what was the grant administration known for

What was the Grant administration known for? In 1865, as commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. As an American hero, Grant was later elected the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877), working to implement Congressional Reconstruction and to remove the vestiges of slavery.

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Why was the Grant administration so corrupt?

Grant was influenced by both political forces of reform and corruption. The standards in many of his appointments were low, and charges of corruption were widespread At times, however, Grant appointed various cabinet members to clean up the executive corruption....Grant administration scandalsPolitical partyRepublican10 more rows

What are 2 scandals that became known during Grant's administration?

Grant's attorney general, secretary of war, secretary of the navy and secretary of the interior were all accused of taking bribes. His private secretary was implicated in a conspiracy to cheat the government out of tax revenue from the production of whiskey.

What were some of the diplomatic accomplishments of the Grant administration?

The Treaty of Washington, 1871 The greatest diplomatic success of the Grant Administration involved the ''Alabama'' claims. The Alabama was one of five British-built Confederate warships that sank many Northern merchant ships during the Civil War. The U.S. said Britain owed compensation for letting them sail.

What were some of Ulysses S. Grant's failures?

Ulysses S. Grant was inconsistent in his policy supporting Reconstruction. He sent federal troops into South Carolina to protect African-Americans' civil rights, but failed to send federal troops into Louisiana and other southern states when Reconstruction began to fail there.

What was President Grant's peace policy?

President Ulysses S. Grant advances a “Peace Policy” to remove corrupt Indian agents, who supervise reservations, and replace them with Christian missionaries, whom he deems morally superior.

What major events happened during Ulysses S. Grant's presidency?

Ulysses S. Grant - Key EventsMarch 4, 1869. Ulysses S. ... May 10, 1869. Transcontinental railroad completed. ... September 24, 1869. “Black Friday” financial panic. ... November 29, 1869. Annexation of Santo Domingo. ... January 2, 1870. Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins. ... January 11, 1870. ... January 26, 1870. ... February 9, 1870.More items...

What were Jefferson Davis accomplishments?

In 1846 Davis resigned his seat in Congress to serve in the Mexican-American War as a colonel in command of the First Mississippi volunteers. He became a national hero for winning the Battle of Buena Vista (1847) with tactics that won plaudits even in the European press.

What did Grant do to the Treasury Department?

He gave approval for the Treasury Department to reduce the national debt and to gradually resume specie currency. Six months into his first term, market speculators James Fisk and Jay Gould saw in Grant's lack of direct action an opportunity to corner the gold market (buy enough to be able to control the price for it).

What did Grant's refusal to set policy anger?

Grant's refusal to set policy now angered both the regulars and the reformers. After the regulars started losing elections in the South to Republican liberals (in elections often marred by violence against Black voters), they demanded Grant do something.

Why did the Civil Service reformers want a merit system?

Civil Service reformers wanted a merit system, whereby test scores determine a person's qualifications for government positions. This would ensure that many of the employees working for the government would be good at their jobs.

When was the Union as it Was?

Masked, "The Union as it Was," Harper's Weekly, October 24, 1874. armed, and supplied with horses and money by the Democratic candidates for office, they ride over the country at midnight, and perpetrate unheard-of enormities.

Was Grant a partisan?

As Grant became accustomed to party politics , however, he fully embraced partisanship, and many of the people he put in charge were corrupt. By the time he took office in 1869, most of the Confederate states had been restored to the Union with Republicans in control.

Was Grant a good president?

The famous Union Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant was considered a great general but a terrible president. He consistently ranks near the bottom of the historian's poll. In the military he had a reputation for putting the most qualified people in charge, and political reformers believed this would hold true in the White House as well. As Grant became accustomed to party politics, however, he fully embraced partisanship, and many of the people he put in charge were corrupt. By the time he took office in 1869, most of the Confederate states had been restored to the Union with Republicans in control. The Fourteenth Amendment had been ratified, and the Fifteenth was making its way around the states.#N#Issue: The Economy#N#Following the Civil War, the economies of the Southern and Western states were in shambles. Many

What was the first scandal to taint the Grant administration?

James Fisk. The first scandal to taint the Grant administration was Black Friday, also known as the Gold Panic, that took place in September 1869, when two aggressive private financiers cornered the gold market in their New York Gold Room, with blatant disregard to the nation's economic welfare.

What was Grant's military style command?

Another instance of Grant's military-style command arose over the McGarrahan Claims, a legal dispute over mining patents in California, when Grant overrode the official opinion of Attorney General Ebenezer R. Hoar. Both Cox and Hoar, who were reformers, eventually resigned from the cabinet in 1870.

