The people of the United States were embittered against the Government of Great Britain, and had General Grant chosen to seek redress by arms he would have been sustained throughout the North with substantial unanimity.
Boutwell reflects on the public sentiment towards Great Britain during a tense period in U.S. history.
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General Grant was not indisposed to see the territories of the Republic extended, but his love of justice and fair dealing was such that he would have used only honorable means in his intercourse with other nations.
My object was to make the loan more negotiable in Europe and thus to extend the demand, and consequently, to increase the value of our securities.
The spirit of philanthropy animated his politics, and the doctrines of peace controlled his public policy.
That is the lesson the war has burned in on the brain and conscience of the Nation.
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