Grant, Ulysses S.

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Ulysses S. Grant

Born April 27, 1822
Point Pleasant, Ohio

Died July 23, 1885
Mount McGregor, New York

U.S. president, Civil War general

"The country having just emerged from a great rebellion, many questions will come before it for settlement in the next four years which preceding Administrations have never had to deal with. In meeting these it is desirable that they should be approached calmly, without prejudice, hate, or sectional pride, remembering that the greatest good to the greatest number is the object to be attained."

Ulysses S. Grant was president for eight of the twelve years of the Reconstruction era (1865–77). The popular Civil War general hoped to help reunify North and South and accepted the Republican nomination for president in 1868 with the statement "Let us have peace," which became his campaign theme. As president, however, Grant became upset at how slow respect for the civil rights of African Americans came, and pursued aggressive action against Black Codes (laws intended to limit the rights of African Americans) and violence in Southern states. Meanwhile, the Grant administration was riddled by several scandals—none of which involved the president, but all of which showed Grant's poor judgment in selecting officials for his administration.

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