Presidents roles in Reconstruction By: Alex Welch, Jessica McCarty, Josb Lindauer, Heather Merrifield, Logan Bower

Ulysses S. Grant ( ) Served as the commander and chief of the Union Army during Civil War. Later became eighteenth President of the United States, serving from

Getting to Presidency Grant had many victories as a general, which led Lincoln to promote him to lead all Union armies. He accepted Lee's surrender on April 9th, Grants subsequent presidency was mired in corruption.

Role in Reconstruction During Reconstruction, Grant worked to slow down the activity of the Ku Klux Klan in South Carolina. With the conviction that business supported the national interest, he signed a piece of legislature that protected entrenched business interests.

Rest of Presidency Grant's presidency continued to be full of corruption after he was renominated in 1872 and won reelection. He left office in disgrace and finished one of the best presidential memoirs ever written four days before he died.

Rutherford B. Hayes ( ) 19th president from His controversial and extremely close election became known as the "Corrupt Bargain."

Road to Presidency Served in Congress and as governor of Ohio before accepting the Republican presidential nomination in This election marked the resurgence of the Democratic Party and the reentry of white southerners into the national voting process.

Role in Reconstruction The democrats' requirement for allowing Hayes to become president was a commitment from Republicans to abandon Reconstruction and defense of the welfare of the South's black population. So, Hayes withdrew federal troops from Louisiana and South Carolina shortly after taking office. Thus, ending the Reconstruction Era.

Sources

Presidents of Reconstruction