Ulysses S. Grant was a man of true courage although he faced alcohol addiction and business failure, he skillfully led the North to victory and helped give African Americans several rights and freedoms. Ulysses S. Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio to Jesse Grant, a tanner, and Hannah Grant, a homemaker (Broadwater 4). At seventeen, Grant was accepted into West Point, the college of choice of his father. Grant went to West Point, New York and soon began his residency. He graduated in four years, in the bottom half of his class (Worldbook Online).
In college and early in his career, Grant was known to be introverted. Although he was shy, he could talk for hours about topics that interested him (Worldbook Online). He did
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(Wordbook Online) No one would give him employment so he went back home to work at his father’s tannery. He showed no interest in his father’s work and soon moved on to find another occupation, which was being an officer in the Civil War. If he had not made the decision to leave the tannery, he would not be remembered as the hero he is today.
Grant contributed greatly to the United States not only for leading the North to victory, but also for strengthening the country after the Civil War. He enforced civil rights acts and fought against Ku Klux Klan violence (Broadwater 147). He also introduced the Civil Rights Acts of 1870 and 1875, giving African Americans equal rights compared to others. (Worldbook Online) As well as encouraging the creation of the 15th Amendment, which gave protection to the voting rights of Africans Americans.
Grant died on July 23, 1885 in Wilton, New York at the age of sixty-three. (Worldbook Online) Shortly before his death, he completed his second volume of memoirs. His friend, Mark Twain helped arrange for publishing them in late 1885. The revenue from the memoirs reached almost $450,000. The money was used to financially support Grant’s