Lecturer in American Studies at the University of Kent, Dr Erik Mathisen, was amongst guests on BBC Radio 4’s ‘In Our Time‘ programme last week, discussing the impact of Ulysses Grant’s presidency on Americans in the years after the Civil War in which he, with Lincoln, had led the Union Army to victory.
Grant’s predecessor, Andrew Johnson, was prepared to let the Southern States decide for themselves which rights to allow freed slaves; Grant supported equal rights, and he used troops and Enforcement Acts to defeat the Ku klux Klan which was violently suppressing African Americans. In later years Grant was remembered mainly for the corruption scandals under his term of office, and for his failure to support or protect Native Americans, but in more recent decades his support for reconstruction has prompted a reassessment.
‘In Our Time’ host, Melvyn Bragg, was also joined by discussion guests Susan-Mary Grant, Professor of American History at Newcastle University and Robert Cook, Professor of American History at the University of Sussex. The programme was first broadcast on Thursday 30th May on BBC Radio 4 and is available on BBC Sounds.