The Ulysses S. Grant presidency began on March 4, 1869, when it was inaugurated as the 18th President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1877. The grant took office after the Civil War, and he led many of the Reconstruction Era. A Republican, Grant became president after defeating Democrat Horatio Seymour in the presidential election of 1868. He was re-elected in 1872 in a landslide victory, overcoming the Republican split that resulted in the formation of the Liberal Republic Party, nominated by Horace Greeley against him. He was replaced as president by Republican Rutherford B. Hayes after the contested presidential election in 1876.
Reconstruction after the Civil War took precedence over Grant's first term. By 1870, all former Confederate states had been accepted back to the United States and represented in Congress, but the federal government remained active in the South to protect the rights of ex-slaves. Congress set up three powerful Enforcement Actes to suppress violence by Ku Klux Klan rebels, and set up the Justice Department and the Public Defenders Office. These actions support the ability of the Grant Administration to implement and enforce federal laws, especially those protecting the civil and political rights of African Americans. The new Justice Department demanded thousands of Ku Klux Klan members under strict new laws, and Grant signed the Second Enforcement Act of 1871 into law, which made the KKK an illegal terrorist organization. Grant also endorses the adoption of the Fifteenth Amendment (ratified on 3 February 1870, the third and the last of the Reconstruction Amendments), which prohibits the federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on the "priority, color, or condition of slavery". Instead of developing a cadre of credible political advisors, Grant was independent in his cabinet selection, relying heavily on his former Army colleagues, who had a thin political understanding and weak civil ethics, many scandals engulfed his government, including allegations of bribery, fraud and cronyism. in 1872, Grant signed a law on a Congressional Act establishing Yellowstone National Park, the country's first National Park.
At the beginning of Grant's second term, the nation prospered, national debt, federal government spending, tariffs, and labor waned, and there was an increase in tax revenues. Congress sets the de facto gold deflation standard that reduces the number of greenbacks in the national economy. However, Panic of 1873 shook the country and destroyed much of the economic progress made in Grant's first term. The panic caused a severe national economic depression and changed public opinion on Grant. As a result, Democrats regained control of the House in the 1874 election. The corruption scandal increased, although the reformers appointed by Grant were able to clean up some federal departments. Especially, Treasury Secretary Benjamin Bristow sued the Whiskey Ring, which leads to the indictment of Grant's private secretary, Orville E. Babcock. War Secretary William W. Belknap resigned in humiliation in February 1876 after he was dismissed by the House for accepting bribes. Grants continue to support Reconstruction, and he signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodation. However, at the end of Grant's presidency, the white South Democrats, called Redeemers by their supporters, have regained political control over the state government, often through murder and other physical violence, fraud, and oppression of black voters.
The United States reconciled with the world during Grant's eight-year term, but his foreign policy handling was uneven. Tensions with Native American tribes in the West continue. Under the gifted State Secretary Hamilton Fish, the Washington Treaty restored relations with Britain and resolved Alabama's controversial claims while the affair of Virginius with Spain was resolved peacefully. Grant attempted to annex the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo, but the annexation was blocked by the Senate.
With the completion of the Railroad Transcontinental in 1869, the West was wide open to expansionism that is sometimes challenged by hostile Native Americans. Grant pursued a "peace policy" with Native Americans, but a persistent Western expansion by settlers made the conflict difficult to avoid. Grants led the Great Sioux War of 1876 and other clashes with Native Americans. Grant's presidency has long been denounced by historians as the most corrupt in US history. His presidential reputation has grown gradually over the past few decades among historians who have noted that Grant advanced Indian policies, African American civil rights, and Civil Service reforms.
Video Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
Selection 1868
Grant's rise in political popularity among Republicans was based on his military service during the Civil War, his success as a general who defeated Robert E. Lee, and his break from President Andrew Johnson over Office Mastery during Reconstruction while serving as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and his temporary appointment by Johnson as Secretary of War. When Grant handed the office to Edwin Stanton, which Johnson suspended, Republicans grew convinced that Grant was their man for the presidency. Grant's displeasure with Johnson's policies led him to the point where he believed it was his duty to accept the Republican presidential nomination. Grant was unchallenged for the Republican presidential nomination of 1868, and was nominated without an opponent in the first vote on May 20-21, the party's national convention in Chicago. House Speaker Schuyler Colfax was elected to the Vice President. The Republican platform supports black suffrage in the South as part of the passage to full citizenship for ex-slaves. They agreed to let the northern states decide privately whether to grant them freedom. It opposes the use of the greenbacks to redeem US bonds, encourage immigration, supports full rights to naturalized citizens, and supports radically different reconstructions of the softer policies adopted by President Andrew Johnson.
Grant received a Republican nomination not on duty, while his choice was to remain in the military. In a letter of 1868 to a close friend, William T. Sherman, Grant said:
I have been forced into it regardless of myself. I can not retreat without, as seen for me, leaving the contest for power over the next four years between merchant trade politicians, the height at which, no matter which party wins, will lose to us, in large part, the result of an expensive war we have been through.
The letter of acceptance Grant exclaimed, "Let us be at peace", which captures the imagination of the American people. Historian Brooks Simpson says these four simple words reveal "the deepest desire of many Americans," explains:
They promised to end a long and tiring conflict. They signaled the cessation of disputes and small partisan arguments that have sometimes met the need for a calm and calm state dictatorship. They offer reconciliation to the white South people who are willing to accept defeat and its consequences and want to work for reunions. At the same time, they warn that violence will not be tolerated. Finally, with peace comes prosperity. The sectional harmony will be thoughtful, extraordinary, and profitable.
