Let Us Have Peace - (Civil War America) by Brooks D Simpson (Paperback)

About the Book

Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of War and Reconstruction, 1861-1868

Book Synopsis

Historians have traditionally drawn distinctions between Ulysses S. Grant's military and political careers. In Let Us Have Peace, Brooks Simpson questions such distinctions and offers a new understanding of this often enigmatic leader. He argues that during the 1860s Grant was both soldier and politician, for military and civil policy were inevitably intertwined during the Civil War and Reconstruction era. According to Simpson, Grant instinctively understood that war was 'politics by other means.' Moreover, he realized that civil wars presented special challenges: reconciliation, not conquest, was the Union's ultimate goal. And in peace, Grant sought to secure what had been won in war, stepping in to assume a more active role in policymaking when the intransigence of white Southerners and the obstructionist behavior of President Andrew Johnson threatened to spoil the fruits of Northern victory.

From the Back Cover

Historians have traditionally drawn distinctions between Ulysses S. Grant's military an political careers. In 'Let Us Have Peace, ' Brooks Simpson questions such distinctions and offers a new understanding of this often enigmatic leader.

Review Quotes

It stands as essential reading for all those interested in that pivotal era.

Eric Foner, Columbia University

Other historians have touched on this aspect of Grant's career, but Simpson's work surpasses them all.

"Choice"

"It stands as essential reading for all those interested in that pivotal era.

Eric Foner, Columbia University"

"Other historians have touched on this aspect of Grant's career, but Simpson's work surpasses them all.

"Choice""

Deserves to take a well-merited place in Civil War and Reconstruction literature. It is a fine work of scholarship.

"Journal of Southern History"