Summary

Chapter 6 is the beginning of Part II and describes the events leading to the Civil War. Still struggling to provide a modest standard of living for his family, Grant moved to Galena, IL to work in his family’s leather goods store. This provided a stable income, but was clearly not the type of work Gran enjoyed. In the Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President on the Republican nomination. Lincoln’s victory led many Southern states to secede from the Union and form the Confederacy, taking with them a significant number of military officers who felt strong loyalty to their home states. Like Lincoln, Grant was against slavery’s expansion, rather than a true abolitionist, but was extremely angry at the secessionists. Drawing on his military background, he helped to organize a company of volunteer soldiers in Galena. With the help of...