There were two major divisive problems in 1868. The first was the Continuing Reconstruction of the South. Democrats advocate allowing former Confederate soldiers to hold elective positions, and Republicans endorse the proposed Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution that allows African Americans to vote. Other controversial issues relate to redemption of war bonds either in gold or paper money known as greenbacks. The Democrats want to exchange bonds with $ 100,000,000 in the greenback and the rest with gold. Greenbacks are known as "cheap money" and will be inflationary. Republicans want to pay redemption bonds only war with gold, an attractive position for investors and bankers.
Democrats, ignoring the politically damaged president of petahana Andrew Johnson, who has returned to the party, nominated Horatio Seymour for the presidency, along with Francis P. Blair as his partner. Seymour was a wealthy conservative who was criticized by the GOP for its weakness during the war and supporting the anti-war Copperheads. The campaign was awful, while Republicans waved "bloody shirts" from treason against the Democrat-as-the-Wall. No candidate is actively campaigning, as is the custom at the time. Grant issued a public apology to Jewish voters for 1862, General Order no. 11 which prohibited Jewish traders from his territory during the Civil War for alleged profiteering. Grant won an extraordinary Electoral College victory, receiving 214 votes for Seymour 80. Grant also received 52.7 percent of the popular vote nationwide. His winning margin was enhanced by the fact that the six southern states were controlled by Republicans and many former Confederate members were still barred from voting.
Maps Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant
First First Period 1869-1873
Inauguration and the White House
On March 4, 1869, Grant was sworn in as President of the eighteenth United States by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase. At the age of forty-six, he was the youngest elected president. In his inaugural address, Grant insisted on the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment and said he would approach the Reconstruction "with calm, without prejudice, hatred, or regional pride." He also recommended the "proper treatment" of native Americans studied, advocated their civilization and ultimately citizenship. The newspaper editorial praised Grant's speech: The New York Times better than Lincoln's second inaugural address and praised his cabinet's choice. Others, however, are skeptical that his choice is based on loyalty rather than competence.
When Grant first moved to the White House, he had a statue of Thomas Jefferson, the third president, removed from the yard and back to Capitol Rotunda.
Cabinet
Although some historians view the Grant cabinet as ordinary, according to biographers Jean Edward Smith and Ron Chernow, it distinguishes members, including former statesmen. Without a senatorial consultation, the unconventional choice of Grant's cabinet sparked both criticism and approval. In his efforts to create national harmony, he deliberately avoided electing Republican leaders, electing some non-politicians. Grant chose two close friends for important posts: Elihu B. Washburne for the Secretary of State and John A. Rawlins as Secretary of War. Washburne was replaced by New York conservative statesman Hamilton Fish. Rawlins died in the office after serving only a few months, replaced by William W. Belknap of Iowa. For Treasury, he pointed to the wealthy New York merchant Alexander T. Stewart, who was found ineligible and replaced by Representative George S. Boutwell, a Massachusetts Radical Republican. Philadelphia Entrepreneur Adolph E. Borie was appointed as the Navy Secretary, who was reluctant to accept, soon resigned due to poor health and was replaced by a relatively unknown, George M. Robeson, former brigadier general. Grant's nomination of James Longstreet, the former Confederate general, to the position of the New Orleans port customs surveyor, was greeted with general admiration, and was largely seen as a genuine attempt to unite the North and the South. Other cabinet appointments include former great general and Ohio Governor Jacob D. Cox for Interior Secretary, former Maryland Senator John Creswell as Postmaster General, and Ebenezer Rockwood Hoar (Attorney General) - well received.
Grant and Sumner often disputed each other on foreign policy issues and political patronage. Sumner follows his own foreign policy and hates Grant's practice of nepotism in making political promises. The historian, Mary L. Hinsdale, describes the Grant Administration as "the most remarkable series of departures from the ordinary path" and the "military" rule, in close connection with the elected Republican Senatorial group. "Grant was criticized for raising many family members, or friends deemed ineligible for highly sought-after government posts.
Tenure of Office Act partial retraction
In March 1869, President Grant declared that he wanted the Appointment of the Office to be revoked, stating that it was "a step towards a revolution in our free system". The Tenure of Office Act was passed by Congress in 1867, sponsored by Radical Republicans, to rein in President Andrew Johnson's power in appointing a government office. Controversial law was imposed during the trial of the impeachment of Johnson in 1868. On 5 March 1869, the bill was filed before the Congress to revoke the law, but Senator Charles Sumner was opposed, unwilling to grant freedom in making an appointment. The grant, to support the revocation efforts, refused to make any new appointments except for vacancies, until the law was canceled, thereby, agitating for political office seekers to press Congress to revoke the law. Under national pressure for government reforms, compromises are reached and a new bill is passed that allows the President to fully control his own cabinet, but government-appointed officials require the approval of Congress within thirty days. Grant, who did not want a separate feast on the matter, signed the bill; afterwards, he received criticism for not getting a full repeal of the law. Unpopular size was completely repealed in 1887.
Reconstruction
During Reconstruction, Freedmen (freed slaves), are given a vote by Congress and become active in state politics; fourteen people were elected to Congress. In the government of the country they had never been governors but became governors or secretaries of the country's lieutenants. They formed a Republican ballot base along with some local whites (called "Scalawags") and newcomers from the North (called "Carpetbaggers".) Most of the white Southerners opposed the Republic; they call themselves "Conservative" or "Redeemer". Giving repeatedly takes a role in state affairs; for example, on December 24, 1869, he established a federal military government in Georgia and restored black legislators who had been excluded from the state legislature.
Most historians of the 21st century consider Reconstruction to end in failure and the north has surrendered to protect African-American civil rights. However, the historian Mark Summers in 2014 argues that:
- if we see the purpose of the Reconstruction as ensuring that the ultimate goal of war will be filled, of a Union held together forever, from the North and the South can work together, from enslaved slavery, and limited sectional competition, the permanent expulsion from fear against the expulsion of an appeal against the state's sovereignty, backed by armed forces, the Reconstruction looks like what in that case, a lasting and unappreciated success.
