Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant

Main article: Ulysses S. Grant

Further information: Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration scandals and Grantism

Ulysses S. Grant
18th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1869 – March 4, 1877
Vice President	Schuyler Colfax (1869–1873) Henry Wilson (1873–1875) None (1875–1877)
Preceded by	Andrew Johnson
Succeeded by	Rutherford B. Hayes
Personal details
Born	Hiram Ulysses Grant (1822-04-27)April 27, 1822 Point Pleasant, Ohio
Died	July 23, 1885(1885-07-23) (aged 63) Mount McGregor, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Julia Dent Grant
Children	Jesse Grant, Ulysses S. Grant, Jr., Nellie Grant, Frederick Grant
Alma mater	United States Military Academy at West Point
Occupation	Soldier
Signature
Nickname	"Unconditional Surrender" Grant
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	Union Army United States Army
Years of service	1839–1854, 1861–1869
Rank	General of the Army of the United States

Ulysses S. Grant was elected the 18th President of the United States in 1868, and was re-elected to the office in 1872, serving from March 4, 1869, to March 4, 1877. Grant was a Republican, and his main supporters were the Radical and Stalwart Republican factions.

An examination of the Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant reveals a nation in the upheaval of an Industrial Revolution and regenerating from a tumultuous and costly Civil War. In 1867, the former Confederate States had been divided under Republican Reconstruction into five military districts each commanded by appointed military generals. Under the Republican Reconstruction plan the former Confederate states, in order to be brought back into the Union, had to adopt the 14th Amendment that allowed citizenship to African Americans. The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery or involuntary servitude throughout all of the United States, had previously been ratified in December 1865. Grant, as President, was determined that freed slaves, known as Freedmen, would be treated with equality and encouraged their participation in both state and national governments.

The next goal for the Republican "Radicals", as they were called, was the adoption of the 15th Amendment that indirectly gave voting rights to black men. Grant was highly in favor and advocated the passing of the 15th Amendment. By 1870, all of the remaining previous Confederate states Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, and Texas were brought into the Union with military pressure from the federal government under Grant and Republican controlled state legislatures. Reconstruction continued with the controversial state elections of 1872 and 1874, that brought on civil wars and revolts in both Louisiana and Arkansas legislative bodies. By 1876, South Carolina was in the midst of a White supremacist rebellion. Grant used either federal military force or presidential proclamations to put down these insurrections.

Grant, in his cabinet, relied heavily on former military associates, who would often betray his personal trust and reputation. Grant, as President, had low standards in his cabinet appointments, was often misguided by corrupt associates, and influenced by wealthy individuals such as Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, railroad barons and gold speculators. It was the age of the confidence man, hiding behind 19th century Victorian values while always seeking a fast way to make money. Grant had accepted gifts from favor hunters and wealthy men and took personal loans from Jay Cooke when his Northern Pacific Railroad was seeking federal subsidies. Grant's reputation was damaged by eleven scandals associated with his two terms as President.

Grant named to his cabinet leading reformers including Hamilton Fish, Benjamin Bristow, Alphonso Taft, and Amos T. Akerman. Fish, as Secretary of State, negotiated the Treaty of Washington and was successful at keeping the United States out of war with England, Spain, and Liberia. Bristow, as Secretary of Treasury, was able to stop the corruption of the Whiskey Ring where distillers and corrupt officials made millions off of tax evasion. Taft, a brilliant jurist as Attorney General successfully negotiated a 15 member bipartisan panel, to peacefully settle the controversial Election of 1876. Grant enforced civil rights legislation that protected African Americans, with military and judicial assistance handled by Attorney General Akerman. He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Economically, Grant favored an anti-inflationary policy with the resumption of Civil War bonds and paper money in gold. Grant was not against paper money, but urgently sought to reduce the inflationary value of currency. Grant put on Supreme court justices who protected the legitimacy of paper money known as greenbacks. Grant also reduced governmental spending, decreased the federal work force, and reduced the national debt, while tax revenues increased in the Treasury Department during his first term in office.

During Grant's second term in office, the Panic of 1873, caused by rampant railroad speculation, shook the nation's financial institutions. Banks failed and the credit market crashed. Grant's contraction of money supply during the height of railroad speculation contributed and worsened the effects of the panic. The ensuing depression that followed lasted for five years causing massive economic damage to the country. Grant's response to the panic was slow and heavily criticized. Wages were severely depressed.

With the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, the West was wide open to expansionism that sometimes was challenged by hostile Native Americans. Grant implemented an innovative peace policy with Native Americans, however, hostilities took place with the Modoc War, the Red River War, and the Great Sioux War that culminated with the famous Battle of Little Bighorn.

Presidency 1869–1877

Grant's Presidency has traditionally been viewed by historians as incompetent and full of corruption. An examination of his presidency reveals Grant had both successes and failures. Historians, have elevated Grant's presidential rating due to his support for African American civil rights and his concern for the plight of Native Americans. Grant leaned heavily toward the Radical camp and often sided with their Reconstruction policies, signing into law Force Acts to prosecute the Ku Klux Klan. Grant also has received praise for the Treaty of Washington, diplomatically settling the Alabama Claims rather than going to war with Great Britain. Economically Grant sided with Eastern bankers and signed the Public Credit Act that paid U.S. debts in gold specie.

For most of period from 1880 to the 1980s scholars denounced the Reconstruction policies followed by Grant. More recently Grant's support for and enforcement of African Americans civil rights has earned him praise from scholars. Although graft and corruption did exist in the Reconstruction state governments during the Grant presidency, along with huge debts to subsidize economic growth, many civil rights advancements were made for African Americans.

Grant was vigorous in his enforcement of the 14th and 15th amendments and prosecuted thousands of persons who violated African American civil rights. Grant used military force to put down racial and political insurrections in Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Notable accomplishments during Grant's two consecutive terms in office include the Treaty of Washington, the Resumption of Specie Act, and the Civil Rights Act of 1875.

Grant as President failed to establish and enforce cabinet rules and was unable to take proactive measures to lessen the effects of the Panic of 1873 and the economic depression that ensued. The depression, along with the increasingly unpopular Reconstruction program, caused the Democrats to gain a majority in the House of Representatives in 1875. Grant's Presidency was inundated with many scandals caused by low standards and carelessness with his political appointees and personal associates. These corrupt associates, often through flattery, used Grant as a shield against prosecutors and reformers.

Grant surrounded himself with people denounced by reformers as scoundrels, and he unwisely accepted gifts from rich friends who used their friendship for financial advantage. Senator Charles Sumner, the leader of civil rights forces in Congress, in 1872 compared Grant to the despotic Julius Caesar and labeled Grant's presidency as "one man and his personal will" and that the office of the President was treated no more than a "play thing and perquisite". One historian, Mary L. Hinsdale, described the Grant Administration as "a most extraordinary array of departures from the normal course", and a "military" rule, in close connection with a select Republican Senatorial group. In an unsuccessful effort to annex the island country of Santo Domingo, Grant completely bypassed the State Department, by sending his military associate Orville E. Babcock to produce the treaty. Also, Grant blatantly disregarded the public opinion of Attorney-General, Ebenezer R. Hoar, over the McGarrahan mining claim patents.

Public policies were a burden, at times perplexing, to Grant and he often delegated unprecedented authority to his cabinet members. With incompetence running rampant in the Administration, Grant relied more heavily on his most trusted appointment, the noble statesman, Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish. In 1874, Grant began a series of appointments that included reformers and qualified statesmen to his administration, starting with Benjamin Bristow who prosecuted the Whiskey Ring. With the departure of Orville E. Babcock and William W. Belknap from the White House in 1876, the Grant Administration finally took on a civilian rather than military style. In Grant's first Inaugural Address in 1869, he stated "The responsibilities of the position I feel".

Election of 1868

Main article: United States presidential election, 1868

Democrat Horatio Seymour, who was easily defeated by Grant in the election of 1868

There were two main divisive issues in 1868. The first was the continued Reconstruction of the South. The Democrats advocated amnesty to former Confederate soldiers in terms of holding elective offices, and the Republicans endorsed the 15th Amendment to the Constitution allowing African Americans to vote. The other controversial issue concerned the redemption of war bonds either in gold or paper money known as greenbacks. The Democrats favored to redeem the war bonds with $100,000,000 in greenbacks and the rest with gold. The greenbacks were known as "cheap money" and would be able to help farmers with long term debts. The Republicans wanted to pay the redemption of war bonds only with gold, a position attractive to investors and bankers.

