USPortrait comingOfficial portrait of Ulysses S. Grant
18th president of the United States · 1869–1873 and 1873–1877

Ulysses S. Grant

RepublicanVice president: Schuyler Colfax (1869–73), Henry Wilson (1873–75)Served two terms

The general who won the Civil War. As president he enforced Reconstruction, created the Justice Department, and used it and federal troops to break up the Ku Klux Klan. He signed laws committing the country to pay its war debts in gold, vetoed a bill to print more paper money after the Panic of 1873, created Yellowstone, the first national park, and settled war claims with Britain. His administration was rocked by corruption scandals among the people around him.

Debt paid down
−$431.29million
$2.61 billion → $2.18 billion (−17%)
Debt-to-GDP, latest
26%
FY1868: 32% → FY1872: 27% · FY1872: 27% → FY1876: 26%
Unemployment
—
No national estimates before 1890
Average inflation
-3.7%a year
1868–1872: -3.7% a year · 1872–1876: -3.2% a year
Executive orders
217
About 27 a year in office
Pardons & commutations
—
Not recorded before 1900
Impeached
No
No · Convicted of a crime: No

The economy, first day to last

Shaded areas show the years in office, with a few years before and after for comparison. Budget years ran July to June until 1976 (now October to September), so each year's figures cover parts of two calendar years.

National debt

June 30, 1868 (end of fiscal 1868): $2.61 billion → June 30, 1876 (end of fiscal 1876): $2.18 billion

Daily debt figures don't exist before 1993, so Grant's numbers use the fiscal years closest to his term, the same rule as every other page.

Debt compared with the economy

Debt as a share of GDP. Above 100% means the debt is bigger than a year of everything the country produces.

Deficits and surpluses

Money borrowed each budget year (below the line) or paid down (above). The White House budget office's yearly figures begin in 1901.

Unemployment

No national estimates before 1890. Economist Stanley Lebergott's yearly estimates, the earliest national series, begin in 1890

Inflation

How much prices rose each year (consumer price index).

Cost of living

What everyday prices and paychecks did while in office.

What cost $100 in 1868$85.92 in 1872
What cost $100 in 1872$87.75 in 1876

Prices use the consumer price index (MeasuringWorth). The minimum wage is the federal rate set by Congress.

Executive orders

217 orders. Count from the American Presidency Project.

Orders signed each year

Yearly counts aren't reliable for this era. Orders were not numbered until 1907, when the State Department numbered the ones already in its files, and many orders were never numbered at all, so only the total is shown.

Source: American Presidency Project: executive orders (full list of every order).

Notable orders

Most orders in this era were routine, such as setting aside public land or exempting jobs from civil service rules.

Every executive order we have 112Search, filter by topic or year, and open any order's full text

Incomplete: orders before 1929 were not numbered or collected consistently. This archive has 112 of the roughly 217 orders counted for this president.

