Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant

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Ulysses S. Grant served as the 18th president of the United States from March 4, 1869 to March 4, 1877. A Republican, Grant took office after winning the 1868 election, and secured a second term in 1872. He presided over the Reconstruction Era and the 1876 U.S. Centennial. By the year 1870, all former Confederate states had rejoined the United States and regained their representation in Congress. However, Democrats and former slave owners opposed the citizenship of freedmen as outlined in the Fourteenth Amendment. They also refused to grant voting rights as stipulated by the Fifteenth Amendment. In response, Congress enacted three Force Acts, which empowered the federal government to intervene when states neglected the rights of ex-slaves. The Ku Klux Klan, which originated in 1865, instilled fear throughout the Southern United States, specifically targeting African Americans. In collaboration with Congress, President Grant established the Department of Justice and appointed Amos T. Akerman...

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