Photo of Ulysses S. Grant Brought to Life Through the Process of Coloriz... EXCERPT from article on General Grant

[ ' Grant had begun his service with the intention of leaving the army as soon as possible, likely to teach mathematics.[5] Before the end of his term, however, the United States went to war with Mexico over disputes involving Texan independence.[6] Although he fought and distinguished himself in the war, Grant considered the Mexican War “one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation.”[7] He thought that the war “was an instance of a republic following the bad example of European monarchies, in not considering justice in their desire to acquire additional territory.”<[8] Grant even opined that the Civil War might have been divine retribution against the U.S. for the Mexican war, writing that “nations like individuals pay for their transgressions.”[9] As Grant notes, there was a link between this war and the rebellion that would soon divide the United States. “The occupation, separation and annexation [of Texas] were, from the inception of the movement to its final consummation, a conspiracy to acquire territory out of which slave states might be formed for the American Union.”[10] A number of other Americans, including Abraham Lincoln, shared Grant’s assessment.[11] His opinion of the justice or injustice of the first war in which he served, however, did not lead Grant to shirk his duty as an officer in the U.S. Army. ' ]