2J - The presidency: the election of 1868 and Andrew Johnson’s Christmas amnesty
Learn how Grant's election changed the relationship between president and Congress. Assess his attempts to combine reunion with the protection of rights, and why the governing coalition weakened during his presidency.
The election and Christmas amnesty of 1868
The election of 1868 offered the Republicans a president more likely than Johnson to enforce their settlement. Ulysses S. Grant's reputation as the victorious Union general gave him authority beyond a narrow party following. His call for peace could appeal to Northern voters tired of conflict while also reassuring Black supporters that lawful government would be protected. Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour; opposition to congressional Reconstruction and military intervention was central to their campaign.
Black men enfranchised under Reconstruction participated in several Southern states and provided important Republican support. That was a major change from the prewar electorate, but not a vote by all African Americans. Virginia, Mississippi and Texas had not regained representation and did not participate; racial exclusions remained in some Northern states, women lacked the vote, and threats prevented some eligible men from voting. Grant won clearly in the Electoral College, receiving 214 votes. The official results also identify the unreconstructed states and the dispute over Georgia's count.
Johnson remained president until March 1869. On Christmas Day 1868 he issued an unconditional pardon and amnesty for participation in rebellion, extending his earlier pardons to the remaining former Confederates. The proclamation concerned treason and rebellion against the United States. It did not repeal the Reconstruction Acts or reverse abolition. Nor could a presidential pardon alone remove officeholding disabilities imposed by the Fourteenth Amendment: that amendment gave Congress the power to remove them.
Amnesty helped end the threat of punishment for the former rebel leadership and encouraged reunion. It also illustrates competing meanings of peace. Johnson prioritised restoring former rebels' legal position; freedpeople might measure peace by safety and secure rights. Grant inherited a country in which reconciliation and protection could support each other, but could also come into conflict.
Grant's aims and federal enforcement
Grant aimed to secure an enduring Union through lawful government and the protection of citizens. Unlike Johnson, he committed himself to executing laws even when he disagreed with them. He supported ratifying the Fifteenth Amendment to settle racial exclusion from voting, while also emphasising national credit, repayment of debt and economic recovery. His concept of peace did not initially mean abandoning federal power in the South.
Authentic short extract: Ulysses S. Grant, First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1869. Original English; selected sentence from the public-domain address, American Presidency Project transcript.
I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution.
For an enquiry into the change from Johnson to Grant, the sentence is valuable: Grant publicly made obedience to legislation central to executive conduct. It states an intention, however, not proof of consistent enforcement throughout two terms. The constitutional requirement to execute laws, the conflict with Johnson and the audience's desire for stability help explain its emphasis.
Grant backed the Enforcement Acts of 1870–71, including the Ku Klux Klan Act. These provided federal tools against interference with voting and organised attacks on rights. The Department of Justice, created in 1870, developed prosecutions under Attorney General Amos Akerman. In October 1871 Grant suspended habeas corpus in specified South Carolina counties, using authority Congress had provided, while soldiers and federal officers acted against the Klan.
Force could serve peace when the alternative was violent overthrow of constitutional government. Arresting perpetrators enabled citizens to participate without private armies deciding the outcome. Yet federal action raised political objections about military rule, costs and centralisation. Grant's success against the early Klan did not eliminate racial coercion permanently. The changing willingness to use these powers is essential when evaluating his record.
People and policies in Grant's administration
Grant's policies depended on officials and allies with different abilities and priorities. Akerman made civil-rights enforcement an active legal project; federal power worked through investigation and prosecution as well as soldiers. Secretary of State Hamilton Fish supplied experienced diplomacy, including the Treaty of Washington in 1871, which allowed arbitration of disputes with Britain arising from Confederate raiders. These successes show that the administration was more than its later reputation for scandal.
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