John Adams Ulysses S Grant 18th President of the United

							 Ulysses S. Grant
18th President of the United States
 Ulysses S. Grant
• Born: April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio
• Died: July 23, 1885 in Mount McGregor, New
  York
• Education: U.S. Military Academy at West Point
• Occupations: Soldier
• Married: Julia Dent Grant in August, 1848
• Home: Galena, Illinois
• Political Party: Republican
• Inauguration: March 4, 1869 and March 3,
  1873
 Important Information
• In 1839, Grant's father got him appointed to the U.S.
  Military Academy at West Point. He was accidentally given
  the name Ulysses Simpson Grant, and the name remained
  with him ever afterward.
• In August 1848, he married Julia Dent, the sister of one of
  his classmates. Julia was to be a source of strength to Grant
  for the rest of his life.
• In the Mexican War, he fought under Gen. Zachary Taylor.
• In 1853, he was promoted to captain, but the pay was too
  low to support his family in the West. Grant resigned from
  the Army in 1854.
• Grant began the Civil War as a colonel of the Illinois
  volunteers. Grant whipped it into shape and by September
  1861, he had risen to the rank of brigadier general of all
  volunteers.
 Important Information
• In February 1862, Grant took Fort Henry and attacked Fort
  Donelson. When the Confederates surrendered, President Lincoln
  promoted Grant to major general of volunteers.
• At Shiloh in April 1862, Grant fought one of the bloodiest battles
  in the West. President Lincoln refused to remove him saying, "I
  can't spare this man--he fights."
• Grant maneuvered and fought skillfully to win Vicksburg, the key
  city on the Mississippi, and thus cut the Confederacy in two. Then
  he broke the Confederate hold on Chattanooga.
• Lincoln appointed Grant General-in-Chief in March 1864.
• Grant directed Sherman to drive through the South while he
  himself, with the Army of the Potomac, pinned down Gen. Robert
  E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
• Finally, on April 9, 1865, at Appomattox Court House, Lee
  surrendered. Grant wrote out magnanimous terms of surrender
  that would prevent treason trials.
 As President
• Jay Gould and James Fisk tried to corner the gold market. When
  Grant discovered their plan, he authorized the Secretary of the
  Treasury to sell enough gold to wreck their plans.
• Grant allowed Radical Reconstruction to run its course in the
  South, bolstering it at times with military force.
• His personal secretary was implicated in one of the most notorious
  scandals, the Whiskey Ring, which sought to evade U.S. taxes in
  the manufacture of whiskey.
• Grant and Congress attempted to end the KKK when Congress
  passed the so-called Force Acts of 1870-71.
• His most notable achievement was the settlement of a dispute with
  Britain with the Treaty of Washington (1871). The Alabama had
  been one of several Confederate warships built by Britain during
  the Civil War. The United States demanded compensation for
  damages done to the Union merchant marine by these ships and in
  1872 was awarded $15.5 million.
  Interesting Facts
• After retiring from the Presidency, Grant became a
  partner in a financial firm, which went bankrupt. About
  that time, he learned that he had cancer of the throat.
• Grant wrote his recollections to pay off his debts and
  provide for his family, earning nearly $450,000. Soon
  after completing the last page, in 1885, he died.
• He was once fined $20 for speeding on his horse.
• He apologized upon leaving the White House, not for
  errors of intent but for errors of judgment.
• Even though he had throat cancer, he finished his
  memoirs and had them published with the help of Mark
  Twain.
• Two Vice-Presidents – Schuyler Colfax and Henry
  Wilson.
 Elections
1868 – Grant ran on the Republican
 ticket with Schuyler Colfax as his Vice-
 President. They ran against Horatio
 Seymour and Francis Blair, the
 democrats. Grant won 53% of the
 popular vote, and won the Electoral vote
 214-80. Texas, Mississippi, Virginia, and
 Florida did not vote because of
 Reconstruction.
 Elections
1872 – This time Grant ran with Henry
 Wilson as his Vice-President. They ran
 against Horace Greeley and Gratz Brown
 the democrats. This time Grant won
 55% of the popular vote and won the
 Electoral vote 286 to 66. All southern
 states were now back in the Union.
 Famous Quotes
• "No terms except an unconditional and
  immediate surrender can be accepted."
• "I have never advocated war except as a
  means of peace."
• "My failures have been errors of
  judgment, not of intent."