TIL one of the main reasons Robert E. Lee avoiding being hanged for treason was... Ulysses S. Grant telling Andrew Johnson not to do it.
Grant was “bitterly opposed” to the U.S. annexation of Texas, and viewed the Mexican-American War “as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.”
The American casualty ratio during the Mexican-American War was “slightly higher than Union losses in the Civil War, seven times greater than that of WWII, and twenty-four times that of Vietnam.”
Grant on the Confederates trying to break up the U.S.: “There are but two parties now, Traitors and Patriots and I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter.”
“In one of the most blatant examples of state-sponsored anti-Semitism in American history, Grant expelled all members of the Jewish faith from the Department of the Tennessee.”
Lincoln was incredibly lenient toward Confederate leadership upon surrender.
For the Confederate military: “Let them go, officers and all.” For the political leadership: “If Jefferson Davis and his colleagues escaped abroad, the president wouldn’t mind.”
More details on how Grant specifically intervened to prevent Robert E. Lee from going to trial to face punishment for treason—despite Andrew Johnson’s wishes:
1866: Grant “feared [Andrew] Johnson might be planning a coup d’état to prevent a Republican victory in November... Grant was sufficiently concerned about Johnson’s plans that he quietly ordered the removal of weapons and ammunition from federal arsenals in the South.”
Grant on Andrew Johnson’s impeachment, which Grant supported: “I would impeach him because he is such an infernal liar.”
Turns out the Dominican Republic was so eager in the late 1860s to become part of the U.S. that their government offered to... just unilaterally declare the country annexed to the U.S.:
During his first term, Grant pushed for the (eventual) creation of an Indian state—but the push fell apart due to demand for federal control, and pushback from railroads/white settlers:
Some of the means with which Grant and his admin crushed the KKK/deterred white rifle clubs: sending in federal troops, announcing proclamations of “insurrection,” issuing thousands of indictments.
With 1876 election results still disputed, *multiple* members of Grant’s cabinet—including the Sec. of War—lobbied for “immediate military intervention in Louisiana to secure a GOP victory.” (Grant declined.)
“Whether the deal concluded [to give the 1876 election to Hayes in return for white autocracy in the South] was necessary is open to doubt.”
Grant on a second potential American Civil War:
“I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon’s, but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition, and ignorance on the other.”
Amazing scene post-presidency, with Grant sitting down with Tsar Alexander II in St. Petersburg to discuss US-Russia relations and US-Plains Indians policy (cc @seansrussiablog)
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Spending decades ignoring Russian brutality against Alaska Natives is bad enough.
But overlooking the topic meant Americans missed an opportunity to understand more about Russian colonialism—and the outright imperialism still driving Russia. politico.com/news/magazine/…
Enslavement. Massacres. Hostage-taking and sexual violence—and clear signs of genocide. All in the name of stripping Alaska Natives of their wealth.
Russia’s conquest of Alaska was as colonial as it comes. And it was no better, or worse, than other European colonialism.
I'd forgotten that Jim Mattis was a military advisor to the UAE *before* he was appointed Defense Secretary—and never publicly disclosed that relationship.
'The most prominent American cheerleader of the Emirati armed forces is former defense secretary Jim Mattis... [Mattis] again extolled Sheikh Mohamed and downplayed concerns about human rights in the UAE' washingtonpost.com/investigations…
The UAE's operations in DC is one of the—maybe *the*—most successful foreign influence and infiltration operation of the past decade.
An adviser as defense secretary, and another Trump insider as an agent. Millions saturating think tanks and universities. An army of lobbyists.
We're starting to see the contours of how the Russian elite is going to pin this (ongoing, eventual) loss in Ukraine on Putin. (See: ft.com/content/800025…)
It is, to pick a term, bullshit. They were all fully on board with Russia's initial invasion, and moves to carve Ukraine.
The only reason gullible Westerners may buy this line—"It was Putin, it wasn't us!"—is because there's still a failure to recognize this invasion began not a year ago, but in 2014.
Russia's invasion began when troops rolled into southern Ukraine, and first stole Ukrainian land.
And guess what? The Kremlin's invasion was **insanely popular in Russia**. Putin's new social contract laid its cornerstone on this invasion (the "Crimean Consensus").
Beginning to carve up Ukraine was arguably the single most popular thing Putin ever did.
There are three major reasons Western views have shifted on Ukraine retaking Crimea:
1) Military necessity. So long as Russia retains Crimea, it will be a forward operating base for Russian troops to rest and resupply—a dagger aimed directly at the rest of Ukraine.
2) Economic reconstruction. So long as Russia retains Crimea, it can effectively suffocate a rebuilding Ukrainian economy—all while destabilizing Black Sea maritime security.
As @general_ben told me, “Crimea is decisive for this war.”
Between Navalny calling to respect Ukraine’s 1991 borders (Crimea!) and Khodorkovsky gesturing at potential independence for the North Caucasus, been one of the most interesting few days for Russian opposition in… some time.
All of these concerns about Putin being replaced by someone “more hawkish” are faintly ridiculous.
If Putin goes because of this war, it will come after rolling military defeats, accelerating economic stagnation, spiraling internal divisions, etc.
Any successor will be immediately inundated in domestic crises. Do people really think they’ll, what, invade NATO? Launch a nuke?
Western officials need to stop buying into Putin’s “apres moi, le deluge” framing.
And they need to stop worrying about—and stop calibrating—what effect arming Ukraine will have on Russia internally. Just do whatever it takes to evict Russia from every inch of Ukraine.