Ulysses S. Grant's Presidency (1869-1877) Flashcards

1
Q

The 1868 Election

A
  • 1868: Republicans chose Grant as the presidential candidate
  • His Democrat opponent was Horatio Seymour who opposed the Reconstruction and the equality of African-Americans
  • Grant won 52% of the popular vote as a result of African-American support
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2
Q

The 1872 Election

A
  • Grant easily defeated Horace Greely in a second presidential election
  • He won over 55% of the popular vote
  • His opponent, Greely, claimed that there was no longer a need for all the Reconstruction policies, once again the majority voting for Grant were African Americans
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3
Q

Southern Republicanism
during Reconstruction

A
  • Grant was in favour of the firm treatment of the South in the Reconstruction process
  • New state governments had been established in the South, which was now under military rule, these new govs were often corrupt and inefficient
  • Majority of new officials were Northerners nicknamed ‘carpetbaggers’ after the type of suitcase they carried
  • They were helped by a few Southern whites called ‘scalawags’ with the term derived from a nickname for low quality farm animals
  • Most Southern whites detested the Republican newcomers who, they believed, were determined to destroy the Southern way of life
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4
Q

The 15th Amendment

A
  • Introduced in 1869
  • Stated that ‘the right to vote should not be denied on account of race, colour or previous conditions of servitude.’
  • Amendment ensured that male citizens of any colour or race could vote wherever they lived
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5
Q

The Gold Standard Panic Scandal
(1869)

A
  • A group of speculators attempted to influence the government and manipulate the gold market
  • The plot failed and resulted in financial panic on 24th September 1869, known as Black Friday
  • Grant was not directly involved but his reputation suffered as he had become personally associated with 2 of the speculators: James Fisk and Jay Gould prior to the scandal
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6
Q

The Whiskey Ring Scandal
(1875)

A
  • Involved a network of distillers, distributors and public officials who conspired to defraud the federal government of millions in liquor tax
  • Grant’s private secretary, Orville Babcock, was indicated in the scandal but, with help of the President, was later acquitted
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7
Q

Grant’s Indian Peace
Policy (1869-1877)

A
  • Grant’s aim was the cultural and political assimilation of Native Americans into the American life through the rights of citizenship, rather than extermination of war (genocide)
  • This was done by implementing features such as education, Christianity and agriculture
  • ‘A system which looks to the extinction of a race too is too horrible for a nation to adopt’
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