Finding a popular hero who endorsed their Reconstruction policies, the Republicans nominated Grant and Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax. The Democrats, ignoring politically damaged President Andrew Johnson (who was a political independent) nominated Horatio Seymour, former governor of New York and Francis P. Blair from Missouri. Seymour was a wealthy conservative who came under GOP attack for weakness during the war and the favorite of the anti-war Copperheads. The campaigning was nasty, as the Republicans waved the "bloody shirt" of treason against the Democrats-as-Copperheads. Grant himself, never campaigned, with the exception of his slogan "Let us have peace," and his apology to Jewish voters for his 1863 General Order #11 that banned Jewish merchants from his zone during the Civil War because of alleged profiteering. Grant won with 52.7% percent of the popular vote, and a landslide in the Electoral College with 214 votes to Seymour's 80 votes. Grant was helped by the fact that six southern states were controlled by Radical Republicans who kept many ex-Confederates from voting.

First Term 1869-1873

Reconstruction

Further information: Reconstruction era of the United States

Frederick Douglas a civil rights activist supported Grant

African Americans for the first time were becoming active participants in American politics. Fourteen blacks were elected to Congress, six from South Carolina. In state government they were never governor but did become lieutenant governors or secretaries of state. They were opposed by white conservatives, calling themselves "Conservatives" or "Redeemers" In 1870, Grant reinstated black legislators who had been expelled from the Georgia legislature by establishing Army rule in the state.

Military districts

From 1867 to 1877 the former Confederacy was divided into five military districts supervised by generals appointed by the President. The generals were supposed to ensure that civil rights legislation passed by Congress would be enforced throughout these states included in the military districts. The appointments were crucial, since each general was obligated to follow the commands or standards set by the President. The following are the military districts that were set by the Act to provide for the more efficient Government of the Rebel States.

District One: Virginia

District Two: North Carolina and South Carolina.

District Three: Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.

District Four: Mississippi and Arkansas.

District Five: Louisiana and Texas.

Fifteenth amendment

Further information: Fifteenth Amendment

On March 30, 1870 the 15th Amendment was ratified guaranteeing that "no citizen can be denied the right to vote based upon race, color, or previous condition of servitude." On the same day Grant enthusiastically proclaimed, "a measure of grander importance than any other one act of the kind from the foundation of our free government to the present day." Previously Grant had urged David Bulter, governor of Nebraska, to convene their legislature at an earlier date before 1871 to ratify the Amendment. Grant considered the 15th Amendment, "of great national importance" and had an "earnest desire" to see it ratified.

Department of justice

See also: United States Department of Justice

In the Spring of 1870, Grant signed a bill into law passed by Congress that created the Department of Justice and to aid the Attorney General, the Office of Solicitor General. Grant appointed Amos T. Akerman as Attorney General and Benjamin H. Bristow as America's first Solicitor General. Both Akerman and Bristow used the Department of Justice to vigorously prosecute Ku Klux Klan members in the early 1870s. In the first few years of Grants first term in office there were 1000 indictments against Klan members with over 550 convictions from the Department of Justice. By 1871, there were 3000 indictments and 600 convictions, most only serving brief sentences while the ringleaders were imprisoned for up to five years in the federal penitentiary located in Albany, New York. The result was a dramatic decrease in violence in the South. Akerman gave credit to Grant and told a friend that no one was "better" or "stronger" then Grant when it came to prosecuting terrorists.

Force Act of 1870

Further information: Force Act of 1870

To add enforcement to the 15th Amendment Congress passed an act that guaranteed the protection of voting rights of African Americans. Grant signed the bill into law on May 31, 1870. This law was known as the Force Act of 1870 and designed to keep the Redeemers from attacking or threatening African Americans. This act placed severe penalties on persons who used intimidation, bribery, or physical assault to prevent citizens from voting, and put elections under Federal jurisdiction.

All states admitted

On July 15, 1870 Georgia was the last Confederate state readmitted into the Union. All members for the House of Representatives and Senate were seated from the 10 Confederate states who succeeded. Texas was readmitted into the Union on March, 30, 1870. Mississippi was readmitted into the Union on February 23, 1870. Virginia was readmitted into the Union on January 26, 1870. Technically, the United States was united once again.

Force Act of 1871

Force Act of 1871 was passed to allow prosecution of the Klan.]] This Force Act of 1871, also known as the "Ku Klux Klan Act", written by Representative Benjamin Butler, was passed by Congress to specifically go after local units of the Ku Klux Klan. Grant signed the bill into law on April 20, 1871. This law allowed the President to suspend habeas corpus on "armed combinations" and conspiracies by the Klan. The Act also empowered the president "to arrest and break up disguised night marauders".The actions of the Klan were defined as high crimes and acts of rebellion against the United States. This act allowed Grant to use force in 9 counties in South Carolina, make hundreds of arrests, and eventually caused the Klan units to dissolve.

The Ku Klux Klan comprised local secret organizations formed to violently oppose republican rule during Reconstruction; there was no organization above the local level. Wearing white hoods to hide their identity the Klan would violently attack and threaten Republicans. The Klan was strong in South Carolina between 1868 and 1870. South Carolina Governor Robert K. Scott, who was mired in corruption charges, allowed the Klan to rise to power. Grant who was fed up with their violent tactics, on October 12, 1871, under the authority of the Enforcement Acts ordered the Ku Klux Klan to disperse from South Carolina and lay down their arms. There was no response so on October 17, 1871, Grant issued a suspension of habeas corpus in all the 9 counties in South Carolina. Grant ordered federal troops in the state who then proceeded to capture and bring the Klan under vigorous prosecution. The Klan was essentially destroyed by 1872 for the next two years.

Amnesty Act of 1872

On May 23, 1872, in order to ease tensions, Grant signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 that gave amnesty to former Confederates. This act allowed most former Confederates, who before the war had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, to hold elected public office. Only 500 former Confederates remained unpardoned and therefore forbidden to hold elected public office.

Civil and human rights

Native American policy

Grant in his first Inaugural Address said, "The proper treatment of the original occupants of this land--the Indians one deserving of careful study. I will favor any course toward them which tends to their civilization and ultimate citizenship." He elevated their status as "the original occupants of this land". Grant's attempts to provide justice to Native Americans marked a radical reversal of what had long been the government's policy. "Wars of extermination... are demoralizing and wicked," he told Congress four years later in his second Inaugural Address on March 4, 1873. The president lobbied, though not always successfully, to preserve Native American lands from encroachment by the westward advance of pioneers. Grant's 1868 campaign slogan, "Let us have peace," defined his motivation and assured his success. In 1869, Grant also was the first President to appoint the first Native American, Ely S. Parker, as Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Indian appropriation act

After learning the Ely S. Parker, a Native American, was appointed Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Red Cloud, chief of the Oglala Sioux, wanted to meet President Grant. Red Cloud along with, Spotted Tail, chief of the Brulé Sioux, came to Washington D.C. by train and met with Parker and President Grant in 1870. Red Cloud informed Grant that Whites were trespassing on Native American lands and that his people needed food and clothing. Out of concern for Native Americans Grant ordered all Generals in the West to "keep intruders off by military force if necessary". To prevent Native American hostilities and wars, Grant also lobbied for and signed the Indians Appropriations Act of 1870-1871. This act ended the governmental policy of treating tribes as independent sovereign nations. Native Americans would be treated as individuals or "wards" of the state. Indian policies would no longer be done with treaties, but rather by Congressional statues.

Comstock Act

Strong anti-obscentity moralists led by the YMCA's Anthony Comstock easily secured passage of the Comstock Act in March 1873, making it a federal crime to mail articles "for any indecent or immoral use". Grant signed the bill after he was assured that Comstock would personally enforce it. Comstock went on to become a special agent of the Post Office appointed by Secretary James Cresswell. Comstock prosecuted pornographers, imprisoned abortionists, banned nude art, stopped the mailing of information about contraception, and tried to ban what he considered bad books.

West Point controversy

Further information: Frederick Dent Grant

Grant's record on civil rights was not perfect. Although Grant advocated that African Americans enter the West Point Academy, he failed in 1870 and 1871 to protect the first African American West Point Academy cadet, James Albert Smith, from racist hazing by other cadets. This lack of protection was influenced by Grant's son, Fred Grant, then a West Point cadet, who participated in the hazing against Smith.

Civil service reform

Grant was the first U.S. President to recommend a professional civil service, pushed the initial legislation through Congress, and appointed the members for the first Civil Service Commission. The temporary Commission recommended administering competitive exams and issuing regulations on the hiring and promotion of government employees. Grant put their recommendations in effect in 1872. However, Congress denied any long-term reform by refusing to enact the necessary legislation to make the changes permanent.

The movement for Civil Service reform reflected two distinct objectives: to eliminate the corruption and inefficiencies in a non professional bureaucracy, and to check the power of President Johnson. Although many reformers after the Election of 1868, looked to Grant to ram Civil Service legislation through Congress, he refused, saying :"Civil Service Reform rests entirely with Congress. If members will give up claiming patronage, that will be a step gained. But there is an immense amount of human nature in the members of Congress, and it is human nature to seek power and use it to help friends. You cannot call it corruption-it is a condition of our representative form of Government."

