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Ulysses S. Grant Party: Republican (Apr. 27, 1822- July 23, 1885) Dates in Office: (Mar. 4, 1869- Mar. 4, 1877) Vice Presidents: Schuyler Colfax (1869-1873) and Henry Wilson (1873-1875) During Grant’s administration, there was still mass sectionalism although the nation was whole once again and it had been largely reconstructed. The reluctant South still continued on in their ways of white supremacy. Many attempts at lowering black status were prevalent throughout these years. Multiple laws were set in place such as the grandfather clause, which only allowed citizens to vote if their grandfathers to vote. In many cases, he grandfathers of lacks were slaves, and could not vote. Therefore, many younger generation blacks could not vote as well. Other laws were set in place such as voting tolls and literacy tests. The South was also still very agrarian. This made them different form the industrial North mainly by means of economy. They still relied heavily on cotton, which was in high demand from Europe after the blockade during the war. In the North, business was booming, literally. But there was much scandal among the big business owners. One such scandal was the Tweed Ring in New York City. William Tweed’s protégé became governor and passed a law that put the city’s finances under the control of the Board of Audit. This group consisted of Tweed and his associates. This complete hold on the government allowed for Tweed to siphon money from the citizens of New York through construction projects like bridges and courthouses. The Northern cities also had a big variety of immigrants. Irish and German chiefly among them. The foreigners came looking for respite from agricultural or political problems and tried their hand at menial labor in large factories. Not much was happening in the West during this time other than the steady pour of thrill seekers or those looking for financial retribution. At this time the West did not have much to offer other than the promise of land.
 * __Thematic Context:__** American Diversity

Hiram Ulysses Grant, or more commonly referred to as Ulysses S. Grant was one of the worst presidents ever because of his revival of the spoils system and his unfitness for political life and responsibility. The lack of balance between positive and negative during his administration gives him a poor grade of an F. The only modicum of good came from the administration was the ratification of the 15th Amendment. Even that was filled with corruption. Along with corruption Grant also oversaw a brutal 5-year depression that was due to Grant’s financial stupidity. He relied on others to think for him when it came to money. When the Vienna stock market crashed, the panic spread slowly enough for preventative measures to be taken. Measures that Grant did not take and thus the economy plummeted, breeding new problems that would split the politics of the nation for many years to come. Highest among these was the Silver issue.
 * __Thesis:__**

In his inauguration address, Grant states, “ The office has come to me unsought; I commence its duties untrammeled. I bring to it a conscious desire and determination to fill it to the best of my ability to the satisfaction of the people.” In a sense, he did meet these statements by reviving the spoils system, thus satisfying the people. It probably was to the best of his ability as well because of his political immaturity and having to resort to such corrupted methods. Along with that statement, he also declares that reconstruction will go on with regards to racial equality. Because of the mindset of white supremacy in the South, racial equality was not obtained during the last part of the reconstruction phase. This happened despite the 15th amendment and the military occupation that Grant upheld. Grant also extensively talks about the issue of national debt in his speech. He called for all of the national debt to be paid off in hard cash so as to restore national honor and global standing. This goal was not met in the end due to the panic of 1873. During this time, Grant was extremely confused whether to go with inflation or deflation to help the economy. Debtors wanted more money in circulation but the hard money advocates persuaded him to pass a bill that recalled even more of the paper currency at the time. This only put the debtors in deeper, thus leading to loss of property and less work. This led to less total income per citizen and prolonging the depression, which was lifted after Grant was out of the White House.
 * __Goals:__**

The only real connection between Grant and Congress at the time was through his own political party. They expected him to stand for what they wanted and to veto all else. One such example was during the birth of the silver issue, the hard money Republicans needed Grant to go against the coinage of silver. The Republicans also had a divide during the election of 1872, some of these Liberal Republicans turned to the Democrats to rid the stain of corruption that had been caused by Grant’s careless spill of spoils. Grant ended up winning his second term and motivated the Republican Party, who was the majority at the time, to clean their own house. They went against some of the policies that Grant set in place, calling for civil service reform and for the high tariffs to come down. All in all, when it came to passing legislation, Grant passed what he believed was right and what he wanted for his country as stated in his inaugural address. Among those bills he passed were the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which helped to give blacks a better standing where they were faltering, especially in the South. Another was the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave blacks the right to vote. He vetoed anything that would hinder the progress of reinstating the Specie Circular policy set in place during Jackson’s administration and later revoked to pay off war costs. He furthered this by passing the Resumption Act of 1875, which effectively reduced paper money and deflated the economy and hurt it even more.
 * __ Congress: __**

