American Experience Ulysses S Grant Part 2 (2002)

As a general he had fought to preserve the Union As president he helped to oversee the transformation from union to nation As a former president he was the embodiment of the very idea of national union and of Americas entry onto the world stage As a dying general he was the symbol of the nations greatest and most traumatic war The story of Ulysses S Grants life from his first days on the Ohio frontier to his last days outwriting death in the Adirondacks is an endlessly fascinating one Few public figures have ever held a such a firm grip on the American popular imagination Grant was a man whose rise from obscurity made him a hero to millions who could see themselves in him An ordinary man who faced and met extraordinary challenges his successes and failures seemed to encapsulate the national character He was so popular with the American public that despite his two scandalridden terms as president he was nearly nominated to run for a third term