Grant used patronage to build his party and help his friends. He instinctively protected those whom he thought were the victims of injustice or attacks by Grant's enemies, even if they were guilty. Grant believed in loyalty with his friends, as one writer called it the "Chivalry of Friendship".

Economy

Public credit act

On taking office Grant's first move was signing the Act to Strengthen the Public Credit, which the Republican Congress had just passed. It ensured that all public debts, particularly war bonds, would be paid only in gold, rather than greenbacks. The act had the effect that the gold price on New York exchange fell to $130 per ounce, the lowest point since the suspension of specie payment in 1862.

Treasury Secretary George S. Boutwell reorganized the United States Treasury by discharging unnecessary employees, started sweeping changes in Bureau of Printing and Engraving to protect the currency from counterfeiters and revitalized tax collections to hasten the collection of revenue. These changes soon led the Treasury having a monthly surplus. By May 1869, Boutwell reduced the national debt by $12 million. By September the national debt was reduced by $50,000,000, which was achieved by selling the growing gold surplus at weekly auctions for greenbacks and buying back wartime bonds with the currency. The New York Tribune wanted the government to buy more bonds and greenbacks and the New York Times praised the Grant administration`s debt policy.

Tax revenues increased

The first two years of the Grant administration with George Boutwell at the Treasury helm expenditures had been reduced to $292 million in 1871, down from $322 million in 1869. The cost of collecting taxes fell to 3.11 percent in 1871. Grant reduced the number of employees working in the government by 2,248 persons from 6,052 on March 1, 1869 to 3,804 on December 1, 1871. In addition, Grant had increased tax revenues by $108 million from 1869 to 1872. During Grant's first administration the national debt fell from $2.5 billion to $2.2 billion

Foreign policies

Santo Domingo

In 1869, President Grant proposed to annex the independent largely black nation of Santo Domingo. Previously, in 1868, President Andrew Johnson had attempted to annex the Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo. However, the House of Representatives defeated two resolutions for the protection of the Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo and for the annexation of the Dominican Republic. In 1869, Grant sent Orville E. Babcock to negotiate a treaty. Babcock then negotiated a draft treaty with Buenaventura Báez, President of the Dominican Republic, for the annexation of Santo Domingo to the United States and the sale of Samaná Bay for $2,000,000. Secretary Fish drew up a final draft of the proposal and offered $1,500,000 to the Dominican national debt, the annexation of Santo Domingo as an American state, the United States would acquire the rights for Samaná Bay for 50 years with an annual $150,000 rental, and guaranteed protection from foreign intervention. Grant, however, made the mistakes of not informing Congress of the treaty or encouraging national acceptance and enthusiasm.

Not only did Grant believe that the island would be of use to the navy tactically, particularly Samaná Bay, but he sought to use it as a bargaining chip. By providing a safe haven for the freedmen, Grant believed that the exodus of black labor would force Southern whites to realize the necessity of such a significant workforce and accept their civil rights. Grant hoped that U.S. ownership of the island would urge nearby Cuba to abandon slavery. The Senate, however, refused to ratify the Fish treaty because of (Foreign Relations Committee Chairman) Senator Charles Sumner's strong opposition. Sumner was the leading spokesman for civil rights and he smelled a trap for blacks, claimed that the treaty interfered with the sovereign rights of Western nations. Sumner blocked annexation but Grant retaliated by helping depose Sumner from the chairmanship. In the 1872 election Sumner supported Horace Greeley and the Liberal Republicans.

Cuban insurrection

In 1869, Grant was urged by popular opinion to support rebels in Cuba with military assistance and give them U.S. diplomatic recognition. Grant and Fish instead attempted to use arbitration with Spain, with minister Daniel Sickles negotiating. Grant and Fish wanted Cuban independence and to end slavery without U.S. military intervention or occupation. Fish, diligently, against popular pressure, was able to keep Grant from officially recognizing Cuban independence because it would have endangered negotiations with Britain over the Alabama Claims.

The negotiations failed in Madrid, however, Grant and Fish did not succumb to popular pressure to go to war. On June 13, 1870, Grant and Fish, resisting strong pressure for U.S. military involvement in the Cuban rebellion sent a message to Congress, written by Fish and signed by Grant. The message urged strict neutrality not to officially recognize the Cuban revolt. War had been averted with Cuba and Spain.

Treaty of Washington

Possibly the greatest achievement of the Grant Administration was the Treaty of Washington in 1871 that settled the Alabama Claims. Grant’s able Secretary of State Hamilton Fish had orchestrated many of the events leading up to the treaty. Previously, Secretary of State William H. Seward during the Andrew Johnson administration first proposed an initial treaty in regards to damages done to American merchants by three Confederate war ships, CSS Florida, CSS Alabama, and CSS Shenandoah made under British jurisdiction. These ships had inflicted tremendous damage to U.S. merchant ships during the Civil War with the result that relations between Britain and the United States was severely strained. An initial treaty was negotiated on April 1868 at a convention between U.S. representative Reverdy Johnson and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom William Ewart Gladstone’s Foreign Secretary Lord Clarendon. Andrew Johnson requested the treaty be submitted the following year to the U.S. Senate.

Confederate warship CSS Alabama
Active service (1862-1864)

On April 1869, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly rejected the Johnson-Claredon convention treaty on the grounds that there were no adequate reparations for the damages done to American merchant ships and the British did not have to admit any fault in the CSS Alabama matter. Negotiations for a new treaty began in January 1871 when Britain sent Sir John Rose to America to meet with Fish. A joint high commission was created on February 1871 in Washington D.C., consisting of representatives from both the United Kingdom and the United States. The commission created a treaty where an international Tribunal would settle the damage amounts and the British admitted regret, not fault, over the destructive actions of the Confederate war cruisers. President Grant approved and on May 24, 1871, the Senate ratified the Treaty of Washington.

The Tribunal meeting took place in Geneva, Switzerland. The U.S. was represented by Charles Francis Adams, one of five international arbitrators, and was counseled by William M. Evarts, Caleb Cushing, and Morrison R. Waite. The British arbitrator was Alexander Cockburn counseled by Sir Roundell Palmer. The American and British agents were J.C. Bancroft Davis and Lord Tenterton, respectively. At the end of the arbitration, on September 9, 1871, the Tribunal awarded United States $15,500,000. Historian Amos Elwood Corning noted that the Treaty of Washington and arbitration “bequeathed to the world a priceless legacy”.

In addition to the $15,500,000 in gold arbitration award, the monumental treaty settled the following disputes with the United Kingdom and Canada:

• Ended immediate threat of war with the United Kingdom.
• Settled border dispute between U.S. and Canada.
• Settled disputes over fishing rights in the North Pacific.

Included in the treaty was the settling of a border dispute between the United States and Great Britain, arbitrated by Wilhelm I, Emperor of Germany. On October 21, 1872, the Emperor decided the official border between the United States and Canada, at that time a British confederation, ran down the middle of the Haro Channel. The border remains in effect today. The treaty triggered a movement for countries to seek alternatives to declaring war through arbitration and the codification of international law. These principles would be the motivating influences for further peace keeping institutions such as the Hague Conventions, the League of Nations, the World Court, and eventually the United Nations. The renowned scholar in international law, John Bassett Moorein, hailed the Treaty of Washington as "the greatest treaty of actual and immediate arbitration the world has ever seen."

Korean incident

Main article: United States expedition to Korea

USS Colorado transported troops in Roger's assault on the Korean forts.

A primary role of the United States Navy in the 19th century was to protect American commercial interests and open trade to Eastern markets, including Japan and China. Korea had totally excluded all foreign trade and the U.S. sought a treaty dealing with shipwrecked sailors after the crew of a stranded American commercial ship was killed. The long-term goal was the opening of Korea to the world the way Commodore Matthew Perry, in 1854, had opened Japan. On May 30, 1871 Rear Admiral John Rogers with a fleet of five ships, part of the Asiatic Squadron, arrived at the mouth of the Salee River, just below Seoul, Korea. The fleet included the USS Colorado, one of the largest ships in the Navy having 47 guns, 47 officers, and a 571 manned crew. While waiting for senior Korean officials to negotiate, Rogers sent ships out to make soundings of the Salee River, for navigational purposes.

The American fleet was fired upon by a Korean fort; there was little damage. Rogers gave the Korean government ten days to apologize or begin talks, but the Royal Court kept silent. After ten days passed, on June 10, Rogers began a series of amphibious assaults that destroyed 5 Korean forts. Several hundred Korean soldiers were killed, and three Americans. Korea still refused to negotiate, and the American fleet sailed away. The Koreans refer to this 1871 U.S. military action as Shinmiyangyo. President Grant defended Rogers in his third annual message to Congress in December, 1871. After a change in regimes in Seoul, in 1881 the U.S. did negotiate a treaty, the first treaty between Korea and a Western nation.

