On March 4th 1867, Georgetown native , Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, was sworn in as the 18th President of the United States. He lived in Georgetown 16 years longer than anywhere else.

Although reluctant to run for president,he felt it his duty to continue serving the country. He also was afraid the gains made from the Civil War would be lost. He was nominated by the Republican Party on the first ballot without a dissenting vote. Grant and his vice president, Skylar Colfax, won the 1868 election with 52% of the vote versus 47% and 218 to 80 electoral votes. His campaign slogan was “Let Us Have Peace”.

At his inauguration President Grant promised to pay the war debt with gold and redeem “greenbacks” with gold. He paid the debt, redeemed the unsecure paper money and put the country on a sound fiscal basis.

He promised to continue reconstruction of the South and to protect the freed slaves. He promised fair treatment of native Americans. Grant said the transcontinental railroad should be completed. He advocated approval of the 15th Amendment which would give African American men the right to vote. The New York Herald editorialized that the “Grant Administration promised prosperity, development, progress and power at home and abroad.”

Grant was an innovative president. He established a staff system similar to his military organization. He was accustomed to writing an order and the task would be done. That didn’t always happen in the White House.

Senator Charles Sumner, always a pain in the President’s neck, as leader of the Republican Party, handed President Grant a list of party approved cabinet secretaries. Grant looked at the list and handed it back to Sumner and proceeded to make his own choices.

President Grant was a civil rights president. In addition to the 15th amendment, he urged education for freed slaves and work opportunities. He sent troops to the South to protect freed slaves.

He signed the Civil Rights Act of 1876 providing for access to public accommodations for African Americans. It was later repealed but a similar bill was enacted but not until 1964.

The Ku Klux Klan began terrorizing black people and the southern states would not enforce their own laws. Consequently, Grant asked Congress to enact federal laws that he could enforce.

The President enlarged the Justice Department by hiring Amos Ackerman to prosecute federal law breakers and eventually broke the Klan.

Great Britain professed it was neutral during the War but built and sold three war ships to the Confederacy. These ships attacked northern merchant ships destroying civilian cargo. President Grant made a claim against Great Britain for the damages. After a year of negotiations and arbitration in Geneva , the United States recovered $15,000,000 in damages.

This process avoided war and established a way to settle international disputes with diplomacy.

Grant’s policy for American Indians was to replace trading post managers with religious leaders mostly Quakers. He urged Indians be trained to be farmers and eventually become citizens rather than be extinguished.

President Grant proposed the United States annex the island of Santo Domingo. He wanted to give freed slaves leverage as they began negotiating for wages and working conditions and it had a bay that would be a naval base. He worked out a treaty and submitted to Congress but Senator Charles Sumner, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee opposed the treaty and it was never approved.

There were many other matters Grant accomplished during his two terms. He appointed Adm. Dan Ammen of Georgetown to a commission to select a site for the canal between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. He designated Yellowstone Park as the first national park and appointed a commission to develop rules for the Civil Service.

More information about Grant’s presidency can be obtained from Professor Charles W Calhoun’s book, The Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, available at any branch of the Brown County Library.

Stan Purdy is a retired Georgetown attorney, President of the US Grant Homestead Assn. and, from time to time, writes articles for local newspapers.