This is inaccurate on several levels.
Julia Grant lived in MO. All slaves in MO were freed on Jan. 11, 1865.
Julia Grant often spoke of "her" slaves, a gift from her father, but the records are unclear whether legal title was ever transferred.
There were NO slaves left in America in 1866. 13A freed the last ones, about 50k in KY and a few hundred in DE, in December of 1865.
Grant owned one slave in his lifetime. He freed him before the war, at a time when his family was in desperate financial trouble, and the slave could have been sold for the equivalent today of tens of thousands of dollars.
Criticisms of Grant for hypocrisy on the slavery issue fall apart in every direction.
“US Grant owned slaves through his wife until 1866.”
Did it from memory and thought the 13th settled it all without argument on December 18 of 1865 with recognized ratification by 27 of 36 states.....using Seward’s argument and announced date, not mine.
Dates it seems, are very easy to check and Google a powerful thing. Obsoletes my rooms of books.
The reasoned balance of cause, effect, intent and character is not so easy to google.
And obviously, nothing is without argument for cripes sake.
I am not criticizing Grant. Didn’t know the man or anybody that did. Some said before during and after he died that he was a saint. Others a drunken wife beater and opportunist.
I personally would have “friended” him and Old Abe before the upper crust Jeff Davis and Bobby Lee. But I have always been a hard liquor and swearing man myself.
No event or man can be justly framed in a “now you know” sound bite of good vs evil where good always wins and is always on one side only.