Ulysses S. Grant

In foreign policy, Grant sought to increase American trade and influence, while remaining at peace with the world. Although his Republican Party had split in 1872 as reformers denounced him, Grant was easily reelected. During his second term the Panic of 1873 devastated the national economy, while investigations exposed corruption scandals in the administration. The conservative white Southerners regained control of Southern state governments and Democrats took control of the federal House of Representatives. By the time Grant left the White House in 1877, his Reconstruction policies were being undone.

A career soldier, Grant graduated in 1843 from the United States Military Academy at West Point and served in the Mexican–American War. When the Civil War began in 1861, he rejoined the Union army. Promoted to major-general in 1862, Grant took control of Kentucky and most of Tennessee. He then led Union forces to victory after initial setbacks in the Battle of Shiloh, earning a reputation as an aggressive commander. In July 1863, Grant defeated Confederate armies and seized Vicksburg, giving the Union control of the Mississippi River and dividing the Confederacy in two. After the Battle of Chattanooga in late 1863, President Abraham Lincoln promoted Grant to lieutenant-general and commander of all the Union armies. As commander, Grant confronted Robert E. Lee in a series of bloody battles in 1864, which ended with Grant trapping Lee at Petersburg, Virginia. During the siege, Grant coordinated a series of devastating campaigns launched by generals William Tecumseh Sherman, Philip Sheridan, and George Henry Thomas in other theaters. Finally, breaking through Lee's trenches, the Union Army captured Richmond in April 1865. Lee surrendered his depleted forces to Grant at Appomattox as the Confederacy collapsed. Most historians have hailed Grant's military genius, despite losses of men.