Other things during Reconstruction related to polygamy, women's suffrage, anti-obscenity, and the formation of a federal Holiday.
15th Amendment
According to biographer William S. McFeely, Grant and many people in the north believe that the American Civil War widened democracy to independent Africans. Grant worked to ensure the ratification of pending constitutional amendments approved by Congress and sent to the state during the last days of the Johnson administration, which would prohibit federal and state governments from denying citizens the right to vote based on the race's "race", color, or previous conditions of slavery. "On February 3, 1870, the amendment reached the required number of state ratifications (then 27) and was ratified as the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, Grant praised its ratification as" a more important measure than any other such act from the government free us to this day. "However, many people in the south decide that the right of African men to vote will not work.
Department of Justice
On June 22, 1870, Grant signed the bill into a law passed by Congress that created the Department of Justice and to assist the Attorney General, the Office of Public Defenders. Grant pointed to Amos T. Akerman as Attorney General and Benjamin H. Bristow as the first US Attorney General. Both Akerman and Bristow used the Justice Department to vigorously prosecute members of the Ku Klux Klan in the early 1870s. In the first few years of Grant's first term in office, there were 1000 charges against Klan members with more than 550 penalties from the Department of Justice. In 1871, there were 3000 counts and 600 penalties with mostly only a short sentence while the group leader was jailed for five years at a federal prison in Albany, New York. The result is a dramatic decline in violence in the South. Akerman grants credits to Grant and tells a friend that nothing is "better" or "more powerful" than Grant when it comes to prosecuting terrorists. Akerman's successor, George H. Williams, in December 1871, continued to prosecute the Clan throughout 1872 until the Spring of 1873 during Grant's second term at office. William's pardon and moratorium on Clan prosecution was partly because the Justice Department, inundated with Klan's anger cases, did not have an effective force for continuing prosecution.
Holidays law
On June 28, 1870, Grant approved and signed a law making Christmas, or December 25, a public holiday law in Washington D.C. Historian Ron White says this was done by Grant because of his zeal to unite the nation. During the early nineteenth century in the United States, Christmas became more of an activity that was centered on the family Church. Other holidays, included in the law in Washington D.C., are the New Year, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving Days. The law affects 5,300 federal employees working in the District of Columbia, the nation's capital. The law is intended to adapt to similar laws in countries around Washington D.C. and "in every Unitary State."
Naturalization Act of 1870
On July 14, 1870, Grant signed the Act of Naturalization Act of 1870 which enabled Africans to become citizens of the United States of America. It revises the previous law, Naturalization Act of 1790 which only allows whites of good moral character to become US citizens. The law also requires people who use fictitious names, misrepresentations, or identities of deceased persons when applying for citizenship.
Force Acts in 1870 and 1871
To add enforcement to the 15th Amendment, Congress passed a measure that guaranteed the protection of the African-American voting rights; Grant signed the bill, known as the Law of Forces 1870 to become law on May 31, 1870. The Act is designed to keep the Redeemer from attacking or threatening African Americans. This action places severe penalties on people who use intimidation, bribery, or physical attacks to prevent citizens from voting and placing elections under Federal jurisdiction.
On January 13, 1871, Grant submitted to Congress a report on acts of violence perpetrated by the Ku Klux Klan in the South. On March 20, Grant told a Congress reluctant that the situation in the South was horrific and necessary federal laws would "secure lives, freedoms, and property, and law enforcement, in all parts of the United States." Grant states that US letters and revenue collection are in jeopardy. Congress investigated the Klan's activities and finally passed the 1871 Forces Act to allow Clan prosecution. This law, also known as the "Ku Klux Klan Act" and written by Representative Benjamin Butler, endorsed by Congress to specifically pursue local units of the Ku Klux Klan. Despite being sensitive to charges of establishing a military dictatorship, Grant signed the bill into law on April 20, 1871, after being assured by Treasury Secretary George Boutwell that federal protection was justified, after quoting documented abominations against Freedmen. This law allows the President to suspend habeas corpus on "armed combination" and conspiracy by the Klan. The law also empowers the president "to arrest and break up the undercover wizards". Clan action is defined as a high crime and an act of rebellion against the United States.
The Ku Klux Klan is made up of local secret societies established to oppose the Republican government during the Reconstruction; no organization is above the local level. Wearing a white veil to hide their identity, the Clan will attack and threaten the Republicans. Strong clans in South Carolina between 1868 and 1870; South Carolina Governor Robert K. Scott, who was mired in corruption charges, allowed the Klan to rise to power. Grant, already fed up with their violent tactics, ordered Ku Klux Klan to dissolve from South Carolina and lay down their weapons under the authority of the Enforcement Act on October 12, 1871. No response, and so on 17 October 1871, Grant issued his habeas suspension corpus in all 9 districts of South Carolina. Grant ordered federal troops in the state that later captured the Clan; who was vigorously demanded by Att. General Akerman and Sol. General Bristow. With the Klan destroying other white supremacist groups will appear, including the White League and the Red Shirts.
Amnesty Act of 1872
Texas was accepted back to the Union on March 30, 1870, Mississippi was reinstated February 23, 1870, and Virginia on January 26, 1870. Georgia became the last Confederate country to be reunited to the Union on July 15, 1870. All House of Representatives and Senate members sat down from 10 separate Confederate countries. Technically, the United States is again a united state .
To ease the tension, Grant signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 on May 23, 1872, which granted amnesty to the former Confederate. This action allowed most of the former Confederates, who before the war had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, to hold elected public office. Only 500 former Confederate members remain unpardonable and therefore prohibited to hold elected public office.
