Grant and the Republic, 1868–1872
Grant and the Republic, 1868–1872
In their long struggle to preserve republican government, the liberal republicans initially embraced U. S. Grant as a savior. By 1868, they wanted to finish the reconstruction of the South and turn their attention to the corruption and centralization of power that had taken root in government during the war. They thought Grant would renew republican government in the United States and eagerly embraced his presidency. Grant soon disappointed the liberal republicans, however, as he seemed to exacerbate the existing threats to republican institutions, creating more corruption and acting tyrannically. Their hesitant opposition to Grant in 1872 represented the continuation of a long struggle to preserve a republican government. Grant not only failed to reform the civil service, eliminate protective tariffs, or end Reconstruction, but actually seemed to be drastically increasing the levels of corruption and actively centralizing power in the federal government.
Keywords: Grant, republican government, corruption, Reconstruction, liberal republicans
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