Potus Geeks Summer Reruns: The Civil War Presidents
In May of 2014 we profiled those Presidents whose lives were touched by the Civil War, either as politicians or as soldiers, starting with Martin Van Buren and ending with William McKinley. In the wrap up of this series, reposted below, we speculated on lessons learned by these presidents and how the shock waves from that war continue to resonate today.
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Its last shots were fired on June 22, 1865. This period included the lifespan of every President of the United States from Martin Van Buren to Woodrow Wilson, (except for William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor, who had died before the war began.) In addition to the other presidents who have been profiled throughout this series, three other presidents, who were too young to fight as soldiers in the war, nevertheless were affected by it:
1. Theodore Roosevelt was born in October of 1858 and was a child during the duration of the war. Nevertheless, he was affected by the war. His father Theodore Roosevelt Sr. did not fight in the war, because his wife, the former Martha "Mittie" Bulloch, was from Georgia and supported the Confederacy. Theodore Sr. hired a replacement to fulfill his draft obligation in the Army of the Potomac, but he contributed philanthropically for the support of Union soldiers and their families. The fact that the elder Roosevelt never fought in the war was a source of regret for his son, the future president. Many of President Theodore Roosevelt's biographers have claimed that this had a strong influence on his decision to actively seek a combat role in the Spanish-American War with the volunteer cavalry regiment that the press would call the "Rough Riders."
2. William Howard Taft was born a year before Roosevelt, in September of 1857. He too was a child when the war was on, and his father, Alphonso Taft, also did not serve in the war. Living in Cincinnati, across the river from many slaveholding friends, the elder Taft remained practicing law while the war was on. He was 51 years of age when the war broke out, and was likely considered too old for service. Alphonso Taft went on to serve as Secretary of War and later Attorney-General in the administration of President Ulysses Grant at a time when Grant was courageously trying to protect the rights and lives of freed former slaves.
3. Born in December of 1856 in Staunton, Virgina, Woodrow Wilson was a child living in the Confederacy during the war. He claimed to have a childhood memory of meeting Robert E. Lee and of sitting on Lee's lap. Wilson's parents moved to Virginia from Ohio in 1851 and identified with the Confederacy. His father defended slavery, owned slaves and set up a Sunday school for them. His parents cared for wounded soldiers at their church, and his father briefly served as a chaplain to the Confederate Army. Woodrow Wilson's first wife Ellen was from Rome, Georgia. As President, he showed disdain for African-Americans and their rights, except when politically expedient. He set back progress in the rights of African-Americans in government service by instituting a policy of segregation in the mail service and all government agencies. The government previously had been integrated since the Reconstruction era, and his decision closed off opportunities off African Americans. In 1913 Wilson attended to a reunion commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It was the largest combined reunion of Civil War veterans ever held with over 50,000 Union and Confederate soldiers in attendance.
Reports of the carnage during the war are horrific. Between the death, wounds, amputations, disease, unsanitary conditions, inhumane prison camps and wartime atrocities, the war clearly must have had a haunting effect on those who witnessed it and lived it. In modern times, we acknowledge that those who saw combat in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or other shooting wars, suffer adverse affects such as post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders. When the Civil War was fought, there was no understanding of these things. Contemporaries viewed going off to war as noble, patriotic and "manly". Sure this could not have been the private feelings of those who had witnessed the worst the battlefield had to offer.
We will never know exactly how the horrors of war really affected Presidents like Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield or Benjamin Harrison. Was it the stresses of war that contributed to Grant's drinking, or Harrison's icy personality? Or was it's influence more positive in the development of Grant's mantra "let us have peace" or Garfield's quest for free education for African-American children? Did some of these Republican presidents fight for the rights of African-Americans out of a sense of justice or a sense of vengeance? How were their private and family lives touched by the experience of being up close and personal with such a savage war? Did the war strengthen the character of these men, or injure their mental health? These are mysteries buried with their chief executives.
Slavery will forever remain a blight upon the history of the nation. No reasonable person can defend its existence. The war which was fought over its continuance was so tragic that it seems remarkable to suggest that there was any victory attained by anyone. Its consequences were both microscopic and macroscopic. Individuals, groups, states and the nation as a whole were changed, for better or worse.
