The Presidency of

Ulysses Grant

Ulysses S. Grant• 1822 – 1885• 18th President (1869–77)• Republican• Won election easily, despite having no

political experience• Extremely popular president but

reputation tarnished by the many scandals in his administration• Died of throat cancer

The Fifteenth Amendment• Ratified in Feb. 1870• The right of citizens of the United

States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Carpetbaggers & Scalawags• Carpetbaggers = Northerners who

moved into the South during Reconstruction, either to help or to take advantage of new opportunities• Scalawags = Southerners who

supported the Republican Party and Reconstruction• Both groups were very unpopular in the

South

African-Americans in Politics• “Black Republicans”• Many were educated blacks from the

North who went South and ran for office• Thousands of freedmen took

government jobs• 16 would serve in Congress during the

Reconstruction Era

Reforms help African-Americans• Black Codes repealed• Built state hospitals, orphanages,

mental institutions• Rebuilt roads, railroads, bridges• Built public schools – 200,000+

freedmen attended and attendance rates for black children was 40% (High for time)• Paid for through high property taxes

Increasing Racial Violence in South

• Many Southern whites resented the Republican governments and the newly won rights of the freed slaves• Struck out violently, but usually

anonymously, by burning houses, schools, and churches and by lynching black leaders and white carpetbaggers and scalawags

Ku Klux Klan• Founded in 1866• Original goal was to drive out

carpetbaggers and restore control of state governments to the Democratic Party• Grew to terrorize African-Americans

because of their support for the Republican governments• Engaged in acts of terror, including

lynchings

The Enforcement Acts• 3 Congressional Acts• 1) Made it a federal crime to interfere

with a citizen’s right to vote• 2) Placed federal elections under the

supervision of federal marshals• 3) The Ku Klux Klan Act: outlawed the

activities of the KKK and similar groups – led to 3000+ arrests, but only 600 convictions

Grant’s Troubled Presidency• Split in Republican Party over taxes and

spending• Scandals in customs collection, postal contracts,

and with Grant’s Secretaries of the Interior, War, & Navy as well as his Attorney General and personal secretary

• The Whiskey Ring: over 100 members of Grant’s administration were taking part in a scheme to steal millions of dollars in taxes on whiskey; although not personally involved, Grant interfered in the investigation and trials to protect his friends

Panic of 1873• Bad investments caused the collapse of

one of US’ biggest private banks• This triggered the failure of smaller

banks and thousands of small businesses, putting many out of work• This plus scandals destroyed Grant’s

popularity and chances for a third term

Election of 1876• Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden, a

“law-and-order” former governor of NY• Republicans declined to run Grant again

and instead ran Rutherford B. Hayes, governor of Ohio• Election was so close that Congress had

to decide who was president

Compromise of 1877• Supposedly, Southern Democrats

pledged to support Hayes as president if the Republicans promised to remove federal troops from the South and end Reconstruction• No “formal” agreement was ever

recorded, but once Hayes took office, Reconstruction was ended!

Rutherford B. Hayes• 1822 – 1893• 19th President (1877-81)• Republican• Chosen over Pres. Grant for the

Republican nomination• Did not run for re-election• Became heavily involved in charitable

works after leaving the presidency

Reconstruction Ends• With the withdrawal of federal

troops and the final readmission of all former Confederate states, the South was once again free to begin discriminating against the freedmen

The “New South”• The idea that the South needed to

abandon its reliance on cash crops like cotton and tobacco and industrialize• New railroads were built• Steel industry, cotton mills, and

cigarette factories all opened• Still, most Southerners remained in

farming

Sharecropping & Tenant Farming• Tenant farmer: rented land from a large

landholder for a set cash fee• Sharecropper: rented land from a large

landholder for a percentage of their crop• Both systems kept most blacks and

many poor whites deeply in debt and with no hope of ever owning their own land

“Jim Crow” Laws• Laws designed to prevent freedmen

from voting:• Literacy tests – must be able to read to

vote• Poll taxes – must pay a fee to vote• Grandfather clauses – can’t vote unless

your grandfather was eligible to vote

The “Solid South”• Southern states would continue to

vote – and vote Democrat -as a block in presidential elections for decades to come, blocking Republican initiatives for reform