Category Archives: The Grant Administration

four more

Posted on March 27, 2023 by SUMPTER

President Ulysses S. Grant was inaugurated for his second term on March 4, 1873. From the March 22, 1873 issue of Harper’s Weekly: THE SECOND INAUGURATION. THE second inauguration of ULYSSES S. GRANT as President of the United States was … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago, 150 Years Ago This Month, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

more or less traditionary

Posted on November 28, 2022 by SUMPTER

It was becoming a tradition. 150 years ago, for the tenth year in a row, the United States president proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving for a Thursday at the end of November. THANKSGIVING DAY 1872 BY THE PRESIDENT OF … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, American Culture, Postbellum Society, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

the golden character

Posted on January 10, 2020 by SUMPTER

According to documentation at Project Gutenberg, President Ulysses S. Grant sent his first annual message to Congress when it reconvened early in December 1869. It was a long report; overall things seemed pretty peaceable. Reconstruction in the Southern states was … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago, Aftermath, Reconstruction, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“soil is trod by none but freemen”

Posted on November 18, 2019 by SUMPTER

In his first year as Commander-in-Chief, President Ulysses S. Grant followed the tradition begun by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 by calling for a national day of Thanksgiving on a Thursday in November. The new president opted for a slightly earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, American Culture, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

death of a wagon master

Posted on September 7, 2019 by SUMPTER

Right from the get-go there were issues with President Ulysses S. Grant’s cabinet. Six months later there was another problem – Grant’s trusted aide, confidant, and Secretary of War, John A. Rawlins died after a long bout with tuberculosis. From … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Week, Aftermath, The Grant Administration, Veterans | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Hayti bound

Posted on April 30, 2019 by SUMPTER

From the May 1, 1869 issue of Harper’s Weekly: EBENEZER D. BASSETT. Very fitly a colored man of the highest eminence has been appointed Minister from this country to Hayti. Mr. BASSETT, whose portrait we give on page 285, is … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

cabinet kerfuffle

Posted on March 30, 2019 by SUMPTER

In its March 5, 1869 issue The New-York Times kept coverage of Ulysses S. Grant’s inaugural address off its front page, unlike the previous two inaugurations. The times were certainly different, relatively crisis-free. After all, in 1861 a couple weeks … Continue reading →

Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, Aftermath, Postbellum Politics, Postbellum Society, Reconstruction, The election of 1868, The Grant Administration | Tagged , , | Leave a comment