Hadawi 1 Grant Research Paper Jennifer Hadawi Hagberg/Bretthauer English/History 8.1 5/20/16 Grant’s Legacy The foundation of America’s equal rights movement came from an unlikely source: an unsuccessful Republican president. Grant’s military roots played a major role in his success as a leader. Although he was not the first man to push for civil rights, he was the first president to revolutionize and popularize the idea. Grant’s role in the movement for equality is unprecedented. Despite his military background and willingness to fight for others, Ulysses S. Grant was not considered the best president, but he was a natural born leader and used his power to positively affect the lives of others. Ulysses S. Grant’s military background prepared …show more content…
Grant’s greatest impact as president was most evident when he used his power as president to pass laws to improve the lives of American People. Grant started his presidency with Schuyler Colfax as VP on March 4, 1869 by both popular and electoral vote. The people, exhausted after the Civil War, wanted a trustworthy leader, not a politician who would avoid more conflict. Grant embodied this idea in his campaign slogan, “Let Us Have Peace.” After slavery was abolished, segregation was prominent throughout the states. Although African Americans were free, they were treated as less than a white U.S Citizen. Up until 1870, black people were unable to vote. Ulysses S. Grant despised these injustices and made it his presidential goal to fight for civil rights. On February 3, the 15th Amendment was passed giving African Americans the right to vote. This empowered a new collective of people to voice their opinions. Their opinions impacted elections and decisions from 1870 up until today. Without Grant’s amendment, our current President Barack Obama wouldn’t have been able to make it into office. To further his fight for equality, Grant signed the Civil Rights Act of 1875. This Act promised, “full and equal enjoyment of the accommodations, advantages, facilities …show more content…
Because he was an inexperienced politician, he didn’t know how to handle the crash. Although he wasn’t directly involved in the scandal, his reputation suffered. Even today, people remember him as a bad politician because of the Gold Market Scandal. Next, Grant’s secretary Orville E. Babcock used Grant’s power to help people evade taxes in the Whiskey Ring Scandal. After the Prohibition, alcohol manufacturers were heavily taxed. Manufacturers cheated the government by reporting fewer sales and keeping the extra tax money. But when Grant found out about the scandal he said, “ Let no guilty man escape!” (Alter 37). After Babcock was charged, Grant was willing to acquit Babcock’s case because they had fought together in the Civil War. By contradicting himself and favoring his friends, he promoted corruption in his cabinet. The people saw him favoring Babcock and they lost their trust in him. An untrustworthy man can never be remembered as a great leader (Alter; Schuman). Ulysses S. Grant was not a great president, but his military knowledge and love for others allowed him to be a leader who left a positive imprint on others. Grant shaped America’s foundation through revolutionary ideas and his actions as eighteenth president. His lasting legacy is testament to these facts; however, Grant’s story should be a cautionary one. A president’s reputation is a direct reflection of the people he surrounds himself with and a tarnished reputation overshadows
During his presidency, Congress ratified the 13th-Amendment that abolished slavery in 1865. In addition, President Johnson made contributions to the black people by vetoing bills that increased protection offered by Freedman Bureau. His vetoes also nullified the Black Codes and guaranteed full citizenship and equal rights to black people. This brought up the Civil Rights Act of 1866, an act that granted citizenships and same rights that both black and white enjoyed. As a result, the Civil Rights Act set up the basis for the 14th amendments that was also later ratified in 1866.
Grant did his best to teach Jefferson that he had worth and it paid off. “If I ain’t nothing but a hog, how come they just don’t knock me in the head like a hog? Strab me like a hog? More erasing, then: Man walk on two foots; hogs on four hoofs” (220). This quote demonstrates how Grant made a difference in Jefferson’s life and taught him to be a man of self worth.
