Ulysses S. Grant: A Misunderstood Antihero and Loyal to a Fault

Exploring the one characteristic that made Ulysses Grant one of the most misunderstood leaders and a real-life antihero

Photo by Library of Congress on Unsplash

Researching American history to find accurate anecdotes can be overwhelming to those of us who didn’t have a natural affinity to history when we were younger. That feeling of anxiety probably stems from all the mundane history and government classes from grade school. The enchanting stories we could’ve found intriguing were all deeply wedged between old century dates, dusty political structures, confusing battle names, and esoteric geographic locations.

Then again, so The Lord of the Rings, but the storytellers of those classroom textbooks were no J.R.R. Tolkien. Although few (very, very few) of my teachers tried to make history relevant, all I could hear was Charlie Brown’s teacher’s monotonous “Waah, Wa-Waaah” droning for 90 minutes. But perhaps some of us needed more than 90 minutes in class and a few hours of homework to sift through facts and dates to find the exciting narratives that make characters like Ulysses S. Grant come alive.

What Makes an Antihero?

Much of Ulysses Grant’s story is nestled in war and politics, and you can’t get around it…