West point extension minus
While Grant advocated that African-Americans enter the West Point Academy, he initially failed in 1870 and 1871 to protect the first African Academy West Point Academy cadet, James Webster Smith, from racist hazing by other cadets. This lack of protection was influenced by Grant's son, West Point cadre Frederick Dent Grant, who participated in a haze against Smith. Major General Thomas H. Ruger, however, was appointed Inspector West Point in 1871, reforming the Academy; had reduced the number of cadres to hawks in 1873 and made strenuous efforts to eliminate "discredited" practices. In 1871, other African Americans eventually followed Smith into West Point and Henry O. Flipper, accepted at the Academy in 1873, became the first to graduate from the Academy in 1877. In 1874, Smith was forced out of the Academy for having failed in an unconventional personal test, contrary to traditional West Point practice, administered by Prof. Peter S. Michie. Smith eventually commissioned an officer by West Point in 1997, one hundred and twenty-three years later.
polygamy of Utah territory
In 1862, during the American Civil War President Lincoln signed the Morrill Act bill banning polygamy throughout the US Territory. Mormons who practice polygamy in Utah, for the most part, reject Morrill's law and territorial governors. During the election of 1868, Grant had mentioned he would enact a law against polygamy. Tensions began in 1870, when Mormons in Ogden, Utah began arming themselves and practicing military drilling. On July Fourth, the 1871 Mormon militia in Salt Lake City, Utah was on the brink of fighting the territorial forces, however, more leaders of the winning and violent levels were avoided. Grant, however, who believes that Utah is in a state of rebellion is determined to capture those who practice polygamy prohibited under the Morrill Act. In October 1871, hundreds of Mormons were besieged by US marshals, put in prison camps, arrested, and tried for polygamy. A convicted polygamy receives a $ 500 fine and 3 years in jail under forced labor. On November 20, 1871, Mormon leader Brigham Young, in a state of ill health, was accused of polygamy. Young's attorney stated that Young had no intention of running away from the court. Other people during polygamy are closed accused of killing or intending to kill. The Morrill Act, however, proved difficult to enforce because proof of marriage is necessary for confidence. On December 4, 1871, Grant declared that polygamy in Utah was "a remnant of barbarism, disgusting to civilization, decency, and law of the United States."
Act Comstock
In March 1873, an anti-obscene moralist, led by Anthony Comstock of the YMCA, easily secured a section of the Comstock Act that made it a federal crime to submit articles "for any indecent or immoral use". Grant signed the bill after he was convinced that Comstock would personally enforce it. Comstock then became the special agent of the Post Office designated by Secretary James Cresswell. Comstock sued pornographers, imprisoned abortions, banned naked art, stopped sending information about contraception, and tried to ban what was considered a bad book.
Initial suffrage movement
During Grant's presidency, the early women's suffrage movement led by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton received national attention. Anthony lobbied for women's suffrage, gender equality, and property protection for women living in Washington DC In April 1869, Grant signed a law to protect married women's property from their husbands' debts and the ability for women to sue in court in Washington DC In March 1870, Representative Samuel M. Arnell introduced the law, co-written with the suffragist Bennette Lockwood, who would give women federal workers the same wage for the same job. Two years later Grant signed a modified version of the Senate from the Arnell RUU into law. The law requires that all female federal government employees be paid at full salary, however, lower-level female employees are exempt. The law increased the salaries of female employees from 4% to 20% during the 1870s; however, patronage and patriarchal cultures continued. To appease the growing suffragist movement, the Republican platform includes that women's rights should be treated with "respectful consideration", while Grant advocates equal rights for all citizens.
Indian India's Relations and Peace Policy
The slogan of Grant 1868's campaign, "Let's be peaceful," defines his policy to reconstruct the South and open a new era in relations with western Indian tribes.
In a major speech, Grant stated: "The construction of railways and access given to all agricultural and mineral areas of the country quickly brought civilized settlements in contact with all Indian tribes no matter what should happen, the relationship between settlements and indigenous peoples , the fact is that they do not mingle together, and one or the other must give way to the end.A system seen in racial extinction is too disgusting for the Nation to indulge in without involving the wrath of all the Christian world, and without incurring in Citizen a ignoring human life, and the rights of others, is harmful to the community.I see no cure for this except in putting all the Indians on big ordering... and giving them absolute protection there. "
The aim of his "peace policy" is to minimize the military conflict with the Indians, waiting for "any road to those who are inclined to the highest civilization and citizenship". Indians should stay where they will receive government subsidies and training supervised by religious denominations. Indians are no longer allowed to engage in raids or send factions against the reservation; The Army's job is to force them back. The aim is to assimilate the Indians into American society; every Indian can leave the reservation at any time and join the larger community, and have full citizenship. The Indians about the reservation were made US citizens in 1924.
Grant's Peace Policy is a sharp reversal of federal policies against Native Americans. "The war of extermination... is demoralizing and evil," he said to Congress in his second Inaugural Address of 1873. The president lobbied, albeit not always, to preserve the native lands of America from the pioneering encroachment to the west. The economic power of Western expansionism led to conflicts between Native Americans, settlers, and the US military. Native Americans are increasingly being forced to stay in reservations.
In 1869, Grant appointed his aide General Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Indian, as the first Indian Native American Commissioner. During Parker's first year in office, the number of Indian Wars per year dropped 43 from 101 to 58. Chief Oglala Sioux Red Cloud wanted to meet Grant, after learning that Parker was appointed as Indian Commissioner. Red Cloud, along with the head of BrulÃÆ' Â © Sioux Spotted Tail, came to Washington, D.C. by train and met with Parker and Grant in 1870. Grant had no personal resentment towards Native Americans and personally treated them with dignity. When Red Cloud and Spotted Tail first met Grant at the White House on May 7, 1870, they were fed abundant dinners and entertainment similar to what was shown to the young Prince Arthur at a White House visit from England in 1869. On their second met on May 8, Red Cloud informs Grant that white people enter without permission to the land of Native Americans and that his people need food and clothing. Out of concern for Native Americans, Grant ordered all the Generals in the West to "keep the intruders out of the military if necessary". To prevent the hostility and wars of Native Americans, Grant lobbied and signed the Indian Appropriations Act of 1870-1871. This action ends the government's policy of treating the tribe as an independent sovereign state. Native Americans will be treated as individuals or state wards and Indian policies will be enacted by the laws of Congress.
