Elements of an effective Leader Ulysses Grant Research Paper

Elements of an effective Leader Ulysses Grant - Research Paper Example Such is the focus of this essay. The man: Ulysses Grant Until today, scholars do not totally agree how Grant should be viewed as a leader. Though, he was esteemed a great Civil War hero and a great military commander, too; some would also say he was a butcher. Though many would say he was a major failure as a president; today some scholars are reconsidering such view, saying: â€Å"†¦ Grant was a good president; certainly a strong one† (Skidmore, 2008, p. 221). Perhaps, these opposing views could be attributed to the complex character of the man whose life was lived in the most challenging times of US history. Good thing though, scholars at least agree on five things about Grant. First, Hiram Ulysses Simpson Grant, the eldest among the six children (3 boys and 3 girls) of Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson (Taylor, 2006, p. D05), is no extra-ordinary lad with an extra-ordinary life lived during challenging times. Aside from his unmatched excellence in horsemanship â€⠀œ â€Å"a skill that served him well in the Civil War, when he remained eighteen hours a day and more in the saddle without tiring, a feat that astonished his staff† (Goode, 1999, p. ... (McDowell, 2004, p. B06) His life is evidently a history of success and failure. Admirably though, in success, in failure, and even in death, Grant had consistently faced life’s challenges calmly. Second, Grant is a complex man (Bartholomees, 2002, p. 133) filled with great contradictions. Drain, the executive producer of American Experience describes him as a man hailed from an educated family, yet a school bum; a man who hates violence and the sight of blood, yet had been a brutal commander (cited in Lasner, 2002, p. 20). A man devoid of any qualities of greatness yet had saved and united this nation. A man of constant failure yet in his not so distinct previous military career had earned President Lincoln’s trust and confidence against the opposition of many, had been able to tame and discipline the seemingly hopeless rowdy Illinois regimen, and had defeated Robert E. Lee’s forces, victoriously ending the bloody Southern rebellion (Goode, 1999, p. 330; Lasner, 2002, p. 20). An honest man yet his administration were best known for many scandals involving his own people – his secretary of war (William Belknap) and private secretary (Gen. Orville Babcock). Among the major scandals that smeared his term were the Black Friday (September 24, 1869), Whiskey Ring (1875), and Belknap Bribery (1876). (Toppin, 2002, pp. 244-246) Also, a child of the frontier, a drunkard and a stern military commander, yet rarely swears using only the oath ‘doggone it’ and acts with ‘girlish modesty’. According to him, â€Å"no one had seen him naked since he was a boy.† (Goode, 1999, p.330) Third, Grant was a happy family man finding contentment and solace in the company of his wife, Julia Dent, and four