Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant served as the 18th president of the United States from March 4, 1869 to March 4, 1877. A Republican, Grant took office after winning the 1868 election, and secured a second term in 1872. He presided over the Reconstruction Era and the 1876 U.S. Centennial.

By 1870, all former Confederate states had rejoined the United States and had representation in Congress. Yet Democrats and old slave owners rejected freedmen's citizenship from the Fourteenth Amendment. They also denied voting rights from the Fifteenth Amendment. Congress then passed three Force Acts. These let the federal government step in if states ignored ex-slaves' rights. The Ku Klux Klan had started in 1865 and spread terror across the Southern United States aimed at African Americans. President Grant established the Department of Justice with Congress and appointed Amos T. Akerman as Attorney General. Thousands of Klan indictments ensued with hundreds of convictions.

Grant's cabinet picks were mostly mixed. Still, he chose a few standouts like Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, Attorney General Amos T. Akerman, and Seneca Indian Eli Parker as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. His two terms faced many scandals. These included claims of corruption, bribery, fraud, and favoritism. Grant sometimes fought back by naming reformers to target the famous Whiskey Ring. He pushed civil service reform farther than past presidents. He formed the country's first Civil Service Commission. In 1872, Grant approved a law to create Yellowstone National Park.

The US stayed mostly at peace with the world during Grant's eight years as president. His foreign policy, however, was inconsistent. Clashes with Native American tribes in the West dragged on. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish oversaw the Treaty of Washington. It mended ties with Britain and fixed the tough Alabama Claims. The Virginius Affair with Spain ended without fight. Grant sought to annex the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo. Yet Senator Charles Sumner stopped it cold. Grant's image as president grew in the 21st century. His stand for African American civil rights helped most.