Historians have debated the issues of "paternalism" and "colonialism" but have painted the importance of contingencies, inconsistencies, and political competition involved in forging substantive federal policies, according to scholar David Sim (2008). He examined the peace policy, emphasizing incoherence in formulation and application. Although Grant administration focuses on well-intentioned but limited goals putting "good people" in positions of influence and convincing indigenous people of their fundamental dependence on the US government, efforts to create new departures in federal-indigenous relations are characterized by conflict. and disputes. According to Sim, the chaotic creation of what has been known as a peace policy thus tells much about the various diverse and different attitudes that Americans have of their consolidation of the empire in the West after the Civil War.
On April 10, 1869, Congress established the Board of Commissioners of India. Provide designated volunteers who are "leading for their intelligence and philanthropy"; The previous commission was formed under Andrew Johnson's Government in 1868. The Grant Council was given wide powers to oversee the Bureau of Indian Affairs and "civilize" Native Americans. After the Piegan Massacre on January 23, 1870, when Major Edward M. Baker killed 173 tribal members, mostly women and children, Grant was determined to share the Native American posts that "rose among the churches of religion"; by 1872, 73 Indian institutions were divided among religious denominations. The core policy is to place Western reservations under the control of religious denominations. In 1872, policy implementation involved allocating Indian reservations to religious organizations as an exclusive religious domain. Of the 73 institutions assigned, Methodists received fourteen; Orthodox friends; Presbyterian nine; Episcopal eight; Roman Catholic seven; Hicksite Friends six; five Baptists; Five Dutch reforms; Congregationalists three; Christian two; Unitarian two; US Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions one; and Lutheran one. The distribution leads to direct dissatisfaction among many groups who claim that they have been underestimated or ignored. Selection criteria are unclear and some critics view the Peace Policy as violating American religious freedom. Among Roman Catholics, this discontentment led to the establishment of the Indian Catholic Mission Bureau in 1874. The Peace Policy remained in effect until 1881, when the government heeded the protests of religious organizations whose missionaries had been removed from their reservations. has not been assigned. The Quaker or Protestant pastor controls most of the central and southern Indian Plains, while all other surrounding areas are under the control of appointed military officers.
Financial affairs
When taking over the office, Grant's first step was to sign the Act to Strengthen Public Credit, which has been endorsed by the Republican Congress. This ensures that all public debt, especially war bonds, will be paid only in gold rather than in the form of a greenback. The price of gold on the New York Stock Exchange fell to $ 130 an ounce - the lowest point since the deferment of a specie payment in 1862.
On May 19, 1869, the Grant protects the wages of those employed for the Government of the U.S. In 1868, a law was passed that reduced the working day of the government to 8 hours; However, much of the law was later revoked which allowed day wages to be reduced. To protect workers, Grant signed an executive order that "no reduction will be made in wages" regardless of the reduction of working hours for government day workers.
Finance Minister George S. Boutwell reorganized and reformed the US Treasury Department by issuing unnecessary employees, initiating massive changes at the Printing and Engraving Bureau to protect the currency from counterfeiters, and revitalizing tax collections to accelerate revenue collection. These changes soon led to the Ministry of Finance having a monthly surplus. In May 1869, Boutwell reduced the national debt of $ 12 million. In September, the national debt was reduced by $ 50 million, achieved by selling an ever-increasing gold surplus at weekly auctions for the greenback and repurchase of wartime bonds with the currency. The New York Tribune wants the government to buy more bonds and greenbacks and the New York Times praised Grant's government debt policy.
The first two years of Grant's reign with George Boutwell on the Department of Finance's helmet shopping were reduced to $ 292 million in 1871 - down from $ 322 million in 1869. Tax collection costs fell to 3.11% in 1871. Grants reduced the number of employees who worked in government by 2,248 people from 6,052 on March 1, 1869, became 3,804 on 1 December 1871. He had raised tax revenues of $ 108 million from 1869 to 1872. During his first reign, national debt fell from $ 2.5 billion to $ 2.2 billion.
In the rare preemptive case during the Grant Administration, Brevet Maj. Gen. Alfred Pleasonton was dismissed for not being eligible to hold the position of the Internal Revenue Commissioner. In 1870, Pleasonton, Grant's pledge, approved an unauthorized $ 60,000 tax refund and was linked to an allegedly immoral Connecticut company. Finance Minister George Boutwell immediately stopped the refund and personally told Grant that Pleasonton was incompetent to hold office. Refusing to resign at the request of Boutwell, Pleasonton protests openly before Congress. Grant issued Pleasonton before the potential scandal took place.
International relations
The foreign policy of the Administration is generally successful, except for attempts to annex Santo Domingo. The annexation of Santo Domingo was Grant's "unrealistic" attempt to alleviate the suffering of blacks in the South during Reconstruction and was the first step towards ending slavery in Cuba and Brazil. The dangers of confrontation with Britain on the question of Alabama were resolved peacefully, and for monetary gain from the United States. Issues on the Canadian border are easily resolved. His achievements are the work of Secretary Hamilton Fish, who is a spokesman for prudence and stability. A poll of historians has stated that the Secretary of Fish is one of the greatest Secretaries of State in the history of the United States. Fish was appointed Secretary of State by Grant on 17 March 1869 and served in the Grant Cabinet until the end of Grant's second term on March 4, 1877. After that, the Fish Secretary briefly served at President Rutherford B. Hayes Cabinet until March 12, 1877.