Scandals

Main article: Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration scandals

There were eleven scandals during Grants two terms as President of the United States. The main scandals included Black Friday in 1869 and the Whiskey Ring in 1875. The Crédit Mobilier is included as a Grant scandal; however, the origins actually began in 1864 during the Abraham Lincoln Administration and carried over into the Andrew Johnson Administration. The actual Crédit Mobilier scandal was exposed during the Grant Administration in 1872 as the result of political infighting between Congressman Oakes Ames and Congressman Henry S. McComb.

Although Grant had many successes during the first term as President in the economy, civil rights, and foreign policy, scandals associated with the administration were beginning to emerge publicly. Grant's inability to establish personal accountability among his subordinates and cabinet members created an environment rife for scandals. His appointments of personal military friends or campaign contributors opened opportunities for corruption. Although Grant himself was not directly responsible for and did not profit from the corruption among subordinates, he was reluctant to believe friends could commit criminal activities. As a result, he failed to take any direct action and rarely reacted strongly after their guilt was established. Grant also protected close friends with Presidential power and pardoned persons who were convicted in the Whiskey Ring scandal after serving a few months in prison.

Grant's single-minded temperament would often lead to vigorous counter attacks when critics complained, being very protective and defensive of his subordinates. Grant was weak in his selection of subordinates, many times favoring military associates from the war over talented and experienced politicians. He alienated party leaders by giving many posts to his friends and political contributors rather than supporting the party's needs. His failure to establish working political alliances in Congress allowed the scandals to spin out of control. At the conclusion of his second term, Grant wrote to Congress that "Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent." Nepotism was rampant. Around 40 family relatives financially prospered while Grant was President.

Black Friday

Further information: Black Friday (1869)

September 1869: Financial manipulators Jay Gould and Jim Fisk set up an elaborate scam to corner the gold market through buying up all the gold at the same time driving up the price. The plan was to keep the Government from selling gold, thus driving up the price of gold. President Grant and Secretary of Treasury George S. Boutwell found out about the gold market speculation and ordered the sale of $4,000,000 in gold on (Black) Friday, September 23. Gould and Fisk were thwarted and the price of gold dropped. However, the effects of releasing the gold by Boutwell were disastrous. Stock prices plunged and food prices dropped devastating farmers for years.

Emma silver mine

October 1871: American Ambassador to England, Robert C. Schenck, appointed by Grant, was bribed into using his name to float the sale of stocks in Utah's depleted Emma Silver Mine. The result was that many misguided English speculators invested millions of pounds in a worthless mine. Senator William M. Stewart, Nevada, was also involved in the international debacle. In November 1871, Secretary of State Hamilton Fish and Grant discovered the indiscretion and advised Schenck to take his name off the company directors. Schenck took his name of the director's list in December, 1871, however, he delayed announcing this publically to the British investors until January, 1872. The scandal was exposed by the House Judiciary Committee in March, 1876.

Crédit Mobilier

Further information: Crédit Mobilier of America scandal

September 1872: Congressman Oakes Ames opened his financial notes and exposed the congressmen whom he had bribed with money or stocks in the Crédit Mobilier construction company, established 1864, for the Union Pacific. Congressman Ames was also chairman of the Crédit Mobilier company. The actual bribing and stock trades had been done in 1868. Vice President Schuyler Colfax, then Speaker of the House, was one of the many congressmen named, had received stocks from Ames and as a result had to be dropped from the 1872 presidential ticket. Grant's replacement for Vice President, Henry Wilson, was also on the Ames list. Wilson returned the Crédit Mobiler stock he bought in his wife's name and was later exonerated by a House investigating committee. The Crédit Mobilier was also a front company for the Union Pacific that made $43,929,328.34 through fraudulent railroad stock speculations and exorbitant Government construction contracts.

Election of 1872

See also: United States presidential election, 1872

Liberal Republican candidate, Horace Greeley

Grant remained popular throughout the nation despite the scandals evident during his first term in office. Grant had supported a patronage system that allowed Republicans to infiltrate and control state governments. In response to President Grant's federal patronage, in 1870, Senator Carl Schurz from Missouri, a German immigrant and Civil War hero, started a second party known as the Liberal Republicans, who advocated civil service reform, a low tariff, and amnesty to former Confederate soldiers. The Liberal Republicans, in 1870, successfully ran B.G. Brown for the governorship of Missouri and won, with Democrat support. Then in 1872, the party completely split from the Republican party and nominated Horace Greeley, editor of the New York Tribune, as candidate for Presidency. The Democrats, who at this time had no strong candidate choice of their own, reluctantly adopted Greeley as their candidate with Governor B.G. Brown as his running mate.

The Republicans who were content with their Reconstruction program for the South renominated Grant and Representative Henry Wilson in 1872. Grant had remained a popular Civil War hero and the Republicans continued to wave the "bloody shirt" as a patriotic symbol representing the North. The Republicans were in favor of high tariffs and a continuation of Radical Reconstruction policies that supported five military districts in the Southern states. Grant was also in favor of amnesty to former Confederate soldiers just as the Liberal Republicans were. Due to political infighting between Liberal Republicans and Democrats, the physically ailing Greeley was no match for the Hero of Appomattox and lost dismally in the popular vote. Grant swept 286 Electoral College votes while other minor candidates only received 63 votes. Grant won 55.8 percent of the popular vote between Greeley and the other minor candidates. Heartbroken, after a hard fought political campaign, Greeley died a few weeks after the election and only was able to receive 3 electoral votes. Grant, out of respect for Greeley, attended his funeral.

Second Term 1873-1877

Reconstruction

Further information: Reconstruction era of the United States

Wade Hampton III, former Confederate officer, was supported by the terrorist group, the Red Shirts, in the 1876 Governor's election in South Carolina.

Conservative resistance to Republican state governments grew after the 1872 elections. With the destruction of the Klan in 1872, new secret paramilitary organizations arose in the Deep South. The Red Shirts and White League, in Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Louisiana, operated openly and were better organized than the Ku Klux Klan had been. The goal was to oust the Republicans, return Conservative whites to power, and use whatever illegal methods were needed to achieve these goals. Grant, loyal to his veterans, remained determined that African Americans would receive protection.

Louisiana White League units in 1874 to terrorized black Republicans

Colfax Massacre

Main article: Colfax Massacre

After the November 4, 1872 election, Louisiana was a split state. In a controversial election two candidates were claiming victory as governor. Violence was used to intimidate black Republicans. The fusionist party of Liberal Republicans and Democrats claimed John McHenry was governor, while the Republicans claimed U.S. Senator William P. Kellogg was the victor. Two months later each candidate was sworn in as governor on January 13, 1863. A federal judge ordered that Kellogg was the rightful winner of the election and ordered him and the Republican based majority to be seated. The White League supported McHenry and prepared to use military force to remove Kellogg from office. Grant ordered troops to enforce the court order and protect Kellogg. On March 4, Federal troops under a flag of truce and Kellogg's state militia defeated an insurrection by McHenry's fusionist party.

A dispute arose over who would be installed as judge and sheriff at the Colfax courthouse in Grant Parish, Louisiana Kellogg's two appointments had seized control of the Court House on March 25 with aid and protection of Black state militia troops. Then on April 13, White League forces attacked the courthouse and massacred 50 black militiamen who had been captured. A total of 105 blacks were killed in their attempt to defend the Colfax courthouse for Governor Kellogg. On April 21, Grant sent in the U.S. Nineteenth Infantry Regiment to restore order. On May 22 Grant issued a new proclamation to restore order in Louisiana. On May 31, McHenry finally told his followers to obey "peremptory orders" of the President. The orders brought a brief peace to New Orleans and most of Louisiana, ironically, except Grant Parish.

The Brooks-Baxter war in Arkansas

Main article: Brooks–Baxter War

In the fall of 1872 two candidates ran for the office of governor of Arkansas, Elisha Baxter, a Republican, and Joseph Brooks, a fusionist candidate for the disenfranchised Democratic and independent Republican party members. In an election that was embedded with fraud and corruption, after the votes came in and were counted, Baxter had the majority and was elected as governor. Baxter then went on to set up his administration. Brooks failed in attempts to have a U.S. circuit court and the Arkansas legislature to overturn the election. On June 16, 1873, Brooks brought a suit in a Pulaski County circuit court for the governorship of Arkansas, claiming that Baxter won the election by fraud. Almost a year had passed when on April 14, 1874, the circuit judge on the Pulaski County district court, without precedent, ruled that Brooks was officially the governor, without giving any notice to Governor Baxter, and award him $2,000 in damages. Inexplicably, Brooks was then sworn in to the governorship by the circuit judge. Some Republicans bolted to support Brooks because Baxter did not sign a bill that would authorize $2,000,000 in state bonds.

