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Ulysses Simpson Grant Born: April 27, 1822 Died: July 23, 1885 Political Party: Republican Terms: 1869-1873 and 1873-1875 Vice President: Schuyler Colfax and Henry Wilson

If I were to grade Ulysses S. Grant on his performance as president of the United States, I would give him a D+. His two terms as leader of this country proved that he was a man of war, not of politics. He was deemed to be one of the worst judges of character ever tooccupy the oval office, and the majority of his political decisions were disliked by congress and the American people alike. All ofthese reasons add up and contribute to why Ulysses S Grant deservres the grade of a D+ on his presidency.

Ulysses S. Grant's goals going into the presidency were to reunite the South with the North, seperate himself from the mess of politics, and preserve post-war implements. To physically as well as in spirit reunite the South with the North, Grant followed Lincoln's policies. As effective as this was, this shows that Grant was no more a politician than a copy-cat. President's need to be ingenuitive and think for themselves. Grant's proper means of action would have been to add to Lincoln's already sound policies. The second goal Grant had going into the presidency was to keep himself away from politics. To do this, Grant appointed trusted and befriended men to his cabinet and other appointed positions. This was not a successful plan. His appoontments led to embarassing and incriminating fraud by his administration. This seriously exposed Grant's poor judge of character. Finally, he wanted to preserve the post-war implements desired by the North. Grant wanted to protect the things he and his men had fought so valiantly for, including the freedom of blacks and the removal of Confederates from politics. To do this, Grant passed the Enforcement Acts. One of the Enforcement Acts was known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. It was passed to prevent the rise of terrorists in the South, such as the KKK and other racially, religiously, or politically oppressive groups. Of the main goals of his presidency, Grant achieved few, and this came with many questions about his leadership abilities.

Grant's relationship with Congress was poor. Throughout both of Grant's terms as president, the House and Senate were Republican controlled. Due to his poor political skills and war man's mentality, Grant did not get along with even his Republican Congress. Grant would not consult Congress on major appointments and policies, angering the Congressmen. The fraud and innustices borught on by his administration also upset Congress. They knew the misdoings reflected poorly on themselves, even though it was primarily Grant's fault. All of these factors led Congress to resent Grant, tensing their relationship. Congress resisted Grant, and Grant resisted the wishes of Congress. This poor relationship between the two branches of government upset the American people.

The action of President Grant during his tenure that had the most positive outcome was undoubtedly the Treaty of Washington. The Treaty of Washington stated that Britain owed the United States $15.5 million due to wartime naval support of the South. The United States sought repayment of the damages brought on because of the British ships supplied to the Confederates, and the British obliged. The Treaty of Washington solved this issue and improved America's relationship with Britain, a world super-power. The actions of the president and his administration that had the most negative outcome were Grant's adminstrations' scandals. Specifically but not limited to, the Black Friday Scandal. Jay Gould and James Fisk tried mercilessily to convince the Grant administration not to sell any of the government's gold. This would sky-rocket the value of the gold they currently possesed.. They did not, however, get away with this scandal because of Grant's treasury secretary, George Boutwell. He figured out their plan and ordered the sale of $4 million in gold on Friday, September 14 1869 to foil their plot. Forever known as Black Friday, the incident badly tained President Grant's tenure as president, and if not for Boutwell, the incident may have been far worse.

A decision made by Grant and his administration that impacted future administrations was his decision to appoint trusted friends of his to his cabinet. This led to many scandals during his terms. Grant thought like a veteran, and he ruled like veteran. He knew, or thought he knew, who he could trust and he stuck with them. In politics however, this is rarely a good speculation to go by, especially as leader of the United States. He and his reputation paid for this indiscretion in various scandals and worng-doings during his presidency. This affected future generations by forcing presidents to choose their cabinet based upon political and moral merit, and not previous affiliation.

In conclusion, Grant deserves the grade of a D+ for his presidency. He made many bad decisions throughout his administration, and his terms are primarily known for scandal. Grant was, however, president during a very difficult time. He had to deal with the reconstruction of a torn country and many, many upset citizens and politicians alike. Generally, though, President Grant upset the American people through his decisons as their leader, and ultimately their success is the country's success. This is why Ulysses S. Grant deserves a D+ grade on his presidency.

__Bibliography__ Baliles, Gerald. "American President: Ulysses S. Grant: Domestic Affairs." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Nov. 2010. <[]>.

"Ulysses S. Grant Papers (Library of Congress)." //Library of Congress Home//. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. <[]>.

"Ulysses S. Grant | The White House." //The White House//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/about