Existing comment:
Leading The Nation:
"I will not hesitate to exhaust the powers thus vested in the Executive whenever and wherever it shall become necessary to do so for the purpose of securing to all citizens of the United States the peaceful enjoyment of the rights guaranteed to them by Constitution and laws."
-- Ulysses S. Grant, Proclamation, May 3, 1871
Ulysses Grant assumed the presidency fully aware of the difficulties he faces. Initially believing administering in a non-partisan manner would smooth the process of reunion and ensure all citizens' equals rights, he soon found that was not the case. For eight years, Grant struggled to place the freedmen on equal civil footing, but deteriorating race relations in southern states, public interest in other domestic issues, and waning Republican support resulted in limited success.
Reconstruction:
The Fifteenth Amendment and the establishment of Republican governments with black and white elected officials in southern states, curtailed white Democratic power throughout the South. The Ku Klux Klan and other terrorist groups emerged in response, threatening and murdering blacks and whites who supported African American advancement. State governments, powerless to halt these groups, called for federal intervention. TO handle this unprecedented demand. Congress passed the Enforcement Acts, giving Grant the power to send troops into states to restore law and order. These acts, along with the reaction of the Department of Justice, allowed federal lawyers to prosecute these cases in federal courts and guarantee civil rights. Public condemnation of federal involvement and the subsequent gutting of the Fifteenth Amendment and the Enforcement Acts by the Supreme Court restricted grant's ability to protect African Americans, signaling the beginning of the end of Reconstruction.
The Election of 1876:
IN the 1876 presidential election, Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote but disputed elector votes in Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana left the contest without a clear winner. With no law providing a solution and accusations of fraud threatening to erupt in violence, Grant resolved to form a commission consisting of ten Congressmen, equally distributed between the two parties, plus five Justices, to review the disputed returns. Their decision would be binding. Using his influence, Grant ensured Congress' acceptance. The commission's determination made Republican Rutherford Hayes president. Grant's decisive action averted a crisis, guaranteeing the peaceful transition of administrations. Although Republicans retained control of the White House. Hayes' election signified their abandonment of Reconstruction. |