Grant found himself in the middle of a seesaw, with the president pushing down on one end and Congress on the other. At the conclusion of the Civil War, he was committed to supporting the president’s authority as commander in chief. But in the intervening fourteen months, he slowly pivoted toward supporting the authority of Congress. As a soldier who had seen too much bloodshed, he longed for conciliation. As a person who grew from indifference about slavery to advocacy of African American rights, he stood for congressional measures that would give them protection. As general in chief, he was
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