A civil war broke out when Brooks with an armed militia took over the State house and Baxter was forced to flee. On April 15, Baxter wrote an urgent letter to President Grant requesting federal assistance. Fighting, riots, and battles in the streets of Little Rock ensued. Federal military troops, under the command of Col. Thomas E. Rose, were used to keep law and order, but were unable to stop the Brook's revolt. The African American community was divided, some fighting for Brooks and some for Baxter. Over 600 African Americans chose to fight for Brooks, who was an outspoken civil rights activist. Riots soon followed, all the stores closed, and Little Rock was divided into military camps. Grant, although having sympathy for Brooks, was ensured that Baxter was the legally elected governor of Arkansas. On April 22, Grant wrote to Baxter that "all the assistance and protection" allowed by the U.S. Constitution would be given him. This brought needed relief to the people of Arkansas. However the rioting continued, until on May 15, 1873, Grant gave a final proclamation giving Brooks 10 days to step down. Without federal support, Brooks surrendered and Governor Baxter was reinstated.

Vicksburg riots

In August 1874, the Vicksburg city government elected a White reform party consisting of Republicans and Democrats. This was done initially to lower city spending and taxes. However, the reform movement turned racist when the new White city officials went after the county government comprised with a majority of African Americans. Rather than using legal means, the White League threatened the life and expelled Crosby, the black county sheriff and tax collector. Crosby then went to Governor Adelbert Ames to seek help to regain his position as sheriff. Governor Ames told him to take other African Americans and use force to retain his lawful position as Sheriff of Warren County. At that time Vicksburg had a population of 12,443, over half of whom were African American.

On December 7, 1874 Crosby and an African American militia approached the city. Crosby had declared the Whites were, "ruffians, barbarians, and political banditti." A series of battles occurred that resulted in 29 African Americans and 2 Whites killed. The White militia retained control of the Court House and jail. On December 21, 1874 President Grant gave a Presidential Proclamation for the people in Vicksburg to stop fighting. Philip Sheridan in Louisana dispatched troops who reinstated Crosby as sheriff and restored the peace. Governor Ames when questioned about the matter denied he had told Crosby to use African American militia. On June 7, 1875 Crosby, was shot to death by a White deputy while drinking in a bar. The origins for the shooting remained a mystery.

Louisiana revolt and coups

Former Confederate General James A. Longstreet

In September 14, 1874 the White League and Democratic militia took control of the state house at New Orleans and the Republican Governor William P. Kellogg was forced to flee. Former Confederate General James A. Longstreet with 3,000 African American militia and 400 Metropolitan police made a counter attack on the 8,000 White League troops. The experienced White league troops, consisting of former Confederate soldiers, were able to route Longstreet's army. On September 17, Federal troops were sent in authorized by Grant and restored the government back to Kellogg. During the controversial election that followed in November, passions rose high and violence mixed with fraud were rampant. The state of affairs in New Orleans was becoming out of control. The results were that 53 Republicans and 53 Democrats were elected with 5 remaining seats to be decided by the legislature.

Grant had been careful to watch the elections and secretly sent Phil Sheridan in to keep law and order in the state. Sheridan had arrived in New Orleans a few days before the January 4, 1875 legislature opening meeting. At the actual convention the Democrats again with military force took control of the state building out of the hands of Republicans. Initially the Democrats were protected by federal troops under Colonel Philip Régis de Trobriand and the escaped Republicans were removed from the hallways of the state building. However, Governor Kellogg, then requested that Trobriand reseat the Republicans. Trobriand returned to the State house and used bayonets to force the Democrats out of the building. The Republicans then organized their own house with their own speakers all being protected by the Federal Army. Sheridan, who had annexed the Department of the Gulf to his command at 9:00 P.M., claimed that the federal troops were being neutral since they had also protected the Democrats earlier.

South Carolina 1876

Further information: South Carolina gubernatorial election, 1876

During the election year of 1876, South Carolina was in a state of rebellion against Republican governor Daniel H. Chamberlain. Conservatives were determined to win the election for Wade Hampton, an ex-confederate, through violence and intimidation. The Republicans went on to nominate Chamberlain for a second term. Hampton supporters, donning red shirts, disrupted Republican meetings with gun shootings and yelling. Tensions became violent on July 8, when five African Americans were murdered at Hamburg. The rifle clubs wearing their Red Shirts were better armed then the blacks. South Carolina was ruled by "mobocracy and bloodshed" rather than Chamberlain's government.

Black militia did fight back in Charleston on September 6 in what was known as the "King Street riot". The white militia assumed defensive positions out of concern over possible federal troop intervention. However, on September 19, the Red Shirts took offensive action by openly killing 30 to 50 African Americans outside of Ellenton. During the massacre, Simon Coker, a state representative was killed. On October 7 Governor Chamberlain declared martial law and told all the "rifle club" members to put down their weapons. Wade Hampton in the meantime never ceased to remind Chamberlain that he did not rule South Carolina. Chamberlain, out of desperation, wrote to President Grant asking for federal intervention. The "Cainhoy riot" took place on October 15 when Republicans held a rally at "Brick Church" outside of Cainhoy. Blacks and whites both opened fire; six whites and one black were killed. Grant, upset over the Ellenton and Cainhoy riots, finally declared a Presidential Proclamation on October 17, 1876 ordered all persons, within 3 days, to cease their lawless activities and disperse to their homes. A total of 1,144 federal infantry were sent into South Carolina and the violence stopped; election day was quiet. Both Hampton and Chamberlain claimed victory, and for a while both acted as governor, but Hampton took the office after President Hayes in 1877 withdrew federal troops and Chamberlain left the state.

Civil and human rights

Modoc War

Further information: Modoc War

In January 1873, Grant's Native American peace policy was challenged. Two weeks after Grant was elected for a second term, fighting broke out between the Modocs and settlers in the Tule Lake region on the California-Oregon border. The Modocs led by Captain Jack consisted of sixty to seventy families were unable to libve at peace with the nearby Klamath tribe in south east Oregon. They decided to move back to their original territory at Tule Lake that resulted in fighting between settlers and the Modocs. The Modocs killed 18 white settlers, then found a strong defensive position in the lava beds near Tule Lake. Grant ordered General Sherman not to attack the Indians, but settle matters peacefully with a conference. Sherman then sent Major General Edward Canby on January 31, 1873 to start peace negotions with Captain Jack to settle for a new reservation and make "amicable arrangements".

On April 11, Captain Jack killed two members of the peace party, including General Canby and Reverend Eleazer Thomas. The murders shocked the nation and Sherman wired to have the Modocs exterminated. However, Grant who did not want willful revenge, interceded, more troops were brought in and Captain Jack and the five tribal conspirators who committed the murders were arrested. Captain Jack and the other five tribal warriors were put on trial at Fort Klamath, convicted for the murders and sentenced to hang. Grant commuted two of the tribal members, however, Captain Jack and three others were hanged on October, 3 1873. The remainder of the tribe was sent to the Quapaw Agency in the Indian Territory. Although many newspapers derided Grant's humanitarian peace policy, Grant, in this held firm and could not be moved.

Civil rights act of 1875

Further information: Civil Rights Act of 1875

Grant throughout his Presidency was continually concerned with the civil rights of all Americans. Grant signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 that allowed citizens access to public eating establishments, hotels, and places of entertainment. This was done particularly to protect African Americans who were discriminated throughout all of the United States. The bill was also passed in honor of Senator Charles Sumner who had previously attempted to pass a civil rights bill in 1872.

Panic of 1873

See also: Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 was world wide deppression that started when the stock market in Vienna, Austria crashed, in June 1873. Unsettling markets soon spread to Berlin, and throughout Europe. The panic eventually reached New York when two banks went broke, the New York Warehouse & Security Company on September 18, and the major railroad financier Jay Cooke & Company on September 19. The ensuing depression lasted 5 years, ruined thousands of businesses, depressed daily wages by 25% from 1873 to 1876, and brought the unemployment rate up to 14%. It would take decades before wages would rise to pre-1873 levels. In Boston, soup line kitchens run by Overseers of the Poor doubled in overcrowded city tenements.

The causes of the panic in the United States included the destruction of credit due to over speculation in the stock markets and railroad industry. Eight years of unprecedented growth after the Civil War, had brought thousands of miles of railroad construction, thousands of industrial factories, and a strong stock market. Even the South experienced a boom in agriculture. However, all of this growth was done on borrowed money by many banks in the United States having over speculated in the Railroad industry by as much as $20,000,000. A stringent monetary policy under Secretary of Treasury, George S. Boutwell, during the height of the railroad speculations contributed to unsettled markets. Boutwell created monetary stringency by selling more gold then he bought bonds. The Coinage Act of 1873 made gold the de facto currency metal over silver.

