Around the World with Ulysses and Julia Grant

The 1877-79 post-presidential European tour of Ulysses and Julia Grant generated national and international excitement. Meeting with national leaders and rulers as well as attracting enormous crowds, the former president also interacted with individual citizens on the streets of Europe and Asia. Grant counseled the inexperienced young rulers of Portugal, Siam, and Japan; observed the performance and abilities of American diplomats stationed around the world; and became the first American to act as a trusted conciliator in a simmering territorial dispute between two countries. He acquired a world-centric knowledge base that he applied on his return to the United States to subjects ranging from the arbitration of international disputes and questions concerning Chinese immigration and exclusion to the selection and training of U.S. foreign service personnel.This book describes this illustrious couple's travel adventures and accomplishments--an often-overlooked aspect of the career of Ulysses S. Grant and his place in the pantheon of U.S. presidents.