Ulysses S. Grant

The Assassination Of Abraham Lincoln 1865: Still Affecting America Today!

Ronald Leave a comment

On this day, at around the hour I am writing this, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater in Washington, DC, by actor John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer, who wished to reverse the Union victory accomplished five days earlier by the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.

Lincoln looks better all of the time, and we are now commemorating the sequicentennial of the Civil War, which lasted officially from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865, and killed two percent of the population, approximately 620,000 men!

The sectionalism that helped to cause the Civil War still exists, and much of the South is celebrating the Civil War anniversary, rather than just commemorating it!

American history would have been quite different if Lincoln had lived, and it is still the greatest human tragedy of the nation’s history, as far as any individual’s role in history is concerned.

Much is published regularly about Lincoln, but the mountain of material never stops, and a lot of attention will be given to it over the next four years because of it being 150 years ago, a notable anniversary!

A movie well worth seeing, opening tomorrow, is THE CONSPIRATOR, which portrays the assassination of Lincoln, and the supposed complicity of Mary Surratt, who ran the rooming house where the Lincoln conspiracy was discussed by the group involved in the plot, including her son, John Surratt, who escaped punishment for his complicity in the event, but had his mother become the first woman executed in American history, due to a military tribunal illegally condemning four of the conspirators to death, rather than having trial by a civilian jury!

The movie informs us of the unconstitutional actions taken by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who was in such a hurry to eliminate the conspirators that he broke the Bill of Rights, a troubling followup to the tragedy of the Civil War!

It is a warning that even in crisis, we must not forget the Constitution and Bill of Rights, too often ignored in the name of national security!

The Tea Party Nation, Religion, And America’s Presidents!

Ronald 1 Comment

Judson Phillips, the founder of the Tea Party Nation, a specific Tea Party group, has condemned the Methodist Church for supporting the DREAM Act for children of illegal immigrants, for backing Obama health care which he considers “socialism”, and he says the church is the “First Church of Karl Marx”!

Realize that Mr. Phillips used to be a member of the Methodist Church, but left the church because it is involved in what he considers interference with separation of church and state!

It is alright if a religious group of the right gets involved in taking political stands, apparently, but if a more open minded, liberal church takes leadership on political controversies, that somehow is a sin!

Going on that basis, it means a third of our Presidents must have been “socialists” or followers of “Marxism”, as they were involved in faiths NOT conservative in their doctrine, or not connected to organized religion at all!

Let’s go through the list of 15 Presidents who do not fit Judson Phillips’ satisfaction on religious beliefs!

Four Presidents were Methodists, including James K. Polk, Ulysses S. Grant, William McKinley, and George W. Bush, plus Rutherford B. Hayes, who was unaffiliated and then Methodist later in life.

Three were unaffiliated throughout life, including Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson, with Grant and Hayes unaffiliated at times, and also Barack Obama.

Four Presidents were Unitarian, very far from traditional Christian religion, including John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Millard Fillmore, and William Howard Taft.

Also, we have had two Quaker (Society of Friends) Presidents, also out of the mainstream of Christianity–Herbert Hoover and Richard Nixon.

So apparently these 15 Presidents were heretics “in league with the devil”, because they had a more open mind on organized religion, and took a more compassionate, social justice view of what religion is all about!

This is exactly what we need, a President who believes in tolerance and concern for those less fortunate, as no one can be considered truly “religious” who has a narrow minded, intolerant view of those who are different than them, or less fortunate in economic circumstances!

Service In The Military And American Presidential Politics!

Ronald 1 Comment

For much of American history, service in the military has been a plus for political leaders who sought the Presidency of the United States.

About two thirds of all American Presidents engaged in military service, and some were major figures in wartime, including George Washington, Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

It has been rare to have a Presidential campaign, where neither of the candidates had served in the military, and the last time that happened was 1944, when Governor Thomas Dewey opposed President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

As recently as 2004 and 2008, the losing Presidential candidate had served in Vietnam (John Kerry and John McCain), and was admired for their war records, even though it did not help them to win.

But now for 2012, it is likely that for the first time since 1944, that neither candidate will have served in the military, as all of the major candidates for the GOP nomination, as well as President Barack Obama, have not spent time in the military.

Only Congressman Ron Paul and Governor Rick Perry, both of Texas, have ever served in the military, and neither is seen as likely to be the Republican nominee for the White House!

So with fewer people serving in the military than ever before, and with the military draft gone since 1973, it may very well be likely that from now on, the Presidential race will be lacking in influence of people who have served their country in the military!

An Obama-Clinton Presidential Ticket In 2012? Don’t Bet On It!

Ronald Leave a comment

Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward, who has just published OBAMA’S WARS, his new book on the Obama Presidency, is spreading the rumor that the nomination of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Vice President in 2012 is “on the table”!

This rumor has been spreading for awhile, and Woodward makes it seem more legitimate, but it is hard to imagine it occurring!

It is true that Vice President Joe Biden always wanted to be Secretary of State, but it is unlikely that having been Vice President and living in the VP mansion, that Biden would want to step down to the State Department. If asked, Biden would be a team player, but it just seems highly unlikely that it would occur!

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is dismissing such speculation, and she seems to enjoy her job. On the other hand, moving up to the Vice Presidency would put her into a better position to run for President in 2016!

Obama and Clinton get along very well, and the old rivalry of 2008 seems gone, and Bill Clinton has been helpful to Obama. But if Obama decided to switch Biden and Clinton, it would be an admission that he thought he could not win without Clinton!

Hillary Clinton could bring blue collar workers, senior citizens, and women to Obama’s support, three groups he seems to have trouble with electorally, so it could be a productive development, but still, looking at history, it is highly unlikely!

Very few Presidents have ever switched running mates for the second term bid–only Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant and Franklin D. Roosevelt (actually switching for third term and then again for fourth term). Only Lincoln really did so for electoral reasons, and unfortunately, it gave us Andrew Johnson in the Presidency, as a result! 🙁

So while the thought is fascinating, don’t bet money on it! It is highly likely that Joe Biden will be leaving the Vice Presidency before 2017, unless Obama loses the election in 2012!

Ronald Reagan To Replace Ulysses S. Grant On Fifty Dollar Bill? How about FDR?

Ronald 1 Comment

A move is beginning to replace Civil War General and President Ulysses S. Grant on the fifty dollar bill with President Ronald Reagan.

The argument is that Grant is rated near the bottom of the Presidents, while Reagan is usually rated as in the bottom of the top ten or at the top of the next ten.

Grant was certainly a disaster in the Presidency, but Grant also won the surrender of Robert E. Lee to end the Civil War at Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April 9, 1865.

It seems to the author there is a case to remove Grant, but I have what I think is a better solution.

Earlier, there had been discussion of taking Franklin D. Roosevelt off the dime and putting Ronald Reagan in his place. That would have been a terrible decision, and the idea was dropped.

What I propose is take FDR off the dime, place him on the fifty dollar bill to replace Grant, and put Reagan on the dime!

Since a fifty dollar bill has much greater value and gets noticed more, it seems to me that we should finally honor FDR for the New Deal and his leadership during World War II and for his more than twelve years in the Presidency, which changed our lives in so many ways long term. Don’t forget that he is rated number two or number three of all our Presidents in any legitimate scholarly poll.

Reagan, being more recent, should be on the dime, joining Lincoln on the penny, Jefferson on the nickel, and Washington on the quarter. That should be enough of an honor, and this way two Presidents who made a difference get due recognition!