Ulysses S Grant rode the heroism of the Civil War victory into the presidency following Andrew Johnson’s failed attempt to follow through on Lincoln’s reconstruction plans for the South. Grant was well respected as a man with a strong moral compass. He had zero desire to make the South suffer post war yet was adamant about protecting the recently freed slaves from southern retribution.
Grant immediately reversed Johnson’s relative inaction with southern Reconstruction. He pushed for the 15th Amendment, which protected the right to vote of all men regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. He had the word “white” stricken from all requirements to hold office in DC. Naturally, southern states resisted (often violently) the basic rights of freed blacks. The right to vote was especially targeted. The Ku Klux Klan did the dirty work of southern politicians in restricting, terrorizing, and even killing blacks. Grant sent federal troops to restore order and enforce the laws. This, of course, made Grant even less popular in the South. Unfortunately, the rights of blacks in the South to freely vote didn’t last long. The Democrats took control of Congress two years later and fought back against every attempt by Grant to enforce the 15th Amendment and all other laws protecting blacks.
In 1871, Grant pushed for and signed the Indian Appropriation Act. This allowed access to educational and medical programs for American Indians. He correctly believed the past treatment of Indians to be abhorrent and sought to provide means to normal and equal citizenship for all Indians. In this era, positions like Grant’s were bound to be unpopular. He insisted that his moral compass be his guide not public opinion.
Despite his deserved reputation as a brilliant war general, Grant was not a fan of war. He wanted to avoid war whenever possible. Even his attack-attack-attack style in the Civil War was explained by him that the most humane thing he could do was get the war over with as quickly as possible. During his presidency, there was a lot of anger toward Britain who assisted the Confederacy. Rather than push for retribution and potential war, he negotiated a treaty. Britain agreed to pay $15.5 million in reparations and war was averted.
The economic Panic of 1873 caused Congress to seek to simply print more money, hoping to cure the economic trouble. Grant vetoed the 1874 Inflation Bill, halting the printing of millions of new dollars. He wanted to set the country on course to return to the gold standard and away from what were essentially promissory notes backed by the good faith of the government.
Why is Grant’s presidency often referred to as a relative failure by progressive historians? They often cite accusations of scandals and corruption. His assistant Secretary of Treasury and his Vice President were accused of separate insider trading scandals. Even Grant’s greatest detractors concede that Grant was not involved with or even knew about the scandals. But the buck stops with the President. He must accept some blame for not knowing. Critics also cite the lack of ultimate success in southern reconstruction. However, even the most cynical historians realize this was due to an adversarial Democrat Congress and not Grant’s attempts to solve the problems in the South.
Less than a decade from the Civil War, the country was not quite ready for Grant’s grand vision. In another era, Grant had the morality and strength of character to have potentially been a truly great President.
Grant immediately reversed Johnson’s relative inaction with southern Reconstruction. He pushed for the 15th Amendment, which protected the right to vote of all men regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. He had the word “white” stricken from all requirements to hold office in DC. Naturally, southern states resisted (often violently) the basic rights of freed blacks. The right to vote was especially targeted. The Ku Klux Klan did the dirty work of southern politicians in restricting, terrorizing, and even killing blacks. Grant sent federal troops to restore order and enforce the laws. This, of course, made Grant even less popular in the South. Unfortunately, the rights of blacks in the South to freely vote didn’t last long. The Democrats took control of Congress two years later and fought back against every attempt by Grant to enforce the 15th Amendment and all other laws protecting blacks.
In 1871, Grant pushed for and signed the Indian Appropriation Act. This allowed access to educational and medical programs for American Indians. He correctly believed the past treatment of Indians to be abhorrent and sought to provide means to normal and equal citizenship for all Indians. In this era, positions like Grant’s were bound to be unpopular. He insisted that his moral compass be his guide not public opinion.
Despite his deserved reputation as a brilliant war general, Grant was not a fan of war. He wanted to avoid war whenever possible. Even his attack-attack-attack style in the Civil War was explained by him that the most humane thing he could do was get the war over with as quickly as possible. During his presidency, there was a lot of anger toward Britain who assisted the Confederacy. Rather than push for retribution and potential war, he negotiated a treaty. Britain agreed to pay $15.5 million in reparations and war was averted.
The economic Panic of 1873 caused Congress to seek to simply print more money, hoping to cure the economic trouble. Grant vetoed the 1874 Inflation Bill, halting the printing of millions of new dollars. He wanted to set the country on course to return to the gold standard and away from what were essentially promissory notes backed by the good faith of the government.
Why is Grant’s presidency often referred to as a relative failure by progressive historians? They often cite accusations of scandals and corruption. His assistant Secretary of Treasury and his Vice President were accused of separate insider trading scandals. Even Grant’s greatest detractors concede that Grant was not involved with or even knew about the scandals. But the buck stops with the President. He must accept some blame for not knowing. Critics also cite the lack of ultimate success in southern reconstruction. However, even the most cynical historians realize this was due to an adversarial Democrat Congress and not Grant’s attempts to solve the problems in the South.
Less than a decade from the Civil War, the country was not quite ready for Grant’s grand vision. In another era, Grant had the morality and strength of character to have potentially been a truly great President.
