In a letter written on December 24, 1878 in Europe, former president Ulysses S. Grant observed that, “If our politicians and people could see us as others see us, and see how much better off all producing classes are with us than in the most favored nation of Europe, they would have much less to complain of, and more to be thankful for.” Grant and his wife were on a world tour that began in May 1877 and ended with a triumphal return to the United States in September 1879. The trip was paid for through private funds by the “generosity of New York and Philadelphia friends.”
General Grant Departs for Europe
Ulysses Grant’s second term as president ended in 1877 after Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner in the hotly contested presidential election of 1876. Despite the corruption and scandals attached to his eight years in office, Grant emerged untainted and remained a living icon. As general, Grant was credited with Union victory in the American Civil War.
At his departure in Philadelphia, the city’s mayor stated what most citizens in the North already knew: Grant was, “…the man who, when the country was in the hour of its peril, restored its hope when he marched triumphant into Fort Donelson.” The mystique of Grant was such that after his trip, which took him to Europe and Asia, Stalwart Republicans prevailed on him to secure a third term in 1880.
Grant’s Travels through Europe
Grant’s impressions were preserved in his letters and a travel diary. According to Grant, Vienna was “one of the most beautiful cities in Europe” but he noted that after ten o’clock at night, the streets were empty. His impressions of Spain were negative. Grant observed that there was “no integrity among the ruling class” and he predicted revolution. Writing on November 14, 1878, Grant complained that, “There is no place in the world where travel is so uncomfortable as in Spain.”
In Dublin, critics wrote that Grant supported anti-Catholicism in the United States. The charges were unfounded but tied to contemporary political debates over public funding for sectarian schools. Although defenders of Grant and the Republican Party pointed out that the funding debate was aimed at Protestant denominational schools as well as Catholic parochial schools, strong Irish Catholicism denounced any attempts at discrimination.
While in Ireland, Grant was awarded honorary citizenship. During a speech following the honors, Grant tied American prosperity to Europe. “The prosperity of our country means the prosperity of the balance of the civilized world.” Grant’s letters reveal that he kept up with political issues at home, especially with the on-going sentiments regarding the government’s money policy. Grant opposed the soft-money solutions offered by farm state politicians, siding with eastern bankers and politicians like New York’s Senator Roscoe Conkling.
European views of Grant were favorable. One writer, quoted in the London Telegraph (May 3, 1880) compared Grant to the Roman general Caius Marius. While touring Egypt and receiving honors from the Khedive, Grant was compared to the ancient mythical Ulysses. A New York Times writer stated that “both were great warriors” (March 1878). Grant's popularity abroad was more closely associated with his exploits as a general rather than his years in the White House.
The Return Home
Grant’s party traveled to India, China, and Japan. Stops included Rangoon, Saigon, and Singapore. Everywhere Ulysses Grant visited he was greeted as a hero. Grant’s deepest impressions related to Japan. In his travel diary, Grant commented that, “The Japanese are altogether the superior people of the East.”
Historian John Y. Simon, in his Introduction to Volume 29 of The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, notes that, “Abroad and at home, Grant demonstrated a large and generous spirit as well as a profound love for the nation and its ideals.” Grant’s lengthy travels abroad added to his resume, enhancing his credentials toward the possibility of a third presidential term of office.
Grant’s steamer, the City of Tokio, arrived in San Francisco late in the evening September 21, 1879. Cannons from various shore and island batteries welcomed his return with dozens of volleys while a military band played “Home Again.” His triumphant return was also symbolic. The world tour began when Grant left Philadelphia, a city identified with colonial roots and the birth of American freedom. His return at San Francisco represented the new age of expansion about to embrace the unbounded prosperity Grant spoke of and wrote about while abroad.
Ulysses Grant is often viewed negatively, although his presidency occurred amidst one of the greatest upheavals in American History, the sad years of Reconstruction. As the chief executive, he is often ranked in lists of worst presidents. For some observers, the name Grant is synonymous with political corruption. Grant’s world tour, however, demonstrated that he was perceived as a hero, an American statesman who embodied the spirit of a nation like none other in the world. Grant himself alluded to this perception in his letters. The United States was a singular nation that would out-produce its competitors and herald a new age of prosperity for all people. Grant firmly believed this and as America’s traveling ambassador, he conveyed that message to Europe and Asia.
Sources:
- Charles W. Calhoun, From Bloody Shirt to Full Dinner Pail: The Transformation of Politics and Governance in the Gilded Age (Hill & Wang, 2010)
- The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant, Volume 29, October 1, 1878 – September 30, 1880, John Y. Simon, editor. Mississippi State University Library archives.
- “Gen. Grant Off To Europe,” New York Times, May 18, 1877
- “Gen Grant’s Visit to Egypt,” New York Times, March 1878
- “Grant Again In America,” New York Times, September 21, 1879
- William S. McFeely, Grant: A Biography (W. W. Norton, 2002)
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