Ulysses S. Grant

18th President of the United States
Term: 1869-1877
Born: April 27, 1822
Died: July 23, 1885

Ulysses S. Grant is remembered as one of the Union's greatest military commanders and as the president who oversaw much of Reconstruction during the turbulent years following the Civil War. His brilliant battlefield leadership helped preserve the Union, and as president, he worked tirelessly to protect the civil and political rights of newly freed African Americans.

For many years, Grant's presidency was overshadowed by intense financial scandals involving members of his administration. Modern historical scholarship, however, has increasingly distinguished Grant's personal integrity from the corruption of some of his appointees while firmly recognizing his profound commitment to civil rights and national reconciliation.

Early Life

Hiram Ulysses Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, in 1822.

A clerical error made during his official appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point listed him as "Ulysses S. Grant." Rather than attempting to correct the bureaucratic mistake, Grant eventually accepted the new moniker as his own. He attended West Point, graduating in 1843. Although he showed little interest in military ceremony or rigid protocol, he excelled as a master horseman and developed the quiet discipline that would later define his command style.

Early Military Service

Grant served in the Mexican-American War under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. The conflict provided him with invaluable military experience, though Grant later criticized the war privately, believing it had been fought largely to expand American territory and aggressively increase domestic tensions over slavery.

Following the war, Grant served at several isolated frontier posts before officially resigning from the Army in 1854. For several years, he struggled financially while working various civilian jobs, including farming and assisting in his family's leather goods business.

The Civil War

When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Grant volunteered for service in the Union Army, sparking a remarkably rapid rise through the military ranks. Among his major, theater-shifting victories were:

• Fort Henry
• Fort Donelson
• The Battle of Vicksburg
• The Chattanooga Campaign

At Fort Donelson, Grant's rigid demand for "unconditional and immediate surrender" earned him the iconic nickname "Unconditional Surrender Grant." His masterpiece victory at Vicksburg in 1863 gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River, effectively splitting the Confederacy in two.

In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to General-in-Chief of all Union armies. Grant masterfully coordinated simultaneous offensives across multiple theaters, keeping unrelenting pressure on Confederate forces until General Robert E. Lee formally surrendered at Appomattox Court House in April 1865.

Election of 1868

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, Grant emerged as one of the most widely admired men in the country. The Republican Party enthusiastically nominated him for president under the famous, unifying campaign slogan "Let Us Have Peace."

Grant decisively defeated Democratic candidate Horatio Seymour and took office determined to stabilize Reconstruction and reunite the fractured nation.

The Presidency

Grant inherited many of the volatile, unresolved challenges left behind by Presidential Reconstruction. His administration focused primarily on:

• Protecting the constitutional rights of formerly enslaved people.
• Rigorously enforcing federal law in the South.
• Continuing the difficult process of national reconciliation.
• Promoting rapid economic growth.

Grant firmly believed that the federal government possessed a clear responsibility to enforce the civil rights guaranteed by the Constitution.

The Fifteenth Amendment

One of the most significant constitutional achievements during Grant's presidency was the formal ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1870. The amendment prohibited federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Although many discriminatory voting practices would later emerge in the South, the amendment established an important constitutional foundation for black voting rights.

Fighting the Ku Klux Klan

One of Grant's most significant and courageous accomplishments was his aggressive campaign against the Ku Klux Klan. Following the war, the Klan used systemic violence, terror, and murder to suppress African American voting and violently restore white political control across the South.

Grant strongly supported the Enforcement Acts, including the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. These laws authorized the federal government to:

• Prosecute individuals who violated civil rights in federal court.
• Use federal troops to enforce order when necessary.
• Suspend habeas corpus in limited circumstances to combat organized domestic terror.

Federal enforcement significantly weakened and dismantled the original Ku Klux Klan during Grant's presidency. Many modern historians regard these actions as among the strongest federal civil rights efforts of the nineteenth century.

Native American Policy

Grant attempted a new approach that became known as the "Peace Policy" toward Native American nations. Rather than relying exclusively on military force, the policy sought to reduce conflict through negotiated agreements and by appointing religious organizations to oversee reservation agencies.

Although Grant sincerely hoped the approach would reduce corruption and violence, the policy produced mixed results. Conflicts continued across the American West, including the Great Sioux War of 1876. Modern historians generally conclude that the policy still operated within a broader federal framework that sought to assimilate Native peoples and reduce their independence.

