Worst Presidents: Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)
Reader Comments
US Grant
I am very surprised to see Grant on a list of the poorest presidents. He was probably the most popular American of the 19th century. While inexperience in politics may have contributed to the graft and corruption, his overall programs, concerning reconstruction and Indian policy were far more important. If his reconstruction policies had been continued for a few more years much of the racism and injustice of the Jim Crow era might well have been avoided.
Ulysses S Grant
For a man who had, ironically, no taste for war, nor aspirations to the presidency, to have fought so determinedly to keep the "union" intact, to have ingeiously conquered Vicksburg (and so the "war"), to have so faithfully honored the dream of Lincoln and become, arguably far more popular than his predecessor, to have delt with his inherited "reconstruction"as he did (look what Johnson did, in comparison!), to have fought for the rights of all men despite public and/or separatist opinion (the 15th Amendment), to have contrived against the extinction of the Indians in the face of "manifest destiny", to have established our first National Park (Yellowstone), to have quelled the "Panic of 1873" without printing money from out the basement, to have been honest enough to admit mistakes, to be naive enough not to have said "NO" when he should have and suffered financial ruin for it, to have been honored upon death by Northern and Southern Generals and an estimated crowd of over one million mourners, are only some reasons why it is preposterous to have Grant ranked anywhere near the bottom ten Presidents.
U S. Grant
I dont understand why he's on this list. He didnt cause the corruption in the south. He came into his first term after the Civil war. This corruption and caos was not created by him.
Ulysses S. Grant
Your article leaves out the Panic of 1873--a similar recession to the recession of 2008 --where a credit crisis in Europe precipitated a credit crisis in one of the largest banks in the U.S. This initially led to many railroad failures and eventually to many other bank failures and home foreclosures. This panic took approximately 5 years to resolve and undoubtedly led to the Democratic victory in the following election.
US Grant
He was one of the best presidents and one of my personal favorites!
