What made Grant a popular choice for president?

But he was easily the most popular candidate, and his election was never seriously challenged. He won the Electoral College vote by a nearly 3:1 margin over Seymour. Helped by the newly enfranchised Southern blacks in some reconstructed states, he won the popular vote by 300,000.

Did Grant prefer presidential or radical Congressional Reconstruction?

Johnson favored a lenient approach to Reconstruction, calling for an immediate return of the former Confederate states into the Union without any guarantee of African American civil rights. The Radical Republican-controlled Congress opposed the idea and refused to admit Congressmen from the former Confederate states.

Why did Ulysses S Grant became president?

Grant quarreled with the President and aligned himself with the Radical Republicans. He was, as the symbol of Union victory during the Civil War, their logical candidate for President in 1868. When he was elected, the American people hoped for an end to turmoil.

Why did Grant lose presidential credibility?

While Grant himself did not personally profit from the corruption, his loyalty to dishonest men around him ruined his presidency.

Was General Grant a good president?

Grant is best known as the Union general who led the United States to victory over the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. As a two-term President, he is typically dismissed as weak and ineffective; historians have often ranked Grant’s presidency near the bottom in American history.

How good was Grant as a general?

Grant was the most successful Union General of the Civil War, defeating six Confederate armies and capturing three. He was criticized over the Battle of Shiloh after the public learned that this victory came with unprecedented losses of life, and again during the Overland Campaign for the same reason.

How did President Grant deal with Reconstruction?

He ambitiously hoped to protect the rights of former enslaved people and expand Republican influence over the region while simultaneously avoiding another civil war. In 1870 he signed the Fifteenth Amendment, which guaranteed universal male suffrage without respect to race.

Was US Grant a good president?

Grant suffered a reputation as one of the nation’s worst presidents, consistently ranking in the bottom 10 in polls of historians. His presidency is hardly mentioned. Grant’s farewell message to Congress in 1876 shows he sensed that history might judge him harshly.

What did Grant believe was the reason why the South was fighting?

He didn’t revel in fighting a brother who whole heartedly believed their cause. According to the quote what did Grant believe the South was fighting for? Owning slaves for free labor.

Was Grant’s administration 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….

Did General Grant believe in equal rights?

Ulysses Grant in the White House He supported pardons for former Confederate leaders while also attempting to protect the civil rights of freed slaves. In 1870, the 15th Amendment, which gave black men the right to vote, was ratified.

What does the S in Ulysses Grant stand for?

1. The “S” in Grant’s name didn’t stand for anything. Although he was always known as “Ulysses” during his youth in Ohio, Grant’s given name was actually Hiram Ulysses Grant. Despite Grant’s best efforts to correct the record, the name stuck, and he eventually accepted it as his own.

How did General Grant fight in the Civil War?

Lincoln appointed him General-in-Chief in March 1864. Grant directed Sherman to drive through the South while he himself, with the Army of the Potomac, pinned down Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Finally, on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrendered.

What happened to Ulysses S Grant after he became president?

Grant allowed Radical Reconstruction to run its course in the South, bolstering it at times with military force. After retiring from the Presidency, Grant became a partner in a financial firm, which went bankrupt. About that time he learned that he had cancer of the throat.

What were Grant’s views on abolition of slavery?

Grant included his views on abolition in a November, 1861 letter to his father: “My inclination is to whip the rebellion into submission, preserving all constitutional rights. If it cannot be whipped in any other way than through a war against slavery, let it come to that legitimately.

What did Lincoln say about Grant at Shiloh?

At Shiloh in April, Grant fought one of the bloodiest battles in the West and came out less well. President Lincoln fended off demands for his removal by saying, “I can’t spare this man–he fights.”