On Saturday, September 20, 1873 the Grant Administration finally responded. Grant’s Secretary of Treasury William A. Richardson, Boutwell's replacement, bought $2,500,000 of five-twenty bonds with gold. On Monday, September 22, Richardson bought $3,000,000 of bonds with legal tender notes or greenbacks and purchased $5,500,000 in legal tender certificates. From September 24 to September 25 the Treasury department bought $24,000,000 of bonds and certificates with greenbacks. On September 29 the Secretary prepaid the interest on $12,000,000 bonds bought from security banks. From October, 1873 to January 4, 1874 Richardson kept liquidating bonds until a total of $26,000,000 greenback reserves were issued in order to make up for lost revenue in the Treasury. These actions did help curb the effects of the general panic by allowing more currency into the commercial banks, allowing more money to be loaned and spent. Historians have blamed the Grant administration for not responding to the crisis promptly and not taking adequate measures to reduce the negative effects of the general panic. The monetary policies of both Secretary Boutwell and Richardson were inconsistent from 1872 to 1873. The government’s ultimate failure was in not reestablishing confidence in the businesses that had been the source of distrust. The Panic of 1873 eventually ran its own course in spite of all the limited efforts from the government.

Economy

Vetoes inflation bill

Political cartoon by Thomas Nast: Grant congratulated for vetoing the "inflation bill" on April 22, 1874

The rapidly accelerated industrial growth in post Civil War America and throughout the world came to a colossal crash with the Panic of 1873. Many banks over extended their loans and as a result went bankrupt causing a general panic throughout the nation. Secretary of Treasury William A. Richardson, in an attempt put capital into a stringent monetary economy, released $26,000,000 greenbacks. Congress, in 1874, debated the inflationary policy to stimulate the economy and passed the Inflation Bill of 1874 that would release an additional $18,000,000 greenbacks. Many farmers and working men in the South West were anticipating Grant to sign the bill in order to get the needed greenbacks to continue business. Eastern bankers favored a veto because their reliance on bonds and foreign investors. On April 22, 1874 Grant unexpectedly vetoed the bill, against the popular strategy of the Republican Party, on the grounds that it would destroy the credit of the nation. Initially Grant had favored the bill, but decided to veto after evaluating his own reasons for wanting to pass the bill. Although Grant vetoed the bill on strong economic grounds, it may have created the needed economic confidence in the South West.

Resumption of specie act

On January 14, 1875 Ulysses S. Grant signed the Resumption of Specie Act, and could not have been happier. He even wrote a note to Congress congratulating members on the passage of the act. The legislation was drafted by Ohio Republican Senator John Sherman. This act provided that paper money in circulation would be exchanged for gold specie and silver coins and would be effective on January 1, 1879. The act also implemented that gradual steps would be taken to reduce that amount of greenbacks or paper money in circulation. At that time there were "paper coin" currency worth less than $1.00 and these would be exchanged for silver coins. The effect in essence was to stabilize the currency making the consumers money as "good as gold". In an age when there was no Federal Reserve system to control inflation, this act stabilized the economy. Grant considered it the hallmark of his Administration.

Foreign Policy

Emilio Castelar, Spanish Republic President
(1873-1874)

On October 31, 1873, a steamer, Virginius, flying the American flag, carried war materials and men to aid the Cuban insurrection (in violation of Americfan and Spanish law) was intercepted and taken to Cuba. After a hasty trial the local Spanish officials executed 53 of would-be insurgents, of whom eight were United States citizens. Orders from Madrid to hold up arrived too late. War scares erupted in both the U.S. and Spain, heightened by the bellicose dispatches of the American minister in Madrid, retired general Daniel Sickles. Secretary of State Fish kept a cool demeanor in the crisis. discovering there was a question over whether Virginius had the right to bear the United States flag. The Spanish Rupublic's President, Emilio Castelar, expressed profound regret for the tragedy and was willing to make reparations through arbitration. Fish negotiated reparations with the Spanish minister Senor Poly y Bernabe. With Grant's approval Spain was to surrender Virginius, pay an indemnity to the surviving families of the Americans executed, and salute the American flag, and the episode ended quietly.

The U.S. settled the Liberian-Grebo civil war in 1876 by dispatching the USS Alaska to Liberia, where US envoy James Milton Turner, negotiated the incorporation of Grebo people into Liberian society and the ousting of foreign traders from Liberia.

Scandal cabinet and appointees

Main article: Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration scandals

The most infamous of Grant's cabinet or other presidential appointees who were involved in scandals or criminal activity:

• Daniel Butterfield, Assistant Secretary of Treasury – (Black Friday- 1869)
• Robert C. Schenck, Ambassador to England - (Emma Silver Mine - 1871)
• Schuyler Colfax, Vice President - (Crédit Mobilier-1872)
• Henry Wilson, Vice President - (Crédit Mobilier-1872)
• William A. Richardson, Secretary of Treasury – (Sanborn Contracts- 1874)
• George H. Williams, Attorney General - (Pratt & Boyd- 1875)
• Columbus Delano, Secretary of Interior - (Bogus Agents - 1875)
• Orville E. Babcock, Private Secretary – (Black Friday - 1869) (Whiskey Ring – 1875) (Safe Burglary Conspiracy - 1876)
• John McDonald, Internal Revenue Supervisor, St. Louis – (Whiskey Ring– 1875)
• Horace Porter, Private Secretary - (Whiskey Ring - 1875)
• William W. Belknap, Secretary of War – (Trading Post Ring- 1876)
• George M. Robeson, Secretary of Treasury – (Naval Department Ring- 1876)

The corruption scandals continued to be exposed during President Grant's second term in office. The Democrats along with the Liberal Republicans had gained control of the House of Representatives and held many Committee meetings to stop political graft. The main scandal was the Whiskey Ring where the investigation went up to Grant himself.

In a rare case of preemptive reforming during the Grant Administration, Brevet Major General Alfred Pleasonton, was dismissed for being unqualified to hold the position of Commissioner of Internal Revenue. In 1870, Pleasonton, a Grant appointment, approved an unauthorized $60,000 tax refund and was associated with an alleged unscrupulous Connecticut firm. Treasury Secretary George Boutwell promptly stopped the $60,000 refund and personally informed Grant that Pleasonton was incompetent to hold office. Refusing to resign on Boutwell's request, Pleasonton protested openly before Congress. President Grant removed Pleasonton before any potential scandal broke out.

Sanborn contracts

Further information: Sanborn incident

June 1874: Treasury Secretary William A. Richardson gave private contracts to one John D. Sanborn who in turn collected illegally withheld taxes for fees at inflated commissions. The profits from the commissions were allegedly split with Richardson and Senator Benjamin Butler, while Sanborn claimed these payments were "expenses". Senator Butler had written a loophole in the law that allowed Sanborn to collect the commissions. Sanborn, however, would not reveal whom he split the profits with.

Pratt & Boyd

April 1875: It was discovered that Attorney General George H. Williams received a bribe through a $30,000 gift to his wife from a Merchant house company, Pratt & Boyd, in order to drop the case for fraudulent customhouse entries. Williams was forced to resign by Grant in 1875.

Whiskey ring

Further information: Whiskey Ring

May 1875: Secretary of Treasury Benjamin H. Bristow discovered that millions of dollars of taxes were being funneled into an illegal ring from Whiskey manufactures. Prosecutions ensued and many were put in prison. Grant’s private Secretary Orville E. Babcock was indicted and later acquitted in trial. The Whiskey Ring was organized through out the United States and by 1875 it was a fully operating criminal association. The investigation and closure of the Whiskey Ring resulted in 230 indictments, 110 convictions, and $3,000,000 in tax revenues were returned to the Treasury Department. During the prosecution of the Whiskey Ring leaders, Grant testified on behalf of his friend Babcock. The result was that Babcock was acquitted, however, the deposition by Grant was a great embarrassment to Grant's reputation.

Bogus agents

October 1875: The Secretary of Interior Columbus Delano, discovered to have taken bribes in order to secure fraudulent land grants, resigned from office on October 15, 1875. Fraud was rampant in the Patent Office. Fictitious clerks were earning money and other clerks were earning money without performing services. In the Department of Indian Affairs bogus agents known as "Indian Attorneys" were paid $8.00 a day plus expenses by the Native American tribes for sham representation in Washington. Grant's reforming replacement Secretary of Interior Zachariah Chandler in 1875 fired clerks in both the Patent Office and Department of Indian Affairs and also banned "Indian Attorneys" from Washington D.C.

Trading post ring

March 1876: It was discovered under House investigations that Secretary of War William W. Belknap was taking extortion money in exchange for allowing a trading post agent to remain in position at Fort Sill. Belknap was allowed to resign by President Grant and as a result was acquitted in a Senate impeachment trial .

Cattellism

March 1876: The main charge against Robeson was giving lucrative contracts to a Alexander Cattell & Company, a grain supplier, in return for real estate, loans, and payment of debts. A House investigating committee discovered the Secretary of Navy George M. Robeson had allegedly embezzled $15,000,000 in naval construction appropriations. The House Investigation committee admonished Robeson and claimed he had set up a corrupt contracting system known as "Cattellism".

