Death and Legacy

Grant left the office in 1877, apologizing for his "error of judgment." Grant was a great commander, but not a good politician. He lack the understanding of politics which makes him an ineffective president. He motives and efforts were very admirable and praiseworthy. He fought to protect the rights of African American more than any other 19th century president. Grant work hard to ensure that the Fifteenth Amendment was accepted and tried to give African Americans right to vote. Even though scandals and corruption had been an issue during his presidency, Grant was never involved and he was never questioned. Although he did not succeed in most of his careers, he was appreciated for his hard work. Overall, he was a great leader on the battlefield but not for his country.
Grant died on Thursday, July 23, 1885 at the age of 63 in Mount McGregor, Saratoga County, New York.
Grant appeared on the U.S. $50 bill.

The Election of 1872

Grant won the election of 1872 and continue on with his presidency. Again, Grant ran for the Radical Republicans. He was easily elected to a second term in office with Senator Henry Wilson of Massachusetts as his running mate. Since the Republican Party split, Grant had to face with the Liberal Republicans which nominate Horace Greeley. The Democratic Party want to defeat Grant so much that they also nominated the Liberal Republican candidate. As a result,Greeley was also nominated by the Democratic Party. But even so, Grant still won the election. The results were as followed:

Grant did won the election easily because of the very shocking incident that had happened to his opponent. On November 29, 1872, after the popular vote was cast, Greeley died. As a result,
the electors changed his votes for four other candidates. Greeley did receive three electoral votes but these votes were prohibited by the Congress. It is so far the only election in which a President candidate died during the election process. Grant had won by almost 800,000 popular votes and 220 electoral votes. The Republican won the election.

Domestic Policies and Affairs

Reconstruction

One of the most important domestic policy that Grant had issued is the Reconstruction Policy. Grant came into office during a very difficult time. During the 1870's, the Civil War was just over and the country is looking forward to reuniting and rebuilding. Grant decided to follow Lincoln's policy which allow the South to rejoin instead of punishing them. The problem for Grant is how to maintain and protect the rights of the newly free African Americans. In the beginning of his presidency, he uses both military and federal legislation to protect the right of African Americans. in 1870, Grant passed the Enforcement Acts to help protect the rights to vote. He also tried to ratify the Fifteenth Amendment which allow all citizen to vote regarding their race.


The Panic of 1873

The Panic of 1873 started when two guy named Jay Gould and Jim Fisk tried to coner the gold market. They tried to convince Grant administration not to sell the government gold so that the gold that they hold would be more valuable. When Grant found out about this, he ordered his administration to sell the government gold. This cause many companies to fail including the railroad industries, which was booming during that time. When railroad companies fail, other large bank and companies also because they invest a lot on the railroads. One of them is the Jay Cooke & Company, an important bank of the country. The failure of the Jay Cooke bank cause a chain reaction which lead other banks to fail. the New York stock market was temporarily closed. Of 364 railroads, 89 were bankrupt. 18,000 businesses fail and unemployment rate rose to 14%.

Native American Policy

Grant tried to improve the relationship between the Native Americans and the government, seeing them as "The origional occupants of this land." He wanted to change federal Indian policy to what is known as the Peace Policy. He tried to aid the Natives by housing them in reservation and train them to become farmers. However, this doesn't last long. White settlers started pushing the Natives, taking land to build towns. They relied on the army to protect them against any Indian attacks. Inidans were not able to farm on deserted land and were overwhelmed by poverty. Grant's approach on the Native American Policy was remembered for its good intention rather than its lasting effects.

Foreign Policies and Affairs

Cuban Insurrection

After the Civil War, most of America's attention were turned inward as the country starts rebuilding. However, there are still some foreign affairs during Grant's presidency. Grant worked together with Halminton Fish, the secretary of state, to deal with both domestic and foreign affairs. One of them is the Cuban Insurrection. In 1868, Cuban rebels began to fight against Spain to win independence. Although many Americans wanted to support the Cubans, Grant and Fish doesn't want to risk going to war against Spain and decided not to aid the Cuban. When the Congress tried to pass a resolution recognizing the Cuban rebels fighting against Spain, the resolution was defeated. The US tried to negotiate with Spain of taking Cuba but failed. In the end, the rebels lost and Spain regain control of Cuba. America step back out of the situation.



