For those interested in the Civil War

[Bull Snipe]

The History Channel is running a 3 part mini-series on Ulysses S. Grant starting at 9: pm tonight. Grant biographer Ron Chernow is the executive producer. Parts 2 and 3 run on Tuesday & Wednesday.

[Bull Snipe]

Thanks

[Bull Snipe]

Thanks

[x]

His bio of Alexander Hamilton is the source of the rap musical :Hamilton", in which we learn that blacks like George Washington with the support of a hispanic guy like Hamilton won the Revolution.

True, Chernow hates Trump, but the casting for the musical had nothing to do with his book on Hamilton.

[Secret Agent Man]

The former one, or the upcoming one?

:)

[Bull Snipe]

Will Grant command in the upcoming one?

[Sam Gamgee]

What interests me is getting to the truth of the Reconstruction Era. Some claim Republicans went too far in punishing the entire south. Others say the Republicans had to because governors were trying to roll back the clock on their former slaves.

[Mack the knife]

Mark Twain stepped up and paid Grant to write his memoirs, giving fierce purpose to this warrior’s last days and peace of mind for leaving his wife with a means of support. Grants memoirs were a huge success and ultimately resulted in sales of $12 million( in current dollars)

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As I recall, this was a godsend for Grant, but left Twain so deeply in debt that he had to go on a world speaking tour (which he hated) to get enough money to pay these debts.

[thesearethetimes...]

Bump

[TruthWillWin]

Enjoyed part 1, looking forward to 2 and 3.

[mad_as_he$$]

Part 1 was good. Moved along well and I did learn some things about Grant that I did not know.

[L,TOWM]

There is a fair degree of accuracy in both statements.

I know many southerners that believe their area is 20-30 years behind in economic development due to the war. And most of the accepted history at the time does include well documented efforts by local governments run by southerners to suppress black civil rights, especially voting and gun ownership.

[Sam Gamgee]

Yes, so a mixture of both. Interesting. Seems like that war, more than even the first world wars, is hard to get down to the truth of it all.

[DoodleDawg]

As I recall, this was a godsend for Grant, but left Twain so deeply in debt that he had to go on a world speaking tour (which he hated) to get enough money to pay these debts.

It wasn't the Grant autobiography that financially hit Twain, it was the Sherman memoire that he published later. That was nowhere near the success that Grant's memoires were and that's where Twain lost money.

[L,TOWM]

WWI I don’t find as confusing, given its origins. Now, the methods of fighting and the ultimate resolution are more maddening to study...

The trouble with you and I getting a clear eyed view of 1861-1865 conflict is that we are too close to the action and all of the folks writing histories that we’ve read had their own agendas and axes to grind. As with many other things, a foreign source might be helpful. If you can locate a college level US History textbook published in the UK by a UK academic, you will probably get a decent and fairly objective account of events. And the older the textbook, the better.