Safe burglary conspiracy

September 1876: Babcock was indicted in a Safe Burglary Conspiracy case when corrupt Washington contractors attempted to frame Columbus Alexander, who had participated in their prosecution, by breaking into a safe and delivering evidence to his house. Babcock was acquitted.

Reforming cabinet members

Grant's cabinet fluctuated between reformers and those involved with political patronage or party corruption. Some notable reforming cabinet members were persons who had outstanding abilities and made many positive contributions to the administration. These members did not abide by or endorse the widespread practice of political or party patronage.

Hamilton Fish

Hamilton Fish
U.S. Secretary of State
(1869-1877)

See also: Hamilton Fish

Hamilton Fish was not seeking any office when his name was presented to the Senate for confirmation and even declined Grant’s offer to serve as United States Secretary of State. Grant, however, insisted that Fish be in his cabinet and had his name placed before the Senate where he was confirmed on March 17, 1869. According to Amos Elwood Corning in 1919, Fish's biographer, Fish was known as "a gentleman of wide experience, in whom the capacities of the organizer were happily united with a well balanced judgment and broad culture." After the confirmation Fish went immediately to work and collected, classified, indexed, and bound seven hundred volumes of correspondence of a malicious nature. He established a new indexing system that simplified retrieving information by clerks. Fish also created a rule that applicants for consulate had to take an official written examination in order to get an appointment. Previously, applicants were given positions on a patronage system solely on the recommendations of Congressmen and Senators. This raised the tone and efficiency of the consular service and if a Congressman or Senator objected, Fish could show them that the applicant did not pass the written test.

George S. Boutwell

See also: George S. Boutwell

George S. Boutwell
Secretary of Treasury
(1869-1873)

Another reforming cabinet member was United States Secretary of Treasury George S. Boutwell who was confirmed by the Senate on March 12, 1869. His first actions was to dismiss S.M. Clark, the chief of U.S. Bureau and Engraving, and set up a system of securing the plates that the paper money was printed on to prevent counterfeiting. Boutwell also set up a system to monitor the manufacturing of money to ensure nothing would be stolen. Boutwell prevented collusion in the printing of money by preparing sets of plates for a single printing, with the red seal being imprinted in the Treasury Bureau. It was also Boutwell who convinced Grant to have Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Alfred Pleasanton, removed for misconduct over approving a $600,000 tax refund. In addition to these measures Boutwell established a uniform mode of accounting at custom houses and ports.

Benjamin H. Bristow

Further information: Benjamin H. Bristow and Whiskey Ring

Benjamin H. Bristow
Secretary of Treasury
(1874-1876)

Perhaps Grant's most popular cabinet reformer, Benjamin H. Bristow was appointed Secretary of Treasury in June 1874. Bristow had served ably as Solicitor General of the United States from 1870 to 1872 prosecuting many Ku Klux Klan's men who violated African American voting rights. Immediately when Bristow assumed office he made an aggressive attack on corruption in the department. Bristow discovered that the Treasury was not receiving the full amount of tax revenue from whiskey distillers and manufactures from a number of cities out West, primarily in St. Louis, Missouri. Bristow discovered that the Government in 1874 alone was being defrauded by $1,200,000. In May 13, 1875, armed with enough information, Bristow struck hard at the ring, seized the distilleries, and made hundreds of arrests. The Whiskey Ring ceased to exist. At the end of the Whiskey Ring prosecutions in 1876 there were a total of 230 indictments, 110 convictions, and $3,000,000 in tax revenues were returned to the Treasury Department.

Zachariah Chandler

Further information: Zachariah Chandler

Zachariah Chandler
Secretary of Interior
(1875-1877)

In 1875, the U.S. Department of Interior was in serious disrepair with corruption and incompetence. The result was that United States Secretary of Interior Columbus Delano, having taken bribes in order to secure fraudulent land grants, was forced to resign from office on October 15, 1875. In a personal effort of reform Grant appointed Zachariah Chandler on October 19, 1875 to the position and he was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior by the Senate in December 1875. Chandler immediately went to work reforming the Interior Department by dismissing all the important clerks in the Patent Office. Chandler had discovered fictitious clerks were earning money and other clerks were earning money without performing services. Chandler also simplified the patent application procedure and as a result reduced costs. Chandler, under President Grant's orders, fired all of the corrupt clerks at the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In addition, Chandler banned the practice of Native American agents, known as "Indian Attorneys" being paid $8.00 a day plus expenses for supposedly representing their tribes in Washington.

John A.J. Creswell

Further information: John A.J. Creswell, Franking privilege, and Postcard

John A.J. Creswell
U.S. Postmaster General
(1869-1874)

In December 1869, U.S. Postmaster General John A. J. Creswell made the recommendation to reorganize and increase the efficiency of the Special Agency service. He also wanted to establish the Mail service under the Union flag on the Atlantic coast. He asked for the total abolition of the franking privilege since it reduced the revenue receipts by five percent. The franking privilege allowed members of Congress to send mail at the government’s expense. The Congress member would put their signature on the corner of the envelope instead of using postage; as a result, no revenue would go into the Postal service. Cresswell went on to completely reorganize the Postal service with modernization and ingenuity. Creswell introduced the first American penny postcard in 1873 and greatly improved the transalantic mail service.

Alphonso Taft

Further information: Alphonso Taft

Alphonso Taft
U. S. Attorney General
(1876-1877)

When President Grant was in a bind to find a replacement for Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, who abruptly resigned in 1876 amidst scandal, he turned to his good friend, Alphonso Taft from Cincinnati. Taft, who accepted, served ably as Secretary of War until being transferred to the Attorney General position. As Secretary of War, Taft reduced military expenditures and made it that no post-traderships would be given to any person except on the recommendation of the officers at the post. Grant then appointed Taft as U.S. Attorney General. Taft was a wise scholar and jurist educated at Yale University, and the Attorney General position suited him the best. During the controversial Presidential Election of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden, Attorney General Taft and House Representative J. Proctor Knott had many meetings deciding the outcome of the controversial election. The result of the Taft-Knott negotiations was the Electoral Commission Act passed by Congress and signed into law by Ulysses S. Grant on January 29, 1877 that created a 15 panel bipartisan committee to elect the next President. This was known as the Compromise of 1877 and settled the election for President Hayes just 2 days before the March 4, 1877 Inaugural. Alphonso Taft was the father of future president, William H. Taft.

Edwards Pierrepont

Further information: Edwards Pierrepont

Edwards Pierrepont
U.S. Attorney General
(1875-1876)

In 1875, Ulysses S. Grant, paired up Secretary of Treasury Benjamin Bristow with U.S. Attorney General Edwards Pierrepont. The appointment was popularly accepted by the public as Bristow and Pierrepont successfully prosecuted members of the Whiskey Ring. Pierrepont, a Yale graduate, prior to becoming U.S. Attorney General, was part of a reforming group known as the Committee of Seventy and was successful at shutting down William M. Tweed's corrupt contracting Ring while a New York's U.S. Attorney in 1870. Although Grant's reputation was vastly improved, Pierrepont had shown indifference, in 1875, to the plight of freedmen by circumventing Federal intervention when White racists terrorized Mississippi's African American citizens over a fraudulent Democratic election. Every cabinet appointment made by Grant always came with a political cost.

Amos T Ackerman

U.S. Attorney General Amos T. Akerman
(1870-1871)

During Amos T. Akerman's tenure as Attorney General of the United States from 1870 to 1871, thousands of indictments were brought against Klansmen in an effort to enforce the Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and the Force Acts of 1870. Akerman, a native of Connecticut, and a former Confederate, joined the Republican party after the Civil War and became an outspoken proponent of African-American civil rights in Georgia. After being appointed U.S. Attorney General, the only former Confederate to serve on Grant's cabinet, Ackerman was unafraid of the Klan and committed to protecting the lives and civil rights of Blacks. To bolster Ackerman's investigation, President Grant sent Secret Service agents from the Justice Department to infiltrate the Klan and gather evidence for prosecution. The investigations revealed that two-thirds of the White population in such states as South Carolina actively participated in Klan activities. With this evidence, Grant issued a Presidential proclamation to disarm and remove the Klan's notorious white robe and hood disguises. When the Klan ignored the proclamation, Grant sent in federal troops in nine South Carolina counties to put down the violent activities of the Klan. Grant teamed Akerman with another reformer in 1870, a native Kentuckian, the first solictor general Benjamin Bristow, and the duo went on to prosecute thousands of Klan members and brought a brief quiet period of two years in the turbulent Reconstruction era.

Vetoes

Far from being a puppet to Congress, President Grant vetoed more bills then any of his predecessors, a total of 93 vetoes, during the 41st through 44th Congresses. 45 were regular vetoes and 48 pocket vetoes. A pocket veto is one where the President does not sign while Congress is in session, making the veto permanent without Congress's constitutional ability to override with a 2/3 majority, as with regular vetoes. Grant had 4 vetoes overridden by Congress.

