothy Good says Ulysses S. Grant should be considered "one of the great civil rights presidents in American history."
But Grant wasn't perfect. At one point in his life, Grant was actually a slave owner, but his views evolved over time as he went on to become a renowned Civil War general who fought to end slavery and later, as president, championed the 15th Amendment giving African-Americans the right to vote.
Good, who is now the superintendent of the Lincoln Home National Historic Site in Springfield, previously spent eight years as superintendent of White Haven, the Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site south of St. Louis.
While at White Haven studying Grant's life and writings, Good said he came to know "another side of Grant that very few people know today."
In a talk Saturday at the Quincy Public Library as part of the two-day Ulysses S. Grant Symposium taking place at multiple locations in Quincy, Good told a capacity audience that Grant was raised in Ohio by strict abolitionist parents who preached against slavery.
His parents' teachings, however, were in conflict with the pervasive practice of slave ownership and the **** beliefs that existed in much of the country back in the mid-1800s.
Slave ownership "was an incredibly powerful economic force" at that time, Good said. By 1860, 40 percent of all American wealth was invested in enslaved African-Americans, and 75 percent of all American exports were being produced by enslaved African-Americans, he said.
Amid this cultural backdrop, Grant entered the West Point military academy in 1839 and graduated four years later. His first assignment took him to Jefferson Barracks south of St. Louis. While there, he visited with the family of his West Point roommate, Frederick Dent, and met Dent's sister, Julia. They became engaged in 1844 and were married in 1848 at Julia's home, a slave plantation.
Grant's parents refused to attend the wedding.
"To them, this was appalling," Good said. "He was marrying into a slaveholder's family."
After he was married, Grant had several other military assignments before he eventually left the military and moved to his in-laws' property in the mid-1850s to farm, sell firewood and take on other jobs.
At one point Grant acquired a slave from his father-in-law. But in 1859, Grant decided to free the man, William Jones.
"He could have sold him for a significant amount of money, and Grant was desperately short of funds at this time. But he simply gives William Jones his freedom," Good said.
By doing so, Good said, Grant had taken "a subtle step back" to the philosophical teachings of his abolitionist parents.
more here: http://www.whig.com/20180428/ulysses-s-grant-touted-as-one-of-the-great-civil-rights-presidents#
Did Ulysses S. Grant Own Slaves During the Civil War?
Prior to the Civil War Grant lived with his wife Julia and their four children in St. Louis, Missouri, at his father-in-law’s White Haven plantation estate from 1854 until 1859. At some point during this experience Grant obtained a slave named William Jones. The sole document we have confirming Grant’s ownership of Jones is a manumission paper freeing Jones on March 29, 1859, written in Grant’s own hand
How, when, and why Grant obtained a slave are all unknown, although Grant’s mentioning of Frederick Dent suggests that he most likely purchased Jones from his Father-in-law (Grant also had a brother-in-law named Frederick Dent who was serving with the U.S. Army in the western frontier at this time. The brother-in-law could have sold Jones to Grant, but these circumstances suggest that it was unlikely). Grant never mentions Jones in any correspondence or in his Personal Memoirs, so we don’t know his thoughts on this matter. What happened to William Jones after his emancipation is also a mystery lost to history.
There are literally no other pieces of historical evidence to suggest that Grant ever owned slaves at any point after 1859. The quote about Grant not being able to find any good labor is a complete fabrication and you will not find it in his edited papers or any newspapers from the time. It’s simply not true.
More here https://pastexplore.wordpress.com/2...-the-civil-war/amp/?__twitter_impression=true