Ulysses S. Grant
18th President of the United States
(March 4, 1869 to March 3, 1877)
Full Name: Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant)
Nicknames: "Hero of Appomattox", "Unconditional Surrender"
Born: April 27, 1822, in Point Pleasant, Ohio
Died: July 23, 1885, in Mount McGregor, New York
Father: Jesse Root Grant (1794-1873)
Mother: Hannah Simpson Grant (1798-1883)
Married: Julia Boggs Dent (1826-1902), on August 22, 1848
Children: Frederick Dent Grant (1850-1912); Ulysses Simpson Grant (1852-1929); Ellen Wrenshall "Nellie" Grant (1855-1922); Jesse Root Grant (1858-1934)
Religion: Methodist
Education: Graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. (1843)
Occupation: Soldier
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions:
- None
Presidential Salary: $25,000/year (increased to $50,000/year in 1873)
Presidential Election Results:
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1868 Ulysses S. Grant 3,013,421 214
(map) Horatio Seymour 2,706,829 80
(Votes Not Cast) 23
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1872 Ulysses S. Grant 3,596,745 286
(map) Horace Greeley 2,843,446
Thomas A. Hendricks 42
Benjamin Gratz Brown 18
Charles J. Jenkins 2
David Davis 1
(Votes Not Cast) 17
Vice Presidents: Schuyler Colfax (1869-73); Henry Wilson (1873-75)
Cabinet:
- Secretary of State
- Elihu B. Washburne (1869)
Hamilton Fish (1869-77) - Secretary of the Treasury
- George S. Boutwell (1869-73)
William A. Richardson (1873-74)
Benjamin H. Bristow (1874-76)
Lot M. Morrill (1876-77) - Secretary of War
- John A. Rawlins (1869)
William T. Sherman (1869)
William W. Belknap (1869-76)
Alphonso Taft (1876)
J. Donald Cameron (1876-77) - Attorney General
- Ebenezer R. Hoar (1869-70)
Amos T. Akerman (1870-71)
George H. Williams (1871-75)
Edwards Pierrepont (1875-76)
Alphonso Taft (1876-77) - Postmaster General
- John A. J. Creswell (1869-74)
James W. Marshall (1874)
Marshall Jewell (1874-76)
James N. Tyner (1876-77) - Secretary of the Navy
- Adolph E. Borie (1869)
George M. Robeson (1869-77) - Secretary of the Interior
- Jacob D. Cox, Jr. (1869-70)
Columbus Delano (1870-75)
Zachariah Chandler (1875-77)
Supreme Court Justices:
William Strong (1870-1880)
Joseph Philo Bradley (1873-1892)
Ward Hunt (1873-1882)
Morrison Waite (1874-1888)
Notable Events:
- 1870
- On February 3, the fifteenth amendment to the Constitution ratified.
- On June 22, Grant signed a law creating the Department of Justice. Their first mandate was to prosecute members of the Ku Klux Klan.
- On July 14, Grant signed the Naturalization Act of 1870 that allowed persons of African decent to become U.S. citizens.
- 1872
- On March 1, Grant signed law creating Yellowstone National Park.
- On May 23, Grant signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 granting amnesty to former Confederates.
- 1873
- On March 3, Grant signed the Comstock Act which made it a federal crime to mail "indecent materials."
- Grant responded slowly to the Panic of 1873.
- 1875
- Civil Rights act of 1875 passed.
- The Whiskey Ring corruption scandal results in 110 convictions.
Internet Biographies:
- Ulysses S. Grant -- from The Presidents of the United States of America
- Compiled by the White House.
- Ulysses S. Grant -- from The American President
- From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
Videos:
1 / 2
America's Presidents - Ulysses S. GrantGrant First President Arrested While in Office - a Presidential Story Ep. 15Who’s Buried in Grant’s Tomb? - a Presidential Story Ep. 44Ulysses S. Grant | 60-Second Presidents | PBSClermont History: Ulysses S. Grant1 / 2
Other Internet Resources:
- The Best Biographies of Ulysses S. Grant
- In 2012, Stephen Floyd started his search for the best biography of each president. He usually has reviews of multiple biographies for each president.
- Fort Donelson National Battlefield
- Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union Army in Tennessee to its first major victory of the Civil War at this site on February 16, 1862.
- General Grant National Memorial
- Tourist information on Grant's tomb, located in New York, New York.
- Grant Cottage at Mount McGregor, New York
- The site where Grant wrote his autobiography and eventually passed away from throat cancer.
- Health and Medical History of Ulysses Grant
- Medical background of each president with references. Compiled by John Sotos, MD.
- The Ulysses S. Grant Homepage
- Articles, photographs, and many other biographical resources on Grant. Includes a bibliography and chronology.
- Ulysses S. Grant Homestead Association Boyhood Home and Schoolhouse
- The organization maintains the Grant's family home and the school he attended as a child.
- Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site
- Tourist information on the St. Louis County, Missouri site that was the pre-Civil War home of Grant and his wife. Grant's White Haven farm is now undergoing restoration.
- Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library
- The Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library contains 15,000 linear feet of correspondence, research notes, published monographs, artifacts, photographs, scrapbooks, and memorabilia, by and about the United States’ 18th president, covering his early life, Civil War triumphs, presidency, and beyond.
Points of Interest:
Additional Facts:
- Grant regretted not accepting Lincoln's offer to attend the theater the night of April 14, 1865. He was convinced he could have protected the President.
- Grant was the first president to publish his memoirs. Mark Twain helped get them published.
- Grant struggled with alcohol throughout this life.
- Grant prevented Robert E. Lee from being charged with treason after the Civil War.
- Grant was the first president to have both of his parents living as he entered office.
- Grant could not stand the sight of blood. His steaks were cooked very well done.
- Grant and his wife, Julia, are buried in the largest mausoleum in North America.
- As president, Grant received a speeding ticket for driving his horse-drawn carriage too fast through the streets of Washington.
Quotes:“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.”
“I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.”
“My failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.”
“I know only two tunes: one of them is ‘Yankee Doodle’, and the other isn’t.”
“There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.”
“Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions.”
“In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves beaten, then he who continues the attack wins.”
“I have never advocated war except as a means of peace.”
“My failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.”
“I know only two tunes: one of them is ‘Yankee Doodle’, and the other isn’t.”
“There never was a time when, in my opinion, some way could not be found to prevent the drawing of the sword.”
“Nations, like individuals, are punished for their transgressions.”