Ulysses S. Grant
Eighteenth President, 1869-1877
Campaign:
Ulysses S. Grant continued the American tradition of electing military figures as presidents—those men who led and won key battles in war.
Attempting to be apolitical, Grant campaigned on the complacency-signaling slogan “Let us have peace.”
Challenges:
As for all post-Civil War presidents, the dominant issues in governance at the time of Ulysses S. Grant’s tenure were related to the South and African-American civil rights.
Reconstruction needed major federal intervention to prevent states from allowing white supremacy to dominate their legislative agendas.
Attempting to curb the economy’s depression in 1873, Grant vetoed an inflation bill and established hard currency based on the gold standard.
Major Acts:
Beginning in 1870, Enforcement Acts protected the right to vote. One of these was the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, geared to counter the rise of white terrorist activity against blacks in the South.
Ulysses S. Grant was inconsistent in his policy supporting Reconstruction. He sent federal troops into South Carolina to protect African-Americans’ civil rights, but failed to send federal troops into Louisiana and other southern states when Reconstruction began to fail there.
The Peace Policy attempted to move Native Americans closer to white civilization (and ultimately U.S. citizenship) by housing them on reservations and helping them become farmers. Ultimately, this policy proved ineffective.
Legacy:
Ulysses S. Grant’s good intentions and integrity were undermined as his reputation became tarnished by corruption in his administration.
