Chapter 4:
Grant and Andrew Johnson—their original concord and the growth of a different feeling.
for a while after the death of Lincoln the relations between the new President and Grant were of the most cordial character. The only point of difference was in regard to the treatment of the South. At first the victorious General was far more inclined to leniency than Johnson. But by degrees the President's feeling became mitigated, and by the winter of 1865 he was already more disposed to be the political partisan of the Southerners than the ally of those who had elected him. He had conceived the idea that without the aid of Congress he could reconstruct the Union; and doubtless believed that by making extraordinary advances and offering extraordinary immunities to the South, he could build up a national party at both the North and the South of which he would necessarily be the head. The great popularity of Grant at this period made it important to win him over to the support of the enterprise.Grant was unused to the arts of placemen and politicians, and indeed unversed in any manoeuvres except those of the field. He still retained his magnanimous sentiment toward the conquered, and was at first in no way averse to what he supposed were the President's views. He protested against the harsh measures advised by many Northerners, and was far more in accord with Johnson than with Stanton.
