Ulysses S. Grant

Ulysses S. Grant commanded the principal Union armies in the final phase of the Civil War and served as president from 1869 to 1877. His administration faced the unfinished struggle over emancipation, citizenship, and federal authority in the South. Abroad, Grant and Secretary of State Hamilton Fish sought settlements of disputes left by the war while considering new opportunities in the Caribbean and Pacific. ¹

The Treaty of Washington in 1871 established arbitration of American claims arising from Confederate raiders built in British shipyards. The Geneva tribunal awarded the United States $15.5 million in 1872, settling a major source of hostility between the two countries. Grant also sought to annex the Dominican Republic, believing it offered strategic advantages and a possible destination for African Americans leaving the South. The Senate rejected the annexation treaty in 1870. ^{2, 4}

Grant and Fish resisted demands to recognize the Cuban rebellion against Spain as a belligerent power. The capture of the Virginius and execution of many aboard in 1873 threatened war, but negotiation resolved the immediate crisis. Their approach reflected the administration’s desire to avoid another major conflict while maintaining American influence in the Caribbean. ²

Grant used federal authority against the Ku Klux Klan and supported enforcement of the Reconstruction amendments. That commitment weakened as northern support declined and white supremacist violence spread. His presidency also saw the Panic of 1873, prolonged economic distress, and scandals involving public officials and private speculators. Policies toward Native nations combined promises of reform with continued coercion, warfare, and dispossession as settlers entered western lands. ³