Why did Grant accept Belknap's resignation?

Grant historian Josiah Bunting III noted that Grant was never put on his guard when Secretary Belknap came to the White House in a disturbed manner or even asked why Belknap wanted to resign in the first place. Bunting argues that Grant should have pressed Belknap into an explanation for the abrupt resignation request. Grant's acceptance of the resignation indirectly allowed Belknap, after he was impeached by the House of Representatives for his actions, to escape conviction since he was no longer a government official. Belknap was acquitted by the Senate, escaping with less than the two-thirds majority vote needed for conviction. Even though the Senate voted that it could put private citizens on trial, many senators were reluctant to convict Belknap since he was no longer Secretary of War. It has been suggested that Grant accepted the resignation in a Victorian impulse to protect the women involved.

What was Grant's weakness?

According to Grant's Attorney General George H. Williams, Grant's "trusting heart was the weakness of his character". Williams also said Grant was slow to make friends, however, once friendships were made "they took hold with hooks of steel.".

How much did the President of the United States get paid in 1873?

On March 3, 1873, President Grant signed a law that increased the president's salary from $25,000 a year to $50,000 a year. The law raised salaries of members of both houses of the United States Congress from $5,000 to $7,500.

Who was the president who allowed Babcock to be a stumbling block for reformers?

President Grant allowed Babcock to be a stumbling block for reformers who might have saved Grant's presidential legacy. Grant's secretary of state, Hamilton Fish, who was often at odds with Babcock, made efforts to save Grant's reputation by advocating that reformers be appointed to or kept in public office.

Who were the reformers who resigned from the Cabinet in 1870?

Both Cox and Hoar, who were reformers, eventually resigned from the cabinet in 1870. Grant's reactions to the scandals ranged from prosecuting the perpetrators to protecting or pardoning those who were accused and convicted of the crimes.

What was the Grant Administration scandal?

Grant Administration Scandals. The postwar era was marked by widespread political corruption. Dishonest Scalawags and Carpetbaggers enriched themselves in state and local governments of the South during Reconstruction. Cities in the North were not immune to the prevailing greed where the infamous Tweed Ring of New York City set ...

Why were liquor taxes raised after the Civil War?

In the years following the Civil War, federal liquor taxes were raised to extremely high rates to help pay off the cost of the fighting. In order to avoid the high tax, many of the nation’s distillers bribed officials in the Department of the Treasury, receiving tax stamps at a fraction of their face value.

Who was bribed by the Ames scandal?

When it appeared that an investigation was going to be launched, Ames bribed influential congressmen and was able to head off scrutiny. Nevertheless, the fraud was exposed in 1872.

What were the major scandals in the Union Pacific Railroad?

Major scandals included the following: Credit Mobilier. . Representative Oakes Ames of Massachusetts and Thomas C. Durant were prominent stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1867 the two cooperated in forming Crédit Mobilier, a dummy construction company fobbed off as responsible for completing the transcontinental railway`s last 600 ...

How did Grant help the South?

He used his full powers to weaken the Ku Klux Klan, reducing violence and intimidation in the South. He appointed James Milton Turner as the first African American minister to a foreign nation. Grant's relationship with Charles Sumner, the leader in promoting civil rights, was shattered by the Senator's opposition to Grant's plan to acquire Santo Domingo by treaty. Grant retaliated, firing men Sumner had recommended and having allies strip Sumner of his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee. Sumner joined the Liberal Republican movement in 1872 to fight Grant's reelection.

What was Grant's popularity?

Grant's rise in political popularity among Republicans was based on his Union military service during the Civil War, his successful generalship that defeated Robert E. Lee, and his break from President Andrew Johnson over the Tenure of Office Act, when Grant returned the War Office back to Edwin Stanton.

What was the Treaty of Washington?

Under Secretary of State Hamilton Fish, the Treaty of Washington restored relations with Britain and resolved the contentious Alabama Claims, while the Virginius Affair with Spain was settled peacefully. Grant attempted to annex the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo, but the annexation was blocked by the Senate.

What did the 15th amendment do for the United States?

The amendment prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's " race, color, or previous condition of servitude." On December 24, 1869, Grant established federal military rule in Georgia and restored black legislators who had been expelled from the state legislature. On February 3, 1870, the amendment reached the requisite number of state ratifications (then 27) and was certified as the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Grant hailed its ratification as "a measure of grander importance than any other one act of the kind from the foundation of our free government to the present day". By mid-1870 former Confederate states: Virginia, Texas, Mississippi, and Georgia had ratified the 15th Amendment and were readmitted to the Union.

