The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant – A Reappraisal – clip

Charles W. Calhoun / East Carolina University

The administration of President Ulysses S. Grant is one of the most misunderstood and myth-encrusted in all of American history. The only president to serve two full consecutive terms between Andrew Jackson and Woodrow Wilson, the former Union General enjoyed a wide popularity in his day. As chief executive, he fought vigorously for the rights of African Americans, initiated reform of the civil service, instituted improvements in the Indian service, negotiated a landmark treaty with Great Britain that averted war, and pursued an array of economic policies designed to lower taxes, reduce the national debt, stabilize the money supply, and restore the country to a specie-backed currency. Yet throughout his two terms, Grant encountered fierce, sometimes malicious, criticism — not only from enemies in the opposing political party, but also from men he had bested in his own.