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| Presidential administrations of Ulysses S. Grant | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ulysses S. Grant administrations |
| President | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Party | Republican Party |
| Term start | March 4, 1869 |
| Term end | March 4, 1877 |
| Vice presidents | Schuyler Colfax, Henry Wilson |
| Predecessor | Andrew Johnson |
| Successor | Rutherford B. Hayes |
Presidential administrations of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant served two consecutive terms as the 18th President of the United States from 1869 to 1877. His administrations navigated the post‑Civil War era, engaging with Reconstruction in the Southern United States, civil rights for African Americans, fiscal challenges including the Panic of 1873, complex foreign crises such as the Alabama Claims arbitration, and protracted conflicts with Native nations like the Sioux and Apache.
Grant rose from American Civil War command as a celebrated general after victories at Vicksburg Campaign, the surrender at Appomattox Court House, and cooperation with William Tecumseh Sherman. His national stature contrasted with politicians such as Edwin M. Stanton and Salmon P. Chase. The 1868 Republican National Convention at Chicago nominated Grant over figures like Oliver P. Morton and Benjamin Butler, pairing him with Schuyler Colfax. The Democratic ticket of Horatio Seymour and Francis P. Blair Jr. emphasized opposition to Radical Republicans such as Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner. Campaign issues included the Fourteenth Amendment, Fifteenth Amendment, Reconstruction policy, and the military occupation of the former Confederate states. The election used competing strategies by leaders including Roscoe Conkling and reformers like George William Curtis.
Grant’s inaugural cabinet featured Elihu B. Washburne, Hamilton Fish, Edwin Stanton (briefly), and later George W. Julian allies replaced by moderate Republicans. Key legislative achievements included enforcement acts backed by Congress members such as Lyman Trumbull and Benjamin F. Butler. Grant signed legislation affecting Freedmen's Bureau continuations and supported the Civil Rights Act of 1870 and enforcement against the Ku Klux Klan, deploying federal troops and working with Amos T. Akerman and George H. Williams at the Department of Justice. Grant’s administration negotiated treaties including the Treaty of Washington (1871) leading to arbitration at The Hague with Alabama Claims tribunal members like Earl of Derby representatives. Domestic developments included patronage fights involving Stalwarts led by Roscoe Conkling and Half-Breeds led by James G. Blaine, setting in motion controversies over civil service reform championed by Carl Schurz and Reformers.
Grant’s second term began amid rising tensions over currency and credit with advocates such as William Pitt Fessenden replaced in public debate by Jay Cooke’s failures and financiers including J. Pierpont Morgan. The administration faced the international crisis of the Modoc War and continued Indian wars involving commanders like William T. Sherman and Philip Sheridan. Grant appointed Benjamin Bristow and later Edwin Stanton‑era associates to combat corruption; Bristow prosecuted the Whiskey Ring. Foreign policy included negotiation and resolution of disputes with Spain over Cuban filibustering and an emerging relationship with Mexico under the rule of Benito Juárez’s successors. Political fights with figures such as Horace Greeley (earlier), Samuel J. Tilden (later), and the New York machine led by Tammany Hall affected patronage and party realignment.
Grant vigorously enforced Reconstruction statutes and worked with Republican leaders such as Thaddeus Stevens (legacy), Charles Sumner (earlier Senate leadership), and allies including Benjamin Butler to protect freedmen in the South Carolina and Mississippi theaters. The administration used the Enforcement Acts (1870–71) and supported prosecutions brought by Amos Akerman and Benjamin H. Bristow against perpetrators of racial violence tied to organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and individuals prosecuted under laws debating the scope of the Fifth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. Grant’s endorsement of the Fifteenth Amendment’s protections intersected with advocacy by abolitionist veterans and reformers like Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth. Federal intervention included deployments under commanders such as Grant himself before presidency’s veterans like John A. Logan and administrators like Edmund J. Davis in Reconstruction governments, provoking opposition from Democrats led by Andrew Johnson supporters and conservative Southerners such as Alexander H. Stephens.
Grant’s administrations confronted postwar fiscal debates on specie resumption, greenbacks, and the gold standard advocated by financiers like Salomon‑Peak interests and opponents such as William G. Brownlow. The collapse of Jay Cooke & Company precipitated the Panic of 1873, exacerbated by railroad overextension involving firms like Union Pacific Railroad and scandals with Credit Mobilier of America architects including Oakes Ames. Grant faced pressure from senators including Carl Schurz and John Sherman over Coinage Act debates and ultimately signed the Coinage Act of 1873, which critics labeled the "Crime of 1873" by proponents like William Jennings Bryan later. Treasury Secretaries such as George S. Boutwell and Benjamin Bristow managed specie policies and redemption, negotiating with bankers like Jay Cooke and international financiers such as Barings Bank counterparts. Economic distress influenced electoral politics, benefiting Democratic reformers like Samuel J. Tilden in 1876.
Grant’s foreign policy pursued arbitration exemplified by the Alabama Claims tribunal and negotiation with Great Britain culminating in payments and settlement protocols with diplomats such as Algernon West’s counterparts. His administration sought to expand commercial ties with Japan via envoys like Townsend Harris (earlier)’s legacy and with Chile and Peru in Pacific affairs; incidents like the Christina crisis tested naval diplomacy involving Admiral David Farragut’s successors. Native American relations included campaigns against the Sioux, Cheyenne, Modoc, and Apache under generals such as George Crook, Winfield Scott Hancock, and Philip Sheridan. The administration implemented policies negotiated with commissioners like Brigadier General Ely Parker’s contemporaries and Indian agents including William A. Jones, provoking conflicts such as the Great Sioux War of 1876 precursors and incidents like the Sand Creek Massacre’s legacy.
Grant’s presidencies were marred by scandals including the Whiskey Ring, involving operatives like John McDonald and prosecutions by Benjamin Bristow, and the Credit Mobilier scandal implicating congressmen including Oakes Ames. Other controversies involved the Belmont financier network and patronage battles with Roscoe Conkling and James A. Garfield’s allies; civil service reformers like Carl Schurz and Reformers criticized lax oversight. Key personnel included George W. Julian (early critic), Hamilton Fish (Secretary of State), George S. Boutwell (Treasury), Elihu B. Washburne (briefly), William T. Sherman (advisor), Edwin M. Stanton (precedent influence), and later cabinet figures such as Benjamin Bristow, George H. Williams, and Henry Wilson (Vice President during second term). Grant’s personal reputation—shaped by friendships with business figures like E. B. Washburne and later biographers including William H. Winter’s peers—remains debated by historians such as Ronald C. White, William S. McFeely, and H. W. Brands.