What was the purpose of the tenure of office act?

The Tenure of Office Act was passed by Congress in 1867, sponsored by Radical Republicans, to curb the power of President Andrew Johnson in making government office appointments. The controversial law had been invoked during the impeachment trial of Johnson in 1868. To bolster the repeal effort, Grant declined to make any new appointments except for vacancies, until the law was overturned. On March 9, 1869, the House repealed the law outright, but the Senate Judiciary Committee rejected the bill and only offered Grant a temporary suspension of the law. When Grant objected, the Senate Republican caucus met, and proposed allowing the President to have a free hand in choosing and removing his own cabinet. The Senate Judiciary Committee wrote the new bill. A muddled compromise was reached by the House and Senate. Grant signed the bill into law on April 5, having gotten virtually everything he wanted.

How many votes did Grant get?

Grant won 286 of the 352 Electoral College votes and received 55.8 percent of the popular vote nationwide. The President's reelection victory also brought an overwhelming Republican majority into both houses of Congress. Heartbroken after a hard-fought political campaign, Greeley died a few weeks after the election.

Who was the first KKK attorney general?

Grant appointed Amos T. Akerman as Attorney General and Benjamin H. Bristow as America's first Solicitor General. Both Akerman and Bristow used the Department of Justice to vigorously prosecute Ku Klux Klan members in the early 1870s. Grant appointed Hiram C. Whitley as director of the new Secret Service Agency in 1869, after he had successfully arrested 12 Klansmen in Georgia who would murdered a leading local Republican official. Whitley used talented detectives who infiltrated and broke up KKK units in North Carolina and Alabama. However they could not penetrate the main hotbed of KKK activity in upstate South Carolina. Grant sent in Army troops but Whitley's agents learned they were lying below until the troops were withdrawn. Whitley warned Akerman, who convinced Grant to declare martial law and send in US marshals backed by federal troops to arrest 500 Klansmen; hundred more fled the state, and hundreds of others surrendered in return for leniency.

What is the role of a grant administrator?

While it can seem like a daunting role to take on, the position of grant administrator is an invaluable one in the grant management process. They can make or break a project. At the end of a day, a grant administrator can look at a project and know they played a major part in something important.

Why is it important to have a project administrator?

Be sure to have everything in place to ensure this gets done. Proper project administration is crucial to the success of any project involving grants.

What did Grant do in Louisiana?

Grant issues a presidential proclamation calling for the dispersal of the rebellious “White League” in Louisiana. Grant sends five thousand troops and three gunboats to New Orleans; the resistance ends two days later. Grant and the Republicans are criticized severely for the intervention.

What was the first scandal to take place during the Grant years?

The gold plot is the first of several scandals to take place during the Grant years. September 24, 1869, became known as "Black Friday" when a financial panic began in New York City after the price of gold crashed and caused financial ruin for many investors.

What was the Ku Klux Klan Act?

Also known as the third Enforcement Act, the bill was a controversial expansion of federal authority designed to give the federal government additional power to protect voters.

What did Gould and Fisk argue about gold?

Gould and Fisk, along with President Grant's brother-in-law, frame their argument by claiming that if the government refrains from selling gold, its value will increase and improve depressed farm prices. A suspicious Grant finally orders a large sale of $4 million in gold, ruining many speculators.

How many electoral votes did Grant get?

Grant is reelected in the largest popular-majority victory for a Republican in the nineteenth century. He wins 55.6 percent of the popular vote and 214 electoral votes to Greeley's 80. The result is more an expression of dislike for Greeley than support for Grant.

What was the Civil Rights Act of 1875?

Grant signs the Civil Rights Act of 1875, guaranteeing black Americans equal rights in public places and prohibiting their exclusion from jury duty. The act includes no enforcement provisions and will be declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1883.

What was the purpose of the Interoceanic Canal Commission?

Grant appoints a special Interoceanic Canal Commission to determine the best of three proposed canal plans connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific. In February 1876, the commission reports in favor of a route through Nicaragua.

How did Grant help the government?

Grant helped professionalize government. Ironically, for a man whose administration was marked by nepotism, cronyism and graft, Grant became a leading voice for reforming the political patronage system.

What was Ulysses Grant known for?