  1. OrderMarch 5, 1869Executive Order
  2. OrderMarch 8, 1869Executive Order
  3. OrderMarch 9, 1869Executive Order
  4. OrderMarch 16, 1869Executive Order
  5. OrderMarch 26, 1869Executive Order
  6. OrderMarch 31, 1869Executive Order
  7. OrderJune 3, 1869Executive Order
  8. OrderAugust 31, 1869Executive Order—Approving Secretary of Interior for Santee Sioux Changes
  9. OrderSeptember 7, 1869Executive Order
  10. OrderOctober 9, 1869Executive Order [on the death of Franklin Pierce]
  11. OrderOctober 9, 1869Executive Order
  12. OrderOctober 19, 1869Executive Order
  13. OrderDecember 24, 1869Executive Order
  14. OrderDecember 24, 1869Executive Order
  15. OrderJanuary 4, 1870Executive Order
  16. OrderJanuary 29, 1870Executive Order
  17. OrderJanuary 31, 1870Executive Order—Establishing Mission Indian Reserves in California
  18. OrderFebruary 26, 1870Executive Order
  19. OrderMarch 31, 1870Executive Order
  20. OrderApril 12, 1870Executive Order—Approving Secretary Letter on Arickaree, Gross Ventre, and Mandan Indians
  21. OrderMarch 14, 1871Executive Order—Approving Interior Request of Oregon Land
  22. OrderMarch 31, 1871Executive Order
  23. OrderNovember 14, 1871Executive Order—Evaluation and Indian Relocation of Bitter Root Valley Reserve
  24. OrderApril 16, 1872Executive Order
  25. OrderMay 27, 1872Executive Order
  26. OrderSeptember 12, 1872Executive Order—Approving Lands for Snake or Piute Indians
  27. OrderOctober 11, 1872Executive Order
  28. OrderOctober 26, 1872Executive Order—Drawing Boundaries for Makah Indians
  29. OrderDecember 14, 1872Executive Order—Establishment and Modification of Apache and White Mountain Indian Reservations in Arizona
  30. OrderJanuary 2, 1873Executive Order—Adding Land to Makah Reserve
  31. OrderJanuary 9, 1873Executive Order—Establishment of Yuma Indian Reservation in California
  32. OrderJanuary 17, 1873Executive Order
  33. OrderJanuary 28, 1873Executive Order
  34. OrderMarch 12, 1873Executive Order—Establishment of Moapa River Reservation
  35. OrderMarch 14, 1873Executive Order
  36. OrderApril 8, 1873Executive Order—Withdrawal of Lands from Sale on Round Valley Indian Reservation in California
  37. OrderMay 9, 1873Executive Order
  38. OrderMay 21, 1873Executive Order
  39. OrderMay 29, 1873Executive Order—Fort Stanton Indian Reserve
  40. OrderJuly 5, 1873Executive Order—Establishing Blackfeet Reserve in Montana
  41. OrderAugust 5, 1873Executive Order—Restoring Land in Arizona to Public Domain
  42. OrderAugust 5, 1873Executive Order
  43. OrderSeptember 6, 1873Executive Order—Approving Interior Request to Expand the Puyallup Reservation
  44. OrderSeptember 9, 1873Executive Order—Defining Northern Boundary Of Swinomish Reservation
  45. OrderOctober 3, 1873Executive Order—Establishing Tule River Indian Reservation in California
  46. OrderOctober 10, 1873Executive Order
  47. OrderOctober 29, 1873Executive Order—Establishment of Winnebagoshish Reserve in Minnesota
  48. OrderNovember 4, 1873Executive Order—Defining Quinaielt Reserve Boundaries
  49. OrderNovember 4, 1873Executive Order—Amendment and Reservation of Land for Leech Lake Bands of Chippewa
  50. OrderNovember 8, 1873Executive Order—Establishment of Coeur d’Alene Indian Reservation in Idaho
  51. OrderNovember 22, 1873Executive Order—Expanding the Colorado River Reservation
  52. OrderNovember 22, 1873Executive Order—Establishing Land for Dwamish Tribe
  53. OrderDecember 23, 1873Executive Order—Defining Boundaries for Tulalip Indian Reservation
  54. OrderDecember 31, 1873Executive Order—Expanding Santee Sioux Land
  55. OrderJanuary 23, 1874Executive Order
  56. OrderJanuary 31, 1874Executive Order—Establishing the Judith Basin Reserve for the Crow Tribe
  57. OrderFebruary 4, 1874Executive Order—Nullifying Reservation of Lands in Michigan
  58. OrderFebruary 12, 1874Executive Order—Establishment of Pah-Ute Reservation
  59. OrderFebruary 25, 1874Executive Order—Defining Land for Skokomish Reserve
  60. OrderMarch 9, 1874Executive Order [on the death of Millard Fillmore]
  61. OrderMarch 19, 1874Executive Order— Establishment of Walker River Indian Reservation
  62. OrderMarch 23, 1874Executive Order— Establishment of Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation
  63. OrderMarch 25, 1874Executive Order—Jicarilla Apache Indian Reservation Withdrawn
  64. OrderApril 9, 1874Executive Order—Hot Springs Reserve Boundaries
  65. OrderApril 9, 1874Executive Order—Approving Territory for Muckleshoot Reservation
  66. OrderMay 26, 1874Executive Order—Reserving Land for Pillager and Lake Winnebagoshish Bands
  67. OrderMay 27, 1874Executive Order
  68. OrderMay 29, 1874Executive Order
  69. OrderJune 21, 1874Executive Order—Restoring Portion of White Mountain Indian Reservation to Public Domain
  70. OrderJuly 1, 1874Executive Order—Establishing Papago Indian Reserve
  71. OrderAugust 19, 1874Executive Order—Restoring Tract of Land in Montana Territory to Public Domain
  72. OrderAugust 31, 1874Executive Order
  73. OrderNovember 16, 1874Executive Order—Expanding Reservation for Indians of the Colorado River and its Tributaries
  74. OrderNovember 24, 1874Executive Order—Returning Tulerosa Indian Land to Public Domain
  75. OrderFebruary 12, 1875Executive Order—Establishing Lemhi Valley Indian Reservation
  76. OrderMarch 9, 1875Executive Order
  77. OrderMarch 9, 1875Executive Order
  78. OrderMarch 16, 1875Executive Order—Adding Territory for Sioux Indians
  79. OrderMarch 25, 1875Executive Order—Cancelling Reservation for Crow Indians
  80. OrderMarch 25, 1875Executive Order
  81. OrderApril 13, 1875Executive Order—Expanding Reservation for Various Native American Tribes
  82. OrderMay 15, 1875Executive Order—Adding to the Malheur Indian Reservation
  83. OrderMay 18, 1875Executive Order—Establishing Boundaries for Round Valley Indian Reservation
  84. OrderMay 24, 1875Executive Order
  85. OrderJuly 3, 1875Executive Order
  86. OrderJuly 27, 1875Executive Order
  87. OrderAugust 2, 1875Executive Order [on death of Andrew Johnson]
  88. OrderAugust 2, 1875Executive Order
  89. OrderAugust 21, 1875Executive Order
  90. OrderOctober 20, 1875Executive Order—Fort Stanton Reduced Military Reservation
  91. OrderOctober 20, 1875Executive Order—Expanding Crow Indian Reservation Boundaries
  92. OrderNovember 22, 1875