U. S. Grant American Hero, American Myth

Even Grant's flaws were part of his greatness, linking him to his countrymen in a distinctively American fashion. That image began to change as lost cause romanticism nurtured reinterpreting the Civil War as not merely tragic but arguably unnecessary. The eclipse of this approach has restored Grant's reputation as a general. Now his presidency is the target of criticism: corrupt, ineffective and above all incomplete in terms of the racial issue. Waugh convincingly interprets Grant as symbolizng both the hopes and the lost dreams of the Civil War. But while that war remains our defining-and dividing-event, Grant's image, Waugh says, will remain ambiguous. 69 illus., 3 maps.