Depiction of Lee's surrender to Grant (left)
Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)
1885 engraving commemorating Grant's life
Inauguration of Grant, 1868
April 27th 1822: Ulysses S. Grant born
On this day in 1822, future eighteenth President Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Born Hiram Ulysses Grant, he joined West Point military academy aged seventeen; a clerical error listed him as Ulysses S. (Simpson - his mother’s maiden name) Grant, and fearing rejection from the illustrious academy accepted the new name. He had an undistinguished career at the school, and was not enthusiastic about a life in the military. Grant served in the Mexican-American War under future president General Zachary Taylor, though he had a moral opposition to the war he saw as being fought to gain new territory for the expansion of slavery. Struggling with alcoholism, Grant left the military for several years, but fared poorly in private sector ventures. Upon Southern secession and the subsequent Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, Grant was inspired to defend the Union and returned to the army. He won numerous victories and quickly became one of the most respected generals on the Union side, rising to the leadership of the Union forces. It was to Grant that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, on April 9th, 1965. Grant was a popular figure in the Union, and during the presidency of the unpopular President Andrew Johnson, many Republicans saw Grant as their only viable option for a successor. Indeed, Grant was elected president in 1868, though his tenure was mired in scandal. Allegations of corruption plagued the Grant administration, and his use of federal troops to suppress the Ku Klux Klan and efforts to annex Santo Domingo in the early 1870s proved unpopular. In the 1872 election, Grant faced a challenge from dissidents in his own party - the Liberal Republicans - who allied with the Democrats and nominated editor Horace Greeley for president. Grant won another term, but the next election proved another defeat for his policy, as the disputed results ended in a Republican victory, but at the expense of the end of Reconstruction. Post-presidency, Grant published successful memoirs, and died in 1885 aged sixty-three.
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