By Thom Little, Ph.D.
In preparing for our upcoming program at Gettysburg, I have been looking at the works of our presenters, and among many thoughtful and insightful publications, I came across a 2020 opinion piece by Col. Douglas Douds of the Army War College entitled, “There’s a little Grant in all of us.” In this article, Dr. Douds discusses the life of Ulysses Grant, General of the Union Army and President of the United States.
Douds reminds us that before Grant successfully led the Union Army to victory and subsequently served two terms as President of the United States, he faced many challenges and failed many times. He struggled with alcoholism and depression when separated from his beloved wife, Julia. He fought with both his father and father-in-law as well as more than a few of his generals. He failed as a farmer, a salesman, a real estate agent and county clerk. He sought a position as a county engineer and was denied that post. According to Douds, “Grant is an imperfect person who lived in an imperfect time. He is human….All these things render Grant more ordinary than extraordinary.”
Douds’ description of Grant as human, more ordinary than extraordinary, could, I believe, be said of most, if not all, of the people whom our history has identified as heroes, including the celebrated founders of this nation. A few weeks ago, I completed H.W. Brands’ Founding Partisans: Hamilton, Madison, Jefferson, Adams and the Brawling Birth of American Politics. While we tend to glorify, almost deify, those men who established this great nation, Brands reminds us that they, just like Ulysses Grant, were mortal men, with the flaws associated with all of us.
Hamilton, driven by the disrespect (both real and perceived) of others due to his lowly background, fought incessantly with friend and foe alike. Adams, the voice of the Declaration of Independence, President and Vice President, was so insecure and paranoid that he was sure everyone (also friend and foe alike) was out to get him (and sometimes they were). He and Jefferson, the pen of the Declaration of Independence, President and Vice President as well, were the closest of friends, but politics and petty jealousies kept them from speaking for more than a decade. In a similar manner, Madison, the Father of the US Constitution (as well as Secretary of State, Vice President and President) was quite thin-skinned and battled publicly and privately with Adams. Even the venerable George Washington, “first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen” had his flaws– often caring more about how his actions would be perceived than whether they were right or wrong.
And, believe it or not, they even made a few mistakes along the way. While ignoring the issue of slavery in 1776 and 1787 may have been a pragmatic decision, it cost over 600,000 American lives more than seven decades later. Adams encouraged and signed the Alien and Sedition Acts prohibiting criticism of the government, an act that was clearly a violation of the recently passed US Constitution. Thomas Jefferson tried mightily to align the fledgling nation with the deadly French Revolution which was the antithesis of the goals of the American Revolution, and the utter foolishness of Hamilton’s agreement to duel Aaron Burr is rather self-evident.
And yet, these flawed individuals established the foundation for a nation that is about to celebrate its 250th anniversary. Despite their weaknesses, shortcomings, biases and prejudices, they established this nation, writing its founding documents and leading it through its infancy against all odds. Like Douds’ Grant, they were “more ordinary than extraordinary.” And yet, with a bit of luck, providence, lots of compromise, discipline and a focus (and sometimes disagreement) on what was best for the young nation, they did extraordinary things. They were willing to risk their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to create a nation.
It is my hope that decades from now, historians, scholars and school children will look back on the leaders of today’s state legislatures and say the same thing. They were flawed human beings, rather ordinary, but because they put their states, the nation and the people they served ahead of their own interests, their party and their ideological doctrine, they did extraordinary things. This Constitutional Republic has lasted for almost a quarter of a millennium, and it is up to you and your colleagues across the nation to continue to move us toward a more perfect union. We are counting on you– do extraordinary things!
