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Why Is Ulysses S. Grant Considered The Worst President

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At the time of his death, July 23, 1885, Ulysses S. Grant was considered one of the popular person in the United States. His funeral procession in New York City stretched for seven miles with both surviving Union and Confederate Generals in attendance, while 1.5 million people lined the route. Historians have produced a plethora of studies and written material describing and analyzing the Ulysses S. Grant administration. Predominantly their primary focus deals with the negative aspects occurring in his administration, detailing the many scandals, fraudulent activities, political corruption, and describing him as inept, weak, or a naive executive. Although modern polls does not mark his presidency as the worst president, he often makes …show more content…

Grant” that provides some insight on his policy on race. Robert Bruce Slater asserts that “Almost all U. S. presidents held strong white supremacist views,” by listing notable quotes of past presidents comments. In one occurring during the 1858 debate, Abraham Lincoln said, “I am not, for ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. There is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” He asserts during his studies of presidents, Grant “showed none of the outward signs of racism that were manifested in any of the presidents who came before and after him.” Slater then lists Grant’s accomplishments during his two administration: the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment, granting African Americans the right to vote; the creation of the U.S. Department of Justice to provide protection of newly freed African Americans; created the Enforcement Acts, which allowed the use of federal troops to protect African Americans voting rights and crack down on the Ku Klux Klan, enabling the 1872 election to be the first “the most open and fairly contested balloting in the history of the South;” created the Civil Rights Act of 1875 banning racial segregation in public transportation and in public schools, but was later …show more content…

Kenneth R. Bowling’s article “From "Federal Town" to "National Capital" Ulysses S. Grant and the Reconstruction of Washington, D.C.” presents how Grant changed more than the designation, but also changed the national identity of Washington, D.C. Bowling contends that Washington D.C. lacked in a national identity as compared to its European counterparts – London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin. He affirms that a national capital would be the political, cultural, and commercial center of a nation, more than just a place where government conducted their business. He describes what a nation capital should reflect: “It is the center of national culture, including educational institutions, museums, professional and learned societies, theater, fashion, and often the home, or second home, of the so-called rich, well-born, and able. It can also be a center of commerce and finance. A capital is perhaps most importantly a repository of national memory and a reflection of national identity, a place citizens praise as a seat of virtue or attack as a den of vice – or

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