Foreign Policy

Grant's administration achieved several notable diplomatic successes, demonstrating sophisticated international statecraft.

The Treaty of Washington

In 1871, the United States and Great Britain signed the landmark Treaty of Washington. The treaty peacefully resolved the tense Alabama Claims, in which the U.S. sought compensation for immense damage caused by Confederate warships built in British shipyards during the Civil War. International arbitration awarded the United States $15.5 million in gold. The agreement became an important milestone in the history of the peaceful resolution of international disputes.

Economic Challenges

Grant's presidency experienced rapid, chaotic industrial growth but also severe economic hardship. The Panic of 1873 triggered:

• Widespread bank failures
• Collateral railroad bankruptcies
• Rising unemployment
• A prolonged, punishing economic depression

Grant favored maintaining the nation's commitment to sound currency and vetoed proposals that he believed would create excessive inflation. Economic recovery remained frustratingly slow throughout much of his second term.

Scandals

Grant's presidency has long been associated with several major political scandals, including:

• The Crédit Mobilier scandal (which actually began before his presidency but continued to damage public confidence)
• The Whiskey Ring
• The Indian Ring

Importantly, historians generally agree that Grant himself was not personally implicated in any financial corruption. His greatest weakness was his unyielding loyalty to friends and political allies, some of whom routinely abused public trust. Grant frequently defended his associates until overwhelming evidence finally forced action against them.

Personal Life

Grant married Julia Dent in 1848, and their marriage remained exceptionally close throughout their lives.

After leaving office, Grant embarked on a massive world tour, meeting numerous foreign leaders across Europe and Asia. He later suffered severe financial losses in a Ponzi scheme run by a business partner, losing nearly his entire fortune. Facing destitution and diagnosed with terminal throat cancer, Grant spent his final months racing to finish his memoirs — writing entirely in his own hand, dictating only when illness made holding a pen impossible.

His friend Mark Twain, though often mistakenly remembered as a co-author, played a different but crucial role: Twain persuaded Grant to abandon a poor contract with Century Magazine and publish instead through Twain's own company at far more favorable terms, then provided companionship and moral support at Grant's bedside as he wrote. The original manuscript, entirely in Grant's handwriting, survives and leaves no doubt that the writing was his own. The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant were published shortly after his death and are widely regarded as among the finest presidential memoirs ever written. Grant's widow, Julia, received approximately $450,000 from book sales in the first three years alone — the equivalent of over $16 million today.

Death

Grant died on July 23, 1885, at the age of sixty-three, just days after finishing his memoir. His funeral in New York City drew enormous crowds estimated at more than 1.5 million people and included veterans from both the Union and Confederate armies marching together, symbolizing continued efforts toward national reconciliation.

Myth vs. History

Grant Was Personally Corrupt
There is little to no historical evidence that Grant personally profited from corruption. Historians carefully distinguish between Grant's own deep honesty and the flagrant misconduct of several officials within his administration whom he trusted too blindly.

Grant Was Only a Great General, Not a Good President
For much of the twentieth century, Grant's presidency received low historical rankings due to the scandals. More recent scholarship has thoroughly reexamined his administration, particularly his vigorous enforcement of civil rights during Reconstruction, leading many historians to rate his presidency far more favorably than earlier generations did.

Mark Twain Wrote Grant's Memoirs
This claim is a persistent myth that both Twain and Grant firmly denied during their lifetimes. The original handwritten manuscript survives entirely in Grant's own hand. Twain's role was as publisher, financial advocate, and supportive friend — not ghostwriter or editor. Grant was simply an excellent writer whom people found it hard to credit on his own merits.

Historical Significance

If Andrew Johnson's presidency centered on bitter disputes over Reconstruction, Ulysses S. Grant sought to actively use the full powers of the federal government to make Reconstruction meaningful and just.

His administration successfully secured the Fifteenth Amendment, aggressively prosecuted white supremacist violence, and actively defended the constitutional rights of formerly enslaved Americans during one of the nation's most difficult periods. Although a severe economic depression and administrative scandals complicated his presidency, Grant's commitment to preserving the achievements of the Civil War has led many modern historians to reassess his place among American presidents. His legacy extends far beyond his victories on the battlefield to his efforts to secure the peace — and the basic rights — for which that war had been fought.