Ulysses S. Grant made many major contributions to the nation as a military strategist, a Civil War hero, supporting the rights of African Americans and serving as the 18th President. Grant attended military school and used his military strategies to help win the Civil War and contribute to ending slavery in the United States. As president, he supported the rights of African Americans, he passed acts to protect the freed slaves from being enslaved again, he allowed all citizens to vote in the 15th Amendment, and he guaranteed equal treatment of African Americans in public places. As the 18th president of the United States, he worked to increase trade between the United States and other countries and improve the nation’s relationships with countries
Ulysses S. Grant was a very important figure in American history. Not only was he the nation 's 18th president he was also a war hero. He commanded the union army during the Civil War. From his victory over the Confederacy Grant took on the task of working to implement Congressional Reconstruction and the removal of slavery. Grant was born in 1822 in Ohio.
General Ulysses S. Grant had a great impact on the United States both in his time as a war general and in his time as president. His role in the Civil War was instrumental to the Union victory and the strategies he employed saved many union troops and ended the war quickly. He had many wins, but also many losses and setbacks that were devastating. He learned and adapted through those setbacks and won the war and the American public. The United States would have had a much harder time winning the war and with recovery efforts afterward were it not for General Grant.
Thomas Jefferson is quoted as “one of the great heroes” (Jacobson 1) throughout the American Revolution. Jefferson is revered for his intellectual prowess and service to the nation over many years. But none of these traits actually made him a strong President, or even a strong leader. Many of his reforms and actions were not done throughout the time of his presidency. In fact his biggest reforms throughout his presidency were related to expansion such as the “Lewis and Clarke Expedition”(Jacobson 5) and the Louisiana Purchase.
In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J Gaines, Grant is a main character that has a lot of influence over the people in his community. Some might even consider him a hero. I believe that Grant is a hero because he helps Jefferson become a man, changes himself for the better, and wants to continue changing the community. Over the course of the novel, Grant helps Jefferson become the man that he needs to be in order to walk to his death with honor. When Grant first begrudgingly went to visit Jefferson in prison Jefferson was in a really low state.
Ulysses S. Grant (named Hiram Ulysses Grant) was born on April 27, 1822. Grant began his military career graduating Westpoint as an average student in 1843. Grant fought in the Mexican-American War along with Robert E. Lee, a man he would be facing on the battlefield nearly fifteen years later. Grant came to an early retirement in 1854 but after struggling monetarily in civilian life he rejoined the Union army in 1861. Grant was the most famous Union General in the Civil War.
It takes the country a long time to recover after the war and these show how people are taking it so far. President Grant is obviously tired of all that has happened and wants everything to be back to how it was before the war. I think this is very characteristic of Grant, as he tends to be a quiet man who wants to keep to himself. Unfortunately for him, the country does not want to proceed the way he wants it to. As for the man who leaves the party he believes in, he does so for his family.
Both Jefferson and Grant are tasked with heavy responsibilities, yet by either accepting or avoiding these tasks, they find themselves in two completely different situations at the
Grant really wanted Jefferson to know he had to be strong and set an example for everyone- to be a hero. He made sure Jefferson knew how he felt. Grant had Jefferson walk with him in the dayroom to tell him how strong he needed to be. He told him over and over again about how he needed to be the hero for everyone. ‘He looked at me in great pain.
Book Review Being the President of the United States is a leadership position like no other. For those rare few chosen, being the president offers a rare opportunity to mold the country’s future. Over the course of the 241 year history of the United States 44 presidents have come and gone, and some were indisputably more successful at the job than others. In Tom Chaffin’s Met His Every Goal?
Abraham Lincoln stands as a figure that I admire and as one of my role models. After learning about the amazing way he led the country, he has gained much respect for me. Likewise, I have also learned about General Ulysses S. Grant, who also became president later on. He possesses great qualities such as critical thinking and acting as a leader. Correspondingly, with his skills and the help of the soldiers, they reunited America..
His attitude and rejection of the civil rights bill
Due to George Washington’s lack of confidence and acute awareness of what people thought of him; he cared very deeply about how he was perceived. Washington always acted in an exemplary manner as to draw attention from his shortcomings and highlight his assets, and it was due to this that Washington maintained an immaculate reputation. “Washington had earned his reputation, his “character,” as a moral hero, and he did not want to dissipate it.” (Page 8) Not only did Washington care deeply about his reputation in general, but he took great pride in his impeccable character. George Washington is still regarded as having one of the strongest and distinguished characters in American history.