Leonardo Does Grant

             That's Leonardo DiCaprio,  who produced a recent mini-series  about U.S. Grant for the History Channel.   The series was in 3 parts and began last Sunday night at 9PM.   That was the good part.  The bad part(s) was the seemingly endless run of some of the worst looking TV ads we've seen in a long time.   More about ads later.
          The series received some good reviews in media the week before.   It caught the eye of a few history buffs, the Mayor included.  For many mature Americans, and some immature Americans,  the Civil War continues to grasp the collective mentality.   Many of the social problems thought to have ended with the victory of the Union Army continue to this day. ( Big city rioting/looting/and violence is occurring as I write this).  U.S. Grant is a major figure from the period, especially in his role as general of the Army of the Union Forces that defeated Gen. Robert E. Lee, leader of the Army of Northern Virginia as the Confederate forces were called.   Taking a clue from Ken Burns and his early historical masterpiece on the Civil War for TV,  while the focus was on Grant, it included a number of live interviews with noted historians, military officer academics, and custodians of historical sites, battle fields, and places of import during the life of Grant.
        Author Ron Chernow was a co-producer of the series and provided insights into Grant's life and career, from beginning to end.  With his mastery of the subject-Grant, Chernow was able to explain many facets of Grant that have been subsumed to modern interpretation of his life and his presidency.
When the war ended, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by J.W. Booth, a disgruntled Southern sympathizer who led a group of co-conspirators that night in an attempt to disrupt the government and make an effort to reverse the fortunes of war.   Grant, himself, was targeted, but fate intervened, and he escaped the plot.   VP Andrew Johnson succeeded Lincoln and essentially began the four year 2nd term of re-elected Lincoln.  What was supposed to be the beginning of Reconstruction, turned into a feeble attempt that quickly came to be a chaotic program that lacked leadership and results.
        Grant's life began in rural Ohio, son of a tanner.  His life then was a step behind the Western movement of the country.   He developed into a talented horseman, which would serve him well later.
His father applied for a position for him at West Point, and to Grant's surprise, he was accepted.  He graduated and received a commission, assigned to logistics or supply.   And then, the Mexican War broke out, and his training was put to use.   That war was followed by years of turmoil and included a period of civilian life after he left the army.  He tried many ventures, including a spell working with his father in the tannery.    During this period, he began the process of learning about the position of slavery in America and what it meant to those hard bound victims of this national disgrace, recognized by the Founders but still in existence in 1860.   And then, in 1861, the Civil War began.  And Grant began his climb to greatness and the White House.
        The series did an admirable job with the Civil War chronicle, explaining the early Union efforts and Lincoln's frustrations with the leadership of Union forces in the various departments.  As Grant matured on the battle field, it became apparent to Lincoln that here was his leader: a man who personality, experience, and age was an exact match for the president's desire to win the war in the field.  Key battles were explained with many details discussed.   Dramatized events captured the viewer's interest and flavored the historian's explanations.   The actor in the role of Grant captured his personality quite well:  decisive, relentless, and driven to succeed to achieve victory over all rebel forces.
       The final part dealt with Grant as president when he served 2 terms.  This period of Reconstruction was explained as a period of confusion and diminished results, with voters tiring of efforts to rein in Southern efforts to turn back the clock.   In the end, Grant lost his financial under pinnings and with the help of Mark Twain, finished his memoirs days before he died in 1885.
Thank you, Ron Chernow.   Excellent show.   However, too many advertisements disrupted the flow, again.   Maybe streaming is the answer, but viewers should be wary of the "new" History Channel".