Ulysses S. Grant

Research Paper # 94234

History > U.S. After 1865
History > U.S. Civil War 1860-1865
History > U.S. Presidency

Ulysses S. Grant

An examination of the failures of Ulysses S. Grant during his presidency of the United States.

1,300 words () | 6 sources | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant during the reconstruction of the United States from 1868. It explores the various ways in which Grant, as a president was inadequate due to political weakness, corruption and ill-advised ideas. The paper then examines how this weakness ended up causing the Reconstruction to fail.

From the Paper:

"Ulysses S. Grant's time as president of the United States was marked by failure, corruption and ill-advised ideas. Although a brilliant general who was a large factor in the Union army winning the Civil War, when it came to politics, Grant failed to truly unite the country or provide reforms. In the election of 1868, the American people widely wanted as a President someone who would rise above mere politics and would restore order to their tumultuous country. What they got in Ulysses Grant was a man who was seemingly bewildered by politics, who failed to dig the country out of its divided beliefs and politics, and who allowed Abraham Lincoln's dreams of reconstruction to deteriorate. How a man who started with nearly no political ambitions, who was not very good at politics in general, got to the highest office in our country can be traced back to the event that also started the major problems that defined his presidency; the Civil War."

Sample of Sources Used:

Grant, Ulysses S. Grant: Memoirs and Selected Letters. New York, NY: Literary Classics of the United States, Inc., 1990.
Perret, Geoffrey. Ulysses S. Grant: Soldier and President. New York: Random House, Inc., 1997.
Simpson, Brooks D. The Reconstruction Presidents. Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 1998.
"Ulysses S. Grant". The White House. http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/ug18.html
"Grant the President". 2006. http://www.empirenet.com/~ulysses/