Administration and Cabinet

Grant's second inauguration as President by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase on March 4, 1873.

The Grant cabinet
Office	Name	Term
President	Ulysses S. Grant	1869–1877
Vice President	Schuyler Colfax	1869–1873
	Henry Wilson	1873–1875
None	1875–1877
Secretary of State	Elihu B. Washburne	1869
Hamilton Fish	1869–1877
Secretary of the Treasury	George S. Boutwell	1869–1873
	William A. Richardson	1873–1874
Benjamin H. Bristow	1874–1876
Lot M. Morrill	1876–1877
Secretary of War	John A. Rawlins	1869
	William W. Belknap	1869–1876
Alphonso Taft	1876
J. Donald Cameron	1876–1877
Attorney General	Ebenezer R. Hoar	1869–1870
	Amos T. Akerman	1870–1871
	George H. Williams	1871–1875
Edwards Pierrepont	1875–1876
Alphonso Taft	1876–1877
Postmaster General	John A. J. Creswell	1869–1874
	James W. Marshall	1874
Marshall Jewell	1874–1876
James N. Tyner	1876–1877
Secretary of the Navy	Adolph E. Borie	1869
George M. Robeson	1869–1877
Secretary of the Interior	Jacob D. Cox	1869–1870
	Columbus Delano	1870–1875
Zachariah Chandler	1875–1877

Cabinet attrition rate

Grant's average cabinet attrition rate for two consecutive terms was 3.25 cabinet members per post position. By comparison, Andrew Jackson, the last President to hold two consecutive terms in office before Grant, had an average cabinet attrition rate of 3 cabinet members per post position. Woodrow Wilson, the next President to hold two consecutive terms in office after Grant, had a much lower average cabinet attrition rate of only 1.9 cabinet members per post position.

Supreme Court appointments

Grant appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:

• Edwin M. Stanton – 1869 (died before taking seat)
• William Strong – 1870
• Joseph P. Bradley – 1870
• Ward Hunt – 1873
• Morrison Remick Waite (Chief Justice) – 1874

States admitted to the Union

• Colorado – August 1, 1876

Government agencies instituted

• Department of Justice (1870)
• Office of the Solicitor General (1870)
• "Advisory Board on Civil Service" (1871); after it expired in 1873, it became the role model for the "Civil Service Commission" instituted in 1883 by President Chester A. Arthur, a Grant faithful. (Today it is known as the Office of Personnel Management.)
• Office of the Surgeon General (1871)
• Army Weather Bureau (currently known as the National Weather Service) (1870)

Presidencial legacy

Grant was the first President since Andrew Jackson to hold two consecutive terms in office. The legacy of President Grant is one of American civil rights, international diplomacy, and scandals. In terms of civil rights Grant had urged the passing of the 15th Amendment and signed into law the Civil Rights Bill of 1875 that gave all citizens access to places of public enterprise. Grant defeated the Klan by sending in the Justice Department, backed by the Army. His 1868 Presidential campaign slogan "Let us have peace" rang true when he averted war with Britain and Spain, using with the new concept of International Arbitration.

General Ely S. Parker
Commissioner of Indian Affairs
(1869-1871)

The scandals reveal that Grant reacted too readily to protect his team, coverup misdeeds, and get rid of whistle blowers and reformers. Grant failed to establish or uphold strong ethical standards, and defied the strong American hatred of corruption. His acceptance of gifts from wealthy associates showed poor judgement. He distrusted reformers as busy-bodies who were interfering with party patronage. Grant was reluctant to prosecute cabinet and appointees viewed a "honest" friends, and those whom were convicted were set free with presidential pardons after serving a brief time in prison. Grant's associations with these scandals have tarnished his personal reputation while President and ever afterward. However, by the end of Grant's second term the corruption in the Departments of Interior, Treasury, and Justice were cleaned up by his new cabinet members.

Grant’s generous treatment of Robert E. Lee at Appomattox helped give him popularity in the South. Although Grant kept civil rights on the political agenda, the Republican party at the end of Grant's second term shifted to pursuing conservative fiscal policies. Grant's weak response to the Panic of 1873 hurt the economy and seriously damaged his party, which lost heavuily in 1874.

Civil rights record

Grant, more than any other president proactively used military and Justice Department enforcement of civil rights laws and the protection of African Americans. Grant used his full powers to destroy the Ku Klux Klan, thereby reducing violence and intimidation in the South. His reputation as a civil rights leader has been overshadowed by the many scandals during his administration. James Milton Turner was the first African American to be appointed minister top a fotreign nation.

Grant's Presidency was also committed to treat Native Americans with friendly terms rather than the hostility popular during the 1800s. Grant's record was not perfect. Under pressure from his son, Fred Grant, President Grant caved in and did not protect a young African American cadet at West Point. However, Grant's overall commitment to civil rights for all Americans was displayed when he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875. In Grant's sixth message to Congress he summed up his own views, "While I remain Executive all the laws of Congress and the provisions of the Constitution ... will be enforced with rigor ... Treat the Negro as a citizen and a voter, as he is and must remain ... Then we shall have no complaint of sectional interference." It should be also noted that Grant's Presidential rating moved up from 33 to 23, ten points, because of his civil rights enforcements and leadership. In the pursued equal justice for all category from the 2009 CSPAN Presidential rating survey Grant scored a 9 getting into the top ten.

Inaugural Addresses

• 1869 Inaugural Address - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1873 Inaugural Address - Ulysses S. Grant

State of the Union Messages

First Term

• 1869 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1870 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1871 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1872 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant

Second Term

• 1873 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1874 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1875 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant
• 1876 State of the Union Message - Ulysses S. Grant

Further reading

• Buenker, John D. and Joseph Buenker, eds. Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era (2005). 1256 pp. in three volumes. 900 essays by 200 scholars
• Donald, David Herbert. Charles Sumner and the Rights of Man (1970), Pulitzer prize winning biography of Grant's enemy in the Senate
• Fitzgerald, Michael W. Splendid Failure: Postwar Reconstruction in the American South. (2007) 234 pp. isbn 978-1-56663-734-3
• Foner, Eric. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution, 1863-1877 (1988) Pulitzer-prize winning synthesis from neoabolitionist perspective
• Hesseltine, William B. Ulysses S. Grant, Politician (1957) online edition
• McFeely, William S. Grant: A Biography (1981) hostile to Grant; Pulitzer proze
• Mantell, Martin E. Johnson, Grant, and the Politics of Reconstruction (1973) online edition
• Nevins, Allan. Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration (1936) online edition, thorough coverage of foreign affairs and some political history of Grant administration
• Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. A History of the United States since the Civil War. (vol 2, 3 1917). Detailed older narrative covers 1868-77
• Rhodes, James G. History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896. Volume: 6. (1906). 1865-72; Volume: 7. (1906). 1872-77; Highly detailed narrative by Pulitzer prize winner; argues was a political disaster because it violated the rights of white Southerners. vol 6 online at Google.books vol 6 1865-1872 online; vol 7 online; vol 7 in Google.books
• Scaturro, Frank J. President Grant Reconsidered (1998). excerpt and text search
• Simpson, Brooks D. The Reconstruction Presidents (1998)
• Skidmore, Max J. "The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant: a Reconsideration." White House Studies 2005 5(2): 255-270, favorable assessment
• Smith, Jean Edward. Grant (2001), a major biography
• Trelease, Allen W. White Terror: The Ku Klux Klan Conspiracy and Southern Reconstruction (1995).
• Tatum, Lawrie. Our Red Brothers and the Peace Policy of President Ulysses S. Grant (2010)
• Trefousse, Hans L. Historical Dictionary of Reconstruction Greenwood (1991), 250 entries
• Unger, Irwin. The Greenback Era: A Social and Political History of American Finance, 1865-1879 (1964), Pulitzer Prize

Primary sources

• Grant, Ulysses S. The Papers of Ulysses S. Grant ed. by John Y Simon; complete in 31 vol. vol 19-28 (1994-2005) cover the presidential years; includes all known letters and writing by Grant, and the most important letters written to him.
• McPherson, Edward, ed. The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction (1880), large collection of speeches and primary documents, 1865-1870, complete text online.
• Richardson, James, ed. Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents (numerous editions, 1901-20), vol 7 contains most of Grant's official presidential public documents and messages to Congress

Secondary sources

• Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia...for 1870 (1871)
• American Annual Cyclopedia...for 1872 (1873)
• Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia...for 1873 (1875) [online edition]
• Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia...for 1875 (1877)
• Appleton's Annual Cyclopedia...for 1877 (1878)

External links

• Extensive essay on Ulysses S. Grant and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet from the Miller Center of Public Affairs, U. of Virginia