Chapter 17 President Grant (1869) Summary

Adams finds that Washington, D.C. is still dull and unformed, with no society to compare with the rest of the world; he manages to get by fairly well anyway. Adams writes finance articles for the Edinburgh Review in an attempt to get on the staff. He creates a scheme for the North American Review, which he calls Sessions, after a similar series of articles in England, to review American politics. By this point, with his family background and the connections he's made over the years, he has access in Washington and influence with the press, and so there is great potential for the project.

At this time, it seems that everyone is ready and waiting for Grant to take over: Grant is viewed much like a second George Washington, a general and man of action who will reorganize...