On May 10, 1876, Ulysses S. Grant pulled a lever to start the
mighty 1,400-horsepower Corliss Steam Engine, powering acres of
machinery for the nation's Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.
Grant summed up a century of American progress by saying, "Whilst
proud of what we have done, we regret that we have not done more.
Our achievements have been great enough however to make it easy for
our people to acknowledge superior merit wheresoever found."
That summer, Fourth of July celebrations coincided with early
reports that Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer and his Seventh
Cavalry had been wiped out by Sioux. Grant resisted the subsequent
clamor for volunteers to crush the Sioux, but his peace policy lay
in shambles, and he later criticized Custer's unnecessary
"sacrifice of troops." Soldiers sent to subdue Indians meant fewer
available to help ensure a fair election in November. Grant's
correspondents described a pattern of physical and economic
intimidation throughout the South, as Democrats sought to keep
blacks from the polls. After whites massacred black militia in
South Carolina, Grant warned that unchecked persecution would lead
to "bloody revolution." As violence spread, Grant struggled to
position limited forces where they could do the most good.
Scandals diverted Grant's attention from larger policy
questions. A series of Whiskey Ring prosecutions culminated in the
February trial of Orville E. Babcock, Grant's private secretary. A
new scandal erupted in March when Secretary of War William W.
Belknap resigned, hoping in vain to avoid impeachment for selling
post traderships. Grant drew fire for having accepted the
resignation, a move that ultimately led to Belknap'sacquittal by
the Senate. An investigation also linked Grant's brother Orvil to
the scandal.
Grant battled a Democratic House of Representatives until late
that summer over issues as vital as the budget and as symbolic as
the president's absences from the capital. He welcomed Rutherford
B. Hayes as the Republican choice for his successor, despite
private irritation at Hayes's pointed pledge to serve only one
term. As his presidency waned, Grant planned a trip to Europe when
he left office. Investments would finance his travels, and he
staked his fortunes on western mining stocks. In June, a
granddaughter born at the White House brought the family joy in an
otherwise trying year.
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