Alabama Claims (Alabama is the name of the ship)

During the Civil War, the British are interested in cotton trade and other profits. As a result, the British allied with the South and construct a Confederate warship which the South use to fight against the Union. After the war, the United States claimed that the British owned America for disrupting shipping, prolonging the length of the war, and violating its neutrality. The relationship between the US and British was worsen until Fish convince Grant to let Fish handle the situation. After the negotiation, both nation agreed that Britain owned America $15.5 million dollars. This increased the relationship between United States and British and also made international arbitration wildly acceptable. It was also seen as one of the greatest accomplishment of Grant's presidency.

Annexing Santo Domingo

One thing that Grant had failed to accomplish in foreign policy was the Annexation of Santo Domingo. Santo Domingo wanted the United States to annex the country. Grant also agreed because it would provide an opportunity for African Americans in the South to negotiate with Southern white. However, Fish disagree with this idea. Grant tried to persuade Charles Summer, a Massachusetts senator, to aid him in this policy. At first Summer agrees but in 1870, he changed his mind and the plan failed. Grant tried to persuade other senator and the they agreed to annex Santo Domingo but the public disagree with this idea. The debate disappear from public and Santo Domingo was never annexed.

The Election of 1868

After he was appointed as a Commander of the US Army, he worked under president Andrew Jackson, a southern democrat. Jackson tried to use Grant to defeat the Radical Republicans by placing him as the Secretary of War. However, Grant denied and keeps his military command. Because of this, he became a hero for the Republicans and was nominated as presidency candidate in 1868. Grant was one of the most popular men in the north because he help won the Civil War. Because of this, he easily won the election. His rival was Horatio Seymour, a Democrat. Grant easily beat Seymour on this election. The result of the election are as followed:

When grant wrote the letter of acceptance to the party, he concluded with "Let us have peace". This became his campaign slogan. He won the election with a lead of 300,000 popular votes out of 5,716,082. He received 214 electoral votes which is almost 3 times compared to Seymour. Schuyler Colfax was Grant's running mate. He later became the vice-president.

At the age of 46, he was the youngest person yet elected president.

Ulysses S. Grant 1869-1877

Place of Birth, Date of Birth
- Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio on April 27, 1822
- When he was born, his name was Hiram Ulysses Grant
- Mother is Root Grant
- Father is Simpson Grant

Education
- At age of 17, he entered the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York.
- There, he registered with a wrong name Ulysses S. Grant
- Because of this, he uses this as his name for the rest of his career
- "S" doesn't stand for anything, because U.S. also stands for uncle Sam, he was known as Sam among is friends
- He graduated from USMA in 1843, ranking 21st out of 39

Early Career

Mexican-American War
-Serve as a lieutenant in the Mexican-American War in 1846-1848
- During the war, he have a chance to observed the war closely
- in the 1880's he wrote that the war was unjust
"I was bitterly opposed to the measure, and to this day, regard the war, which resulted, as one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation."

- Married Julia Boggs Dent between the war

Civil War

-On April 15, 1861, Grant helped president Abraham Lincoln to recruit 75,000 militia volunteers. Lincoln appointed him as brigadier general of the militia. Later, he was selected to command the key District of Southeast Missouri.
- Won many key battles, such as Battle of Belmont, Henry and Donelson
- The most important battle for Grant is the Battle of Vicksburg, one of the two Confederate strongholds left on the Mississippi River. Vickeburg was a important key of winning the war because it could control all river traffic.
- Granted tried to raid the city many times, but it all fail. He sent Benjamin Grierson and his troops to destroy the rail lines and distract the Confederacy. Grant then set up artillery, shelling the city for several hours a day, forcing residents into caves. After food supplies ran low, Confederate command of Vicksburg asked Grant for terms of surrender.
- After the war, on July 25, 1866, Congress authorized the newly created rank of General of the Army of the United States to Grant