Dominican Republic Annexation Treaty
In 1869, Grant proposed to annex the largely black state of the Dominican Republic, which came to be known as Santo Domingo. Earlier in 1868, President Andrew Johnson had attempted to annex Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo, but the House of Representatives defeated two resolutions for the protection of the Dominican Republic and Santo Domingo and for the annexation of the Dominican Republic. In July 1869, Grant sent Orville E. Babcock and Rufus Ingalls who negotiated a draft agreement with Dominican Republic President, Buenaventura BÃÆ'¡ez for the annexation of Santo Domingo to the United States and the sale of SamanÃÆ'¡ Bay for $ 2 million. To keep the island nation and BÃÆ'¡ez secure power, Grant ordered naval vessels, without permission by Congress, to secure the island from invasion and internal insurrection. BÃÆ'¡ez signed an annexation agreement on November 19, 1869, offered by Babcock under the authorization of the federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Fish Secretary drew up the final draft of the proposal and offered $ 1.5 million for Dominican national debt, the annexation of Santo Domingo as an American state, the acquisition of United States rights to SamanÃÆ'¡ Bay for 50 years with annual $ 150,000 rent, and guaranteed protection from foreign intervention. On January 10, 1870, the Santo Domingo treaty was submitted to the Senate for ratification. Despite his support for annexation, Grant made the mistake of not telling Congress about the agreement or encouraging national acceptance and enthusiasm.
Grant not only believed that the island would be useful to the Navy tactically, especially SamanÃÆ'¡ Bay, but also he tried to use it as a bargain chip. By providing a safe haven for the liberated, he believed that the black labor exodus would force the Southern white man to recognize the need for significant labor and accept their civil rights. Grant believes that the island nation will increase exports and lower trade deficits. He hopes that US ownership of the island will force Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil to abandon slavery. On March 15, 1870, the Committee on Foreign Relations, headed by Senator Charles Sumner, recommended opposing the agreement section. Sumner, the leading spokesman for African civil rights, believes that annexation will be very expensive and involve the United States in an ongoing civil war, and will threaten the independence of Haiti and the West Indies, thereby blocking black political progress. On May 31, 1870, Grant left before the Congress and urged part of the Dominican annexation treaty. Strongly opposed to ratification, Sumner successfully led the opposition in the Senate. On June 30, 1870, the Santo Domingo annexation agreement failed to pass the Senate; 28 votes in favor of the agreement and 28 opposing votes. Grant's own cabinet was divided into attempts to annex Santo Domingo, and Bancroft Davis, Sec's assistant. Hamilton Fish, secretly informed Senator Sumner of the state department negotiations.
Grant was determined to keep the Dominican Republic's agreement in public debate, calling the annexation of the Dominican Republic in the State of the Union Address in December 1870. Grant succeeded in getting Congress in January 1871 to create a special Commission to investigate the island. Senator Sumner continued to strongly oppose and speak out against annexation. Grant appointed Frederick Douglass, an African American civil rights activist, as one of the Commissioners who sailed to the Dominican Republic. Returning to the United States after several months, the Commission in April 1871 issued a report stating the Dominicans wanted annexation and that the island would be beneficial to the United States. To celebrate the Commission's return, Grant invited the Commissioners to the White House, except Frederick Douglass. The African American leaders were angry and the issue of Douglass was not invited to a White House dinner was raised during the 1872 Presidential election by Horace Greeley. However, Douglas, who is personally disappointed at not being invited to the White House, remains loyal to Grant and the Republican Party. Although the Commission supports Grant's annexation efforts, there is not enough enthusiasm in Congress to vote on the second annexation agreement.
Unable to be constitutional to go straight after Senator Sumner, Grant immediately got rid of Sumner's close and respected Ambassador, John Lothrop Motley. With Grant's encouragement in the Senate, Sumner was eventually dismissed from the Foreign Relations Committee. Grant re-formed his coalition, known as the "New Radical", working with Sumner's enemies such as Ben Butler of Massachusetts, Roscoe Conkling of New York, and Oliver P. Morton of Indiana, surrendering to Fish demands that Cuban rebels were denied, and transferring his southern patronage from radical blacks and adventurers allied with Sumner being a more moderate Republican. This set the stage for the Liberal Republic uprising of 1872, when Sumner and his allies publicly criticized Grant and supported Horace Greeley and the Liberal Republican Party.
A Congressional inquiry in June 1870 led by Senator Carl Schurz revealed that Babcock and Ingalls both had land interests in the Gulf of Samanà ¢ ¡ which would increase in value if the Santo Domingo treaty was ratified. The US Navy ship, with Grant authorization, has been sent to protect BÃÆ'¡ez from the invasion by Dominican rebels, Gregorio LuperÃÆ'³n, while negotiating a deal is under way. The initial inquiry has been called to resolve a dispute between American businessman Davis Hatch against the United States government. BÃÆ'¡ez has imprisoned Hatch without trial because of his opposition to the BÃÆ'¡ez government. Hatch claims that the United States has failed to protect him from prison. The majority Congress report rejected Hatch's claim and freed both Babcock and Ingalls. The Hatching incident, however, makes certain Senators unenthusiastic to ratify the treaty.
Cuban Insurface
In 1869, Grant was urged by public opinion to support rebels in Cuba with military aid and give them diplomatic recognition of the United States. Grant and Fish instead tried to use arbitration with Spain with minister Daniel Sickles negotiating. Grants and Fish want Cuban independence and end slavery without US military intervention or work. Fish, with persistence and opposition to popular pressure, was able to make Grant officially recognize Cuba's independence because it would jeopardize negotiations with the British associated Alabama Claims. Sickle peace negotiations failed in Madrid, but Grant and Fish did not yield to popular pressure on US military involvement in the Cuban insurgency. Grant and Fish sent a message to Congress, written by Fish and signed by Grant. The message urges strict neutrality not to officially recognize the Cuban revolt, calming national fears.
