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I was just looking through old threads and this one caught my eye. To place Grant rock bottom in the list of presidents until Clinton is quite a disservice to the man.

Grant's presidency marked the beginning of what was later to be termed 'The Gilded Age', an era of peace, prosperity and growth. It's true that Grant's presidency was rocked by scandals, none of which involved him personally. The worst that can be said of him in this regard is that his judgement in picking subordinates was flawed. Although in fairness, Grant was caught between a rock and a hard place when it came to that.

Grant's view of how Native Americans should be treated was perhaps the most enlightened of any president of the age. It should be noted that he had an extreme dislike for Custer and the methods emplyed by the troops in the West in this regard. It appears that although he did not agree with what was going on in the west, politics were such that he could only effectively fight for one major cause, and he appeared to choose Reconstruction as the "sword he would fall on".

The majority of Grant's energies were focused throughout both of his terms on Reconstruction. In this, Grant understood that his view was not universally accepted and he needed to surround himself with men who could be trusted not to derail his efforts. Such men were not easy to find. Unfortunately, the men he picked which he thought he could trust had other vices which made them unworthy. Grant had no way of knowing this in advance however. Even his hand picked successor promptly derailed Reconstruction efforts almost from the minute he took office.

Grant's reputation in the 20th century took quite a beating, mostly at the hands of those who pushed the 'Lost Cause' agenda and who ardently opposed civil rights efforts. As historians now reassess Grant's presidency from a post-civil rights perspective, most agree that his record when it came to fighting for civil rights is unmatched by any president including LBJ. Grant's actions against the KKK proved to be extrememly effective and almost resulted in the complete eradication of that organization. His view of how the race relations in America should be proved to be visionary and remarkably far-sighted.

Most historians now rank Grant in the middle of the pack overall when it comes to his place among the other presidents and his star is continuing to rise as the bitter animosity of the early-mid 20th century eases into the past.