Today when times change, when old ideas and notions resist the tide of history, perhaps leaders will look to the lessons learned from slavery and the struggles of African-Americans for equality, to see that it is unwise to stubbornly remain out of step with the evolution of civil rights. Or perhaps old habits will continue to die hard.
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861. Its last shots were fired on June 22, 1865. This period included the lifespan of every President of the United States from Martin Van Buren to Woodrow Wilson, (except for William Henry Harrison, James K. Polk and Zachary Taylor, who had died before the war began.) In addition to the other presidents who have been profiled throughout this series, three other presidents, who were too young to fight as soldiers in the war, nevertheless were affected by it:
1. Theodore Roosevelt was born in October of 1858 and was a child during the duration of the war. Nevertheless, he was affected by the war. His father Theodore Roosevelt Sr. did not fight in the war, because his wife, the former Martha "Mittie" Bulloch, was from Georgia and supported the Confederacy. Theodore Sr. hired a replacement to fulfill his draft obligation in the Army of the Potomac, but he contributed philanthropically for the support of Union soldiers and their families. The fact that the elder Roosevelt never fought in the war was a source of regret for his son, the future president. Many of President Theodore Roosevelt's biographers have claimed that this had a strong influence on his decision to actively seek a combat role in the Spanish-American War with the volunteer cavalry regiment that the press would call the "Rough Riders."
2. William Howard Taft was born a year before Roosevelt, in September of 1857. He too was a child when the war was on, and his father, Alphonso Taft, also did not serve in the war. Living in Cincinnati, across the river from many slaveholding friends, the elder Taft remained practicing law while the war was on. He was 51 years of age when the war broke out, and was likely considered too old for service. Alphonso Taft went on to serve as Secretary of War and later Attorney-General in the administration of President Ulysses Grant at a time when Grant was courageously trying to protect the rights and lives of freed former slaves.
3. Born in December of 1856 in Staunton, Virgina, Woodrow Wilson was a child living in the Confederacy during the war. He claimed to have a childhood memory of meeting Robert E. Lee and of sitting on Lee's lap. Wilson's parents moved to Virginia from Ohio in 1851 and identified with the Confederacy. His father defended slavery, owned slaves and set up a Sunday school for them. His parents cared for wounded soldiers at their church, and his father briefly served as a chaplain to the Confederate Army. Woodrow Wilson's first wife Ellen was from Rome, Georgia. As President, he showed disdain for African-Americans and their rights, except when politically expedient. He set back progress in the rights of African-Americans in government service by instituting a policy of segregation in the mail service and all government agencies. The government previously had been integrated since the Reconstruction era, and his decision closed off opportunities off African Americans. In 1913 Wilson attended to a reunion commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. It was the largest combined reunion of Civil War veterans ever held with over 50,000 Union and Confederate soldiers in attendance.
Reports of the carnage during the war are horrific. Between the death, wounds, amputations, disease, unsanitary conditions, inhumane prison camps and wartime atrocities, the war clearly must have had a haunting effect on those who witnessed it and lived it. In modern times, we acknowledge that those who saw combat in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan or other shooting wars, suffer adverse affects such as post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental disorders. When the Civil War was fought, there was no understanding of these things. Contemporaries viewed going off to war as noble, patriotic and "manly". Sure this could not have been the private feelings of those who had witnessed the worst the battlefield had to offer.
We will never know exactly how the horrors of war really affected Presidents like Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, James Garfield or Benjamin Harrison. Was it the stresses of war that contributed to Grant's drinking, or Harrison's icy personality? Or was it's influence more positive in the development of Grant's mantra "let us have peace" or Garfield's quest for free education for African-American children? Did some of these Republican presidents fight for the rights of African-Americans out of a sense of justice or a sense of vengeance? How were their private and family lives touched by the experience of being up close and personal with such a savage war? Did the war strengthen the character of these men, or injure their mental health? These are mysteries buried with their chief executives.
Slavery will forever remain a blight upon the history of the nation. No reasonable person can defend its existence. The war which was fought over its continuance was so tragic that it seems remarkable to suggest that there was any victory attained by anyone. Its consequences were both microscopic and macroscopic. Individuals, groups, states and the nation as a whole were changed, for better or worse.
Today when times change, when old ideas and notions resist the tide of history, perhaps leaders will look to the lessons learned from slavery and the struggles of African-Americans for equality, to see that it is unwise to stubbornly remain out of step with the evolution of civil rights. Or perhaps old habits will continue to die hard.