President Ulysses S. Grant: Known for Scandals, Overlooked for Achievements. The Civil War hero left the White House under a cloud, but he also made substantial contributions—like passing the 15th Amendment. The Civil War hero left the White House under a cloud, but he also made substantial contributions—like passing the 15th Amendment.

When did Grant leave the presidency?

Grant left the presidency in March 1877. Urged on by his wife, among others, he considered a third term, which would have been unprecedented—but still legal. “Painfully aware of his mistakes as president,” Chernow writes, “Grant fantasized about reentering the White House to correct those errors and redeem his reputation.” However, that was not to be. At the Republican nominating convention in June 1880, Grant narrowly lost to James A. Garfield, who went on to win the presidency.

How long did the Grant experiment last?

Unfortunately, the experiment in good government would last only two years. Many legislators resented having to give up one of their most lucrative perks, so in 1874 Congress failed to fund the commission, ending its work. Some historians now question whether Grant gave up the fight too easily, but George William Curtis, a respected reformer who had chaired the commission, argued that Grant’s capitulation was “the surrender of a champion who had honestly mistaken both the nature and the strength of the adversary and his own power of endurance.”

How many pages does Grant's autobiography have?

No one might be more surprised by this reputational revival than Grant himself. His autobiography, published in two volumes in 1885, covers some 1,200 pages, beginning with a discussion of his ancestors and ending with his Civil War years. His presidency is hardly mentioned.

What was the name of the act that restored the voting rights of all but a few hundred former Confederates?

By the middle of 1870, all of the former Confederate states had made the required concessions and been readmitted to the Union. In 1872, Grant signed the Amnesty Act , which restored the voting rights and right to hold office of all but a few hundred former Confederates.

What was Grant's private secretary's role in Black Friday?

His private secretary was implicated in a conspiracy to cheat the government out of tax revenue from the production of whiskey. The robber barons Jim Fisk and Jay Gould tricked Grant into aiding their scheme to manipulate the gold market, leading to a national financial panic known as Black Friday.

What did Grant learn about the Civil War?

It was in Mexico, while serving as regimental quartermaster and involving himself in as many battles as he could, that Grant had learned the decidedly unromantic aspects of war: the ingenuity required to feed and supply an army, the hazards of poor camp sanitation, the value of different kinds of expertise and the unequivocal brutality of combat. In the last year of the Civil War, as casualties mounted and the horrors of trench warfare accumulated in the Battles of Cold Harbor and Petersburg, Grant remained fixed in his purpose to destroy Lee’s army.

What was Grant's memory?

One staff officer observed that after one hard look at a map, “he could follow its features without referring to it again. Besides, he possessed an almost intuitive knowledge of topography, and never became confused as to the points of the compass.” This gift was complemented by superb horsemanship, which allowed Grant to see for himself as much of the battlefield as possible.

What did Grant lack in knowledge of military art and science?

What he lacked in knowledge of military art and science, he made up for with tenacity and grit. In March 1864, Ulysses S. Grant went to Washington, D.C., to receive his commission from Abraham Lincoln as lieutenant-general in command of all the Union armies. After several years of frustration with a parade of unsuitable commanders, ...

Why did William Rosecrans refuse to advance?

In 1863, Union General William Rosecrans refused an order to advance to meet an enemy force while Grant was laying siege to Vicksburg, the key to controlling the Mississippi River, because Rosecrans claimed that doing so would violate the “military maxim ‘not to fight two decisive battles at the same time.’”.

What did Lincoln say to Grant?

When, in the summer of 1864, Grant informed the cautious Halleck, back in Washington, of his refusal to disengage Lee and withdraw troops to quell draft resistance in the North, Lincoln responded in language that encapsulated Grant’s tenacious approach: “I have seen your despatch expressing your unwillingness to break your hold where you are.

What did Sherman say about Grant?

What Sherman called Grant’s “simple faith in success” proved infectious. His confidence and determination made others believe in themselves as well: “when you have completed your best preparations, you go into battle without hesitation...no doubts, no reserve,” Sherman wrote to Grant. “I tell you that it was this that made us act with confidence. I knew wherever I was that you thought of me, and if I got in a tight place you would come—if alive.”

How long did Grant study in the Eastern Theater?

In the Eastern Theater, which he studied for only eight weeks, Grant revealed a thorough grasp of the strategic situation.

Overview

Grant's temperament and character

Scandals

Scandal cabinet and appointees

Nepotism

Democratic Party Tweed Ring

Liberal Republican revolt

Legacy and historical reputation