Washington Agreement
Historians have praised the Treaty of Washington for applying International Arbitration to enable outside experts to settle disputes. Grant, Secretary of State, Hamilton Fish has arranged many events leading to the treaty. Earlier, Secretary of State William H. Seward during the Johnson administration first proposed a preliminary agreement on the damage done to American merchants by three Confederate warships, CSS Florida, CSS Alabama, and CSS Shenandoah built in England. This damage is collectively known as the Alabama Claim. These ships have inflicted tremendous damage to US merchant ships during the Civil War and Washington wants Britain to pay heavy compensation, possibly including handing Canada over.
In April 1869, the US Senate strongly rejected a proposed treaty that paid too little and there was no British guilty plea to prolong the war. Senator Charles Sumner speaks before Congress; openly denounced Queen Victoria; demanding great reparations; and open the possibility of Canada submitted to the United States as payment. The speech angered the British government, and the negotiations had to be postponed until things settled down. The negotiations for the new agreement began in January 1871 when the British sent Sir John Rose to America to meet the Fish. The joint high commission was formed on 9 February 1871, in Washington, consisting of representatives from England and the United States. The Commission makes an agreement whereby the international Tribunal will settle the amount of damage; Britain acknowledged remorse, not a mistake, for the destructive actions of Confederate war cruisers. Grant agreed and signed the agreement on May 8, 1871; The Senate ratified the Washington Treaty on May 24, 1871.
The Tribunal meets in Geneva, Switzerland. The US is represented by Charles Francis Adams, one of five international arbitrators, and counseled by William M. Evarts, Caleb Cushing, and Morrison R. Waite. On August 25, 1872, the Tribunal gave the United States $ 15.5 million of gold; $ 1.9 million was awarded to Great Britain. Amos historian Elwood Corning notes that the Washington Treaty and the arbitration "pass on to the world of invaluable inheritance." In addition to the $ 15.5 million arbitration award, the agreement settled several disputes over border and fishing rights. On October 21, 1872, William I, the German Emperor, resolved a boundary dispute in favor of the United States.
Korean Incident
The main role of the United States Navy in the nineteenth century was to protect American commercial interests and open trade to Eastern markets, including Japan and China. Korea has excluded all foreign trade and, the US sought deals related to shipwrecked sailors after the murdered American commercial crew. The long-term goal for the Grant Government is to open Korea to Western markets in the same way Commodore Matthew Perry has opened Japan in 1854 by a Navy army display. On May 30, 1871, Rear Admiral John Rodgers with a fleet of five ships, part of the Asian Squadron, arrived at the mouth of the Salee River below Seoul. The fleet included Colorado , one of the largest ships in the Navy with 47 weapons, 47 officers, and a crew of 571 people. While waiting for senior Korean officials to negotiate, Rogers sent a ship to make sounding from the Salee River for navigation purposes.
The American fleet was shot by a Korean fortress, but there was little damage. Rogers gave ten days to the Korean government to apologize or initiate talks, but the Court of Justice remained silent. After ten days, on June 10, Rogers started a series of amphibious assaults that destroyed 5 Korean fortresses. This military engagement is known as the Battle of Ganghwa. Several hundred Korean soldiers and three Americans were killed. Korea still refuses to negotiate, and the American fleet sails away. The Koreans call this 1871 US military action as Shinmiyangyo. Grant defended Rogers in his third annual message to Congress in December 1871. After the regime's change in Seoul, in 1881, the US negotiated a first treaty between Korea and the West.
Yellowstone and conservation
Organized Exploration The upper Yellowstone River began in the fall of 1869 when the Cook-Folsom-Peterson Expedition traveled for a month over the Yellowstone River and into the hot fountain basin. In 1870, a rather more official Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition explored the same region of upper Yellowstone and hot water basins, named Old Faithful and many other park features. Official reports from Lieutenant Gustavus Cheyney Doane and Monthly Scribner's account by Nathaniel P. Langford bring an increasing public awareness of the region's natural wonders. Influenced by Jay Cooke of the Northern Pacific Railroad and Langford's public speech on Yellowstone on the East Coast, geologist Ferdinand Hayden sought funding from Congress for an expedition under the auspices of the US Geological Survey. In March 1871 Grant signed a congressional Legislation bill that allocated $ 40,000 to fund the Hayden Geological Survey in 1871. Hayden was given instructions by Grant's Secretary of Interior, Columbus Delano. The expedition party consists of 36 civilians, mostly scientists, and two military escorts. Among the survey participants were artist Thomas Moran and photographer William Henry Jackson. The report published by Hayden, a magazine article, along with paintings by Moran and photographs by Jackson assured Congress to preserve the natural wonder of Yellowstone above. On December 18, 1871, a bill was introduced simultaneously in the Senate, by Senator SC Pomeroy of Kansas, and in the House of Representatives, by Congressman William H. Clagett of the Montana Territory, for the establishment of parks upstream. Yellowstone River. Hayden's influence on Congress can be seen clearly when examining the detailed information contained in the report of the House Committee on Public Land: "The bill is now before Congress has the purpose of withdrawal from settlement, residence or sale, under United Nations law. an area of ​​fifty-five times sixty-five miles, about the sources of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, and dedicated and defined as a great national park or a place of pleasure for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. "When the bill was submitted to Congress, The main bill, prepared by Langford, Hayden and Jay Cooke, convinced their colleagues that the real value of the area was as a garden area, to be preserved in its natural state. The bill was approved by a comfortable margin in the Senate on January 30, 1872, and by the House of Representatives on 27 February. On March 1, 1872, Grant played his part, in signing the "Act of Dedication" into law. This establishes the Yellowstone region as the nation's first national park, made possible by three years of exploration by Cook-Folsom-Peterson (1869), Washburn-Langford-Doane (1870), and Hayden (1871).
