Reconstruction Era

"This is a white man's government...We regard the Reconstruction Acts (so called) of Congress as usurpations, and unconstitutional, revolutionary, and void - Democratic Platform," 1868

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When President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, the goal of northern victory was officially expanded from preserving the union to include ending slavery. At the conclusion of the war in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in all of the United States, but was not enough to guarantee the full citizenship rights for the four million newly freed people.

Difficulty in reconciling goals regarding reunion and emancipation appeared immediately upon Lincoln's death on April 14, 1865. President Andrew Johnson granted amnesty to all persons who had taken part in the rebellion, and restored all of their property. Johnson went on to appoint provisional governors for the former confederate states, but said nothing about accepting voting rights or protective civil rights for freed people.

Grant was uncomfortable with Johnson's Reconstruction policy, but loyally supported the President. Congressional elections in 1866 gave "radical republican" opponents a veto-proof majority and control of reconstruction, and the ten southern states were divided into five military districts. Their commanders, who were ordered to see that federal laws were enforced and the new civil administrations were established, reported directly to Grant. As Congress battled President Johnson through 1866 and 1867, leading to his impeachment, Grant was compared to George Washington as an "indispensable man" who led the nation to victory and could insure peace and stability.

Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), between circa 1850 and circa 1860

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Frederick Douglass supported Ulysses S. Grant, and wrote of his support in a 1872 pamphlet:

"I see in him the vigilant, firm, impartial, and wise protector of my race from all the malign, reactionary, social, and political elements that would whelm them in destruction. He is the rock-bound coast against the angry and gnawing waves of a storm-tossed ocean saying, thus far only shalt thou come.

Wherever else there may be room for doubt and uncertainty, there is nothing of the kind with Ulysses S. Grant as our candidate. In the midst of political changes he is now as ever—unswerving and inflexible. Nominated regularly by the time honored Republican party, he is clothed with all the sublime triumphs of humanity which make its record. That party stands to-day free from alloy, pure and simple. There is neither ambiguity in its platform nor incongruity in its candidates. U.S. Grant and Henry Wilson . . .—the soldier and the Senator—are men in whom we can confide. No two names can better embody the precious and priceless results of the suppression of rebellion and the abolition of slavery."

Buffalo soldiers of the 25th Infantry, Ft. Keough, Montana, 1890

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African Americans served in the U.S. Military during the Civil War and continued to serve afterwards, many fighting in the Spanish-American War and the Philippine-American War. In 1866, Congress established six all-black regiments to help rebuild the country after the Civil War and to fight on the Western frontier during the "Indian Wars." It was from one of these regiments, the 10th Cavalry, that the nickname Buffalo Soldier was born. American Plains Indians who fought against these soldiers referred to the black cavalry troops as "buffalo soldiers" because of their dark, curly hair, which resembled a buffalo's coat and because of their fierce nature of fighting. The nickname soon became synonymous with all African-American regiments formed in 1866.The Buffalo Soldiers also served as some of the first care takers of the national parks. Between 1891 and 1913, the U.S. Army served as the official administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. The soldiers were stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco during the winter months and then served in the Sierra during the summer months. While in the parks, soldier's duties included fighting wildfire, curbing poaching of the park's wildlife, ending illegal grazing of livestock on federal lands, and constructing roads, trail and other infrastructure. The Buffalo Soldier regiments went on to serve the U.S. Army with distinction and honor for nearly the next five decades. With the disbandment of the 27th Cavalry on December 12, 1951, the last of the storied Buffalo Soldiers regiments came to an end.

National Union Republican candidates, 1868

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In addition to being the first election following the Civil War, the historic presidential election of 1868 included the votes of 400,000 former enslaved men who were able to vote for the first time.

The 1868 Republican National Convention unanimously selected Ulysses S. Grant to run for president, and they adopted his quote "let us have peace," at the Republican Convention as their campaign slogan. The Democratic National Convention selected Horatio Seymour, former Governor of New York, as their candidate for president instead of former President Andrew Johnson. Ulysses S. Grant won the presidential election against Democrat Horatio Seymour, winning 52.7% of the popular vote and receiving 214 votes from the electoral college, while Seymour only received 80. At the age of 46 years old, Grant became the youngest President elected.

"The Union as it was...The Lost Cause...Worse than slavery," 1874

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“The Lost Cause: A New Southern History of the War of the Confederates” by Edward A. Pollard, referred to the confederacy of 1861-1865, and made arguments that rebellion was justified by constitutional principles, slavery was not the primary cause of the conflict, and the defeat of the Confederates resulted from the North’s overwhelming numbers and resources

Grant emphatically rejected this version of southern defeat, stating in 1878 that “we never overwhelmed the south…what we won from the south we won by hard fighting.”

Gradually, the meaning of “the lost cause” came to refer to a romantic vision of a vanished society based on honor, chivalry, and the pastoral life which was quickly disappearing in industrial America

In addition to lobbying for Veterans’ benefits, the Grand Army Republic kept the memory of the “union cause” alive by contesting the pro-confederate “lost cause” version of civil war history