THE FEATURE DOCUMENTARY SHOWCASES GRANT, THE MAN RATHER THAN the legend. Within ten years, Grant's life takes a stunning turn from a father struggling to make a living to the general who won the Civil War. Grant would later become the 18th President of the United States.
It was his early years that defined Grant. He was a man with no money and no prospects. In 1859, at age 37, Grant made a choice to free his only slave rather than sell him for profit. Before anyone had heard of U.S. Grant, the man who would become a great general was already a man of courage and principle.
While other Union generals refused African-American soldiers, General Grant valued their contributions and accepted all he could. When many in both North and South turned away from African-American equality after the Civil War, President Grant kept fighting ¡ª as he did during the war. Grant accepted unconditional surrender when it came to civil rights and lobbied Congress to pass the 15th Amendment, forever giving African-Americans the right to vote.
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