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Ulysses S. Grant Hiram Ulysses Grant 18th President Two Term: 1860-1877 Born: April 27, 1822, Point Pleasant, Ohio Died: July 23, 1885, Mount McGregor, New York Vice President: Schuyler Colfax (First Term) Henry Wilson (Second Term) I would give Ulysses S. Grant a C because he did struggle to ratify the 15th Amendment but he is still average because although he appointed people he knew he could trust they weren’t all very useful. Gants platform was to continue the reconstruction in the south and all around better the Nation for Blacks. He was somewhat successful on this goal. He pushed for the 15th amendment to be passed which more than one person despised. The 15th amendment’s purpose was to give every citizen the right to vote no matter what their race or servitude was. The unfortunate part of this was when voting booths starting charging for votes. This was clearly a rebellion against the 15th Amendment considering Blacks and Servants rarely had money to spare. It can be assumed that Grants relationship was okay, Many Southern whites weren’t quite attuned to him and didn’t really care for the way he handled the South. Unlike Johnson he didn’t let the South do exactly what they wanted instead he kept fighting for the rights of Blacks. He even sent the military down to the south to protect the Blacks from societies such as the Ku Klux Klan. On the other hand the North was cheering him on leaving him in an okay position. He struggled to get the 15th Amendment passed and wasn’t able to annex Santo Domingo (now the Dominican Republic.) The Administrations best choice was the 15th Amendment and its worst was to allow people close to him to hold a position in his cabinet. The 15th was of course the most positive outcome although some people found loopholes the Amendment became effective at one point or another. The worst was allowing people close to Grant assume roles in his cabinet, although Grant could trust them he couldn’t let them go even when they where of no use to the government. This showed poor judgment and was clearly biased. The 15th amendment will always and that includes this very moment influence America. No matter the race no matter your title you are allowed to vote. That gave a whole other kind of equality to the Nation. It gave everyone a voice and a say in who governed them that will always be a significant part of America. The country was better off with Grant than without him, He pushed for everyone’s voice to be heard no matter what your station or your race through the 15th Amendment and through force on the military’s power. I think that’s a bold move and it must have been criticized but it was still a good idea.

Works Cited http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/grant/timeline/timeline3.html http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/grant/essays/biography/1 http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ug18.html