Download Ulysses S. Grant Script

Ulysses S. Grant Script.
Sung-Woo Cho
Good afternoon. I am the President Ulysses S. Grant and the General-in-Chief during the
American Civil War for the Union Army. I was born in April 27, 1822 at the state of Ohio as
Hiram Ulysses Grant. When I was 17, I went to the United States Military Academy and
successfully graduated ranking 21st among the 39 graduates. After few years, I served in
the Mexican-American War as the quartermaster under the great General Taylor and Scott.
Even though I was assigned as the quartermaster, I went to the front lines to observe the
aspects of the war. I even saved my future brother-in-law, Fred, during the battle where the
gunshots were firing every where. Few years later, the American Civil War erupted and
after several battles, the President Lincoln appointed me as the General-in-Chief, leading
all the armies of the Union. I led the Union Army to the victory of the Civil War. After the
war, I was elected as the President.
Even though I canʼt say that my presidency was successful, my years as the general was.
I led my country to the victory over the Confederate Army and those success led me to be
the leader of the country.
My question toward this great hero, Grant, was how did the greatest general failed in his
terms as the president. I was interested in this question because I believe that a great
leader of the war can lead the country as he did on the battlefields.
A successful person can fail greatly on other field because of lack of the experience and
knowledge on that field. The President Grant have experienced that. As Ulysses S. Grant
earned his fame through many battles during the Mexican-American War and the Civil
War, he also received his votes for future election. And he did win the Election of 1868 and
1872 and led the country for two terms. During his terms as the president, he had many
scandals, unsuccessful affairs, and the economic depression. These begin with the Black
Friday and the Panic of 1873, the financial crisis. First, I believe that these events occurred
due to the lack of experience and the knowledge in the field of politics. Because he went to
the Military Academy, he had full of knowledge at the battlefields and was successful as
the general but he didnʼt learn much about the politics. Second, the scandals due to the
corrupted government was caused by his secretaries. Grant failed to act strongly against
these secretaries and failing to select his subordinates, the more scandals were caused.
Finally, he didnʼt have strong judgement over certain objects. He failed to make firm
judgement while the country was in the financial crisis causing to make the situation even
worse.
First of all, his learnings were based on the military actions and battle strategies not the
political actions. That is why he was so successful in the battlefields but not the field of the
politics. The fame he earned on the battlefields led him to be the President of the country
but the truth was that he had no knowledge on the politics or the financial actions causing
the crisis. If he were to have more knowledge on financial situations and uncorrupted
government, he might have reduced the damage that country received due to the crisis.
Next, the scandals that his secretaries caused could be the fault of the President Grant.
Because, he favored his colleagues during the battles while choosing the subordinates
rather than the ability of the people. This caused many scandals including the Whiskey
Ring where the Secretary of the Treasury stole the money from the government. However,
the scandals could be prevented with strong reaction toward the criminals who caused the
scandals. He couldnʼt make the decision like he did on the battlefields because he didnʼt
have much knowledge on the course of the politics. He couldn't control the scandals and
lost the popularity as the president.
Finally, he didnʼt react or made strong decision over the event causing to lose the control
of the act that happened. Because he was confident what he was doing on the battlefields,
he was able to made the strong decision leading to the victory. However, he never learned
the aspects of the politics causing to make Grant hard to make decision in the White
House. With his corrupted government, nothing was able to flow easily and successfully. If
he judged strongly and handled better, he might have earned his third term as the
president.
Ulysses S. Grant, one of the most successful general in the history, is judged as the
unsuccessful president due to lack of the experience and the knowledge on the politics
and finances. In addition, he poorly reacted to the scandals and those secretaries who
caused it. If he had selected by the personʼs ability not by his relationship to the person, he
could be more successful and prevented those scandals. He made great decisions and set
the strategies to the victory on the battlefields while he failed making decisions in the
White House because of his education was based on the war not on the finance. If Grant
had more experience on the politics before he was elected as the president, he would be
more successful as the president. He needed those experiences and knowledges in order
to have a successful terms. Unfortunately, he didnʼt have those which caused the failure.