Ulysses S. Grant In Pursuit of Responsibility

0:06 After leading the Union Army to victory in the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant faced a decisive moment that tested his leadership and character. The war was over, but the country remained deeply divided and fragile. Four million newly freed people sought their promised rights as citizens,

0:26 but former Confederates resisted and worked to preserve a system of white supremacy through intimidation and violence. A period of Reconstruction was needed to repair the Union. Meanwhile, Congress and President Andrew Johnson clashed over control of Reconstruction. Grant faced a moment that

0:48 tested his character and principles. Grant practiced civic virtues while commanding the Army during the war and Reconstruction. He was a man of honor, humility, and integrity who could be trusted with power as a general in a republic. Though not a perfect man,

1:08 Grant’s unshakable character and faith in democracy would carry him through challenges in peace as they did in war. In 1867, Congress began passing the Reconstruction Acts, with the first imposing temporary military rule on the former Confederacy. Congress sought to prevent violence

1:29 against Black Americans and required states to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed birthright citizenship and equal protection under the laws, and to adopt new constitutions providing Black male suffrage. President Johnson vetoed the bill, but Congress overrode it, making it law.

1:50 Congress also passed the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited the president from removing federal officials confirmed by the Senate. Johnson believed the act unconstitutional and vetoed it. Congress once again overrode him. The battle over the Tenure of Office Act became ground zero in the struggle between the president and Congress over Reconstruction.

2:13 And, Grant was caught in the middle. As General-in-Chief of the Army, Grant was disturbed by the conflict between Congress and the president, but remained steadfast in his duty to the law. His sense of duty was tested when President Johnson suspended Secretary of War Edwin Stanton while Congress was out of session.

2:34 Grant told the president that the action defying Congress presented a “great danger to the welfare of the country.” Despite this disagreement, Johnson appointed Grant as interim Secretary of War. Grant reluctantly accepted, fearing the president would otherwise install someone who would undermine Reconstruction. However, he made clear

2:56 that he would comply with the law. When the Senate voted to reinstate Stanton at the War Department in early 1868, Grant humbly transferred control back to him. In response, President Johnson began publicly insulting Grant’s character. The general wrote to the president. “My honor as a soldier and integrity as a man

3:16 have been violently assailed.” In February 1868, the House of Representatives impeached Johnson for his attempt to remove Stanton. The Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction, and Johnson remained in office. For his part, Grant remained true to his principles by respecting Congress

3:37 and the Constitution. Later that year, Grant was elected president, promising to fulfill the constitutional duties of the office. In his inaugural address, he pledged to protect the rights, lives, and property of all Americans. As president, Ulysses Grant vigorously opposed the Ku Klux Klan

3:58 and did much to stop their violence. He used Reconstruction to restore national unity by preserving democratic self-governance and free institutions, demonstrating responsibility, prudence and the civic virtues of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.