The only good Ulysses S. Grant did during his presidency was in the civil rights field. He passed a lot of laws that helped to improve the standing of blacks on a social level. One of these is the hallowed 15th Amendment, which gave anyone the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous state of servitude. This did not work very well in the South, though. Whites found ways to keep blacks down in many ways. They issued literacy tests and other impediments not mentioned in the 15th Amendment. They effectively bypassed the law through the Grandfather Clause and fees for polls. These have nothing to do with race but they still kept most blacks out. Southern whites also managed to keep blacks in poverty too by giving them places to work but setting the wage low and charging high for room and board since most former slaves did not have houses of their own. This had been occurring since Johnson’s administration but it tarnished all of the supposed good that Grant tried to do, ruining his reputation.
 * __ Positive Actions: __**

During the Grant administration, there was an abundance of scandal and corruption. Grant essentially revived the Jacksonian Era in terms of his civil service policies; those that he favored got high government positions although they were extremely unqualified for them. As a greenhorn government administrator himself, he did not know what to look for in political leaders. To prove the people he chose were unqualified, one must look into the horrible rash of scandal during the time period. If the people in charge were as good as their title indicated, then all of the bad would have never happened. But alas, it did and America suffered for it. One of the famous was the Tweed Ring in New York City, which deprived one of the largest cities much money that could have gone to those in need or to help improve the economy through investments. Other scandals include Black Friday and the Whiskey Ring. In the Black Friday scandal, Grant appointed the assistant to the treasurer. This man tipped off two other men who were scheming to get hard cash. He would tell them when the government planned to sell gold and they would but tons of it before anyone knew what was going on. This led to the extremely rapid depreciation of the dollar and stocks went down as prices rose drastically. In the Whiskey Ring, Grant’s spoils system was again at fault. Many corrupt officials were able to get millions of dollars off of federal taxes on liquor. This involved much bribery to federal tax agents. Almost all of the other scandals, totaling 11 during Grant’s terms, were based off the corrupt natures of the people that Grant put into positions of power.
 * __ Negative Actions: __**

Probably the most influential decision the Grant made during his presidency was the consideration of a third term in office. This tradition was not even a formal law yet. During the election of 1876, many Grant supporters urged him on for a third term. He replied with a willingness that raised mixed emotions everywhere. Congress quickly resolved the matter by passing a law that only allowed the president to be in office for two four-year terms. This effectively reminded the nation of its own anti-dictator policies. This set a steel precedent for future administrations in that it wasn’t based on the honor system, it allowed for the balance of politics for years to come. If one party doesn’t do so well, after eight years at most the other party can have a definite shot at trying to improve America.
 * __ Influential Decision: __**

Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th president of the United States, doesn’t even deserve the title. His name was tarnished through massive economic scandals and the largest depression to that date. Even when he attempted to help those oppressed in the South he was still defeated on the political battlefield. Over everything else, his inexperience led the nation through a period of political unrest. The Liberal Republican revolt and the corruption that marred the government were enough to prove this statement. The fact that half of his own party turned on him proves the fact that he was definitely not the right man for the job.
 * __ Conclusion: __**


 * __Bibliography:__**

Bailey, Thomas Andrew. //The American pageant; a history of the Republic//. 3d ed. Boston: Heath, 19651966. Print.

"Black Friday (1869) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

DeGregorio, William A.. //The complete book of U.S. presidents//. New York: Dembner Books :, 1984. Print.

"Ulysses S. Grant - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

"Ulysses S. Grant: Inaugural Address." //The American Presidency Project//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

"Whiskey Ring - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .

"William M. Tweed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia//. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. .