Grant, “The Man Who Saved the Nation”
Any candidate pitted against Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) in 1868 struggled against Grant’s reputation as “the man who saved the nation,” as the song title states. Since a majority of voters would have been veterans of the Civil War, the engraving of Grant in uniform would be particularly compelling. The music publisher used the same cover for four songs (the titles appear below his portrait), thereby saving money and advertising other campaign compositions.
<p>Any candidate pitted against Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885) in 1868 struggled against Grant’s reputation as “the man who saved the nation,” as the song title states. Since a majority of voters would have been veterans of the Civil War, the engraving of Grant in uniform would be particularly compelling. The music publisher used the same cover for four songs (the titles appear below his portrait), thereby saving money and advertising other campaign compositions.</p>