WHO WAS THE WORST

PRESIDENT BEFORE 1870

PRESENTED BY:DESTINY(A.C),NERO

A.K.A(NENE)

INTRODUCTON0 Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822 – July 23, 1885) was

the 18th president of the United States (1869–1877) following his success as military commander in the American Civil War. Under Grant, the Union Army

defeated the Confederate military; the war, and secession, ended with the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army at Appomattox Court House. As president,

Grant led the Radical Republicans in their effort to eliminate vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery, protect African American citizenship, and

defeat the Ku Klux Klan. In foreign policy, Grant sought to increase American trade and influence, while remaining at peace with the world. Although his Republican

Party split in 1872 as reformers denounced him, Grant was easily reelected. During his second term the country's economy was devastated by the Panic of 1873, while investigations exposed corruption scandals in the administration.

The conservative white Southerners regained control of Southern state governments and Democrats took control of the federal House of Representatives.

By the time Grant left the White House in 1877, his Reconstruction policies were being undone.

WHY WAS HE THE WORST PRESIDENT?

0 At No. 7, Ulysses S. Grant has risen from No. 2 on the 1948 Schlesinger list probably because of the same revisionist take on Reconstruction that lowered Johnson in the eyes of historians.

0 Although there is no way to overlook the widespread graft and corruption that occurred on his presidential watch —it was at the time unprecedented in scope— he was in no way a beneficiary of it.

0 "My failures have been errors of judgment," the popular former Civil War general admitted, "not of intent."

0 More important, the 18th president now receives plaudits for his aggressive prosecution of the radical reform agenda in the South. His attempts to quash the Ku Klux Klan (suspending habeas corpus in South Carolina and ordering mass arrests) and his support for the Civil Rights Act of 1875 were controversial and may have produced only short-lived gains for African-Americans, but Grant's intentions were laudable and brave. He also worked for the good of American Indians, instituting the reservation system as an imperfect, last-ditch effort to protect them from extinction.

0 Grant's reputation may continue to rise as a result of sympathetic biographies and studies—and because of a renewed appreciation of his own excellent memoir, considered to be the best ever produced by a former president.

CHILDHOOD LIFE0 President Ulysses S. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April, 27, 1822, in Point

Pleasant, Ohio, near the mouth of the Big Indian Creek at the Ohio River. His famous moniker, "U.S. Grant," came after he joined the military. He was the first son of Jesse Root Grant, a tanner and businessman, and Hannah Simpson Grant. A year after Grant was born, his family moved to Georgetown, Ohio, and had what he described as an "uneventful" childhood. He did, however, show great aptitude as a horseman in his youth.

0 Grant was not a standout in his youth. Shy and reserved, he took after his mother rather than his outgoing father. He hated the idea of working in his father's tannery business—a fact that his father begrudgingly acknowledged. When Grant was 17, his father arranged for him to enter the United States Military Academy at West Point. A clerical error had listed him as Ulysses S. Grant. Not wanting to be rejected by the school, he changed his name on the spot.

0 Grant didn't excel at West Point, earning average grades and receiving several demerits for slovenly dress and tardiness, and ultimately decided that the academy "had no charms" for him. He did well in mathematics and geology and excelled in horsemanship. In 1843, he graduated 21st out of 39, and was glad to be out. He planned to resign from the military after he served his mandatory four years of duty.

EARLY CAREER0 After graduation, Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in St. Louis, Missouri,

where he met his future wife, Julia Dent. Grant proposed marriage in 1844, and Julia accepted. Before the couple could wed, however, he was shipped off for duty. They actually got married four years later on August 22, 1948. During the Mexican-American War, Grant served as quartermaster, efficiently overseeing the movement of supplies. Serving under General Zachary Taylorand later under General Winfield Scott, he closely observed their military tactics and leadership skills. After getting the opportunity to lead a company into combat, Grant was credited for his bravery under fire. He also developed strong feelings that the war was wrong, and that it was being waged only to increase America's territory for the spread of slavery.

0 In 1844, Ulysses and Julia finally married. Over the next six years, the couple had four children, and Grant was assigned to several posts. In 1852, he was sent to Fort Vancouver, in what is now Washington State. He missed Julia and his two sons—the second of whom he had not yet seen at this time—and thusly became involved in several failed business ventures in an attempt to get his family to the coast, closer to him.

WHY PEOPLE THINK HE WAS A BAD PRESIDENT

0 Grant was a personally honest man. However, he associated himself with dishonest men who gave him bad advice, and for whom he vouched, even when their corruption became apparent. The American economy suffered under his tenure and the Panic of 1873 also occurred under his watch. 

No doubt Grant had a difficult situation where the South was concerned, but his insistence on pursuing Radical Reconstruction made bad matters worse. While a military presence was necessary to help control the Ku Klux Klan, the infrastructure of the region was in shambles, and the federal government did little to improve the situation. The people suffered, regardless of their former affiliations. 

President Grant did sign the order to form Yellowstone National Park, created the Department of Justice, the Army Weather Bureau (now the National Weather Service) and the office of the Surgeon General. His foreign policies were somewhat successful, but overall his presidency was rife with corruption and ineffectual. 

AFTER HE WAS PRESIDENT

0Ulysses S. Grant died from throat cancer on 23 July 1885. He had written his memoirs to help provide for his family. He forfeited his military pension when he became President, and no pension was provided to former presidents at that time. 

Grant is best remembered for his military achievements. He was a tenacious and canny fighting man. In all likelihood, that would be how he would want to be remembered.

PICTURE OF ULYSSES GRANT