In 1872, about two thousand white buffalo hunters working between Wichita, Kansas, and Arkansas killed buffalo to be hidden by thousands of people. Hectares are dedicated solely to dry the buffalo skin that is slaughtered. Native Americans protest against the "forced destruction" of their food supply. By 1874, 3.7 million bison had been destroyed in the western and southern plains of the United States. Concern for the destruction of buffalo increases, and a bill in Congress passed, HR 921, which will make illegal buffalo hunt for whites. Taking advice from Delano's Secretary, Grant opted to pocket the bill, believing that the death of the buffalo would reduce Indian warfare and force the tribe to remain on their respected reservations and to adopt an agricultural lifestyle rather than exploring the plains and buffalo hunting. Breeders want the buffalo to go to the pasture field for their cattle. With the supply of buffalo food downgraded, Native Americans were forced to stay on reservation.
The Yellowstone Act 1872 prohibits fish and games, including buffalo, from "nasty ruin" within park boundaries. However, Congress does not accord funds or laws for enforcement of hunting; as a result, Delano's Secretary can not hire people to help tourists or protect Yellowstone from encroachment. In the 1880s, buffalo herds shrank to just a few hundred, the majority found mostly in Yellowstone National Park. When the Indian war ended, the Congress used money and law enforcement in 1894, signed into law by President Grover Cleveland, that protected and preserved buffalo and other wildlife in Yellowstone. Grant also signed a law protecting northern seals in the Alaskan Pribilof Islands. This is the first law in US history that specifically protects wildlife on federally owned land. Gold Ring foiled
In September 1869, financial manipulators Jay Gould and Jim Fisk set up an elaborate fraud to corner the gold market by buying all the gold at the same time to raise prices. The plan is to keep the Government from selling gold, thus pushing the price. Grant and Finance Minister George S. Boutwell found out about the speculation of the gold market and ordered a $ 4 million sale of gold on (Black) Friday, September 23. Gould and Fisk were thwarted, and gold prices fell. The effect of releasing gold by Boutwell is a disaster. Stock prices plunge and food prices fall, destroying farmers for years.
Commission on civil service and reform
Reform of the spoils system of political patronage enters the national agenda under the Grant Presidency, which will take the spirit of religious revival. The distribution of federal work by members of Congressional legislatures is considered important for re-election to Congress. Grants require that all applicants for federal employment apply directly to the head of the Department, rather than the President. Two of Grant's promises, Interior Secretary Jacob D. Cox and Treasury Secretary George S. Boutwell conducted checks on their respected departments advocated by reformers. Grants and all reforms agree that the applicable appointment system is unhealthy, therefore maximizing party profits and minimizing the efficiency and nonpartisan interests of good governance. Historian John Simon says his efforts in civil service reform are honest, but that they are filled with criticism from all sides and fail.
Grant was the first president to recommend professional civil service. He pushed the preliminary legislation through Congress, and appointed members to the first United States Civil Service Commission. The interim commission recommends administering competitive exams and issuing regulations on recruitment and promotion of government employees. Grant ordered their recommendations in force in 1872; has been going on for two years until December 1874. At New York Custom House, a port that receives hundreds of millions of dollars annually, applicants for entry positions must now pass a written civil service exam. Chester A. Arthur who was appointed by Grant as a New Custom Collector of New York declared that the examination excluded and prevented anyone who was unfit for a working position. However, Congress, not interested in reforming itself, rejected long-term reform by refusing to enact legislation necessary to make permanent changes. Historians have traditionally been divided whether patronage , meaning a promise made without a merit system, should be labeled corruption.
The Movement for Civil Service reform reflects two distinct goals: to eliminate corruption and inefficiencies in non-professional bureaucracies and to examine the strength of President Johnson. Although many reformers after the elections of 1868 saw to give the herb Civil Service Act through Congress, he refused, saying:
- Civil Service Reform entirely rests with Congress. If a member will give up claiming patronage, it will be a step taken. But there is a very big human nature in congressmen, and it is human nature to seek strength and use it to help friends. You can not call it corruption - this is the condition of our representative form of government. "
Grant uses patronage to build his party and help his friends. He protects those who he thinks are victims of injustice or attacks by his enemies, even if they are guilty. Grant believed in loyalty to his friends, like a writer calling it "Knights of Friendship".
Star Post Ring
In the early 1870s during the Grant Administration, a favorable postal route contract was awarded to local contractors in the Pacific Coast and Southern regions of the United States. This is known as the Star Route because the asterisks are given on official Post Office documents. These remote routes are hundreds of miles long and go to the most rural parts of the United States with horses and chariots. In obtaining these precious postal contracts, bribery rings and straw offerings were established at the Postal Contract office; The ring consists of contractors, postal clerks, and various intermediary intermediaries. The bidding straw is in the highest practice while John Creswell, Grant 1869 appointment, is the Postmaster-General. A federal inquiry in 1872 on this issue freed Creswell, but he was criticized by a minority DPR report. A $ 40,000 bribe to the 42nd Congress by a postal contractor has polluted the results of the investigation. In 1876, another congressional investigation under the Democratic House closed the postal ring for several years.
New Custom House Ring New York
Before the Presidential Election in 1872 two congresses and one Treasury investigation took place over corruption at the New York Custom House under the appointment of Grant's collector Moses H. Grinnell and Thomas Murphy. Private warehouses take imported goods from docks and charge storage fees. Grant's friend, George K. Leet, allegedly involved with exorbitant prices to store goods and share profits. The appointment of Grant's third collector, Chester A. Arthur, implements the Reformed Finance Minister George S. Boutwell to keep the protected items on the dock rather than personal storage.
Payroll
On March 3, 1873, Grant signed a law authorizing a presidential salary to be increased from $ 25,000 per year to $ 50,000 per year and the salary of the members of Congress would be raised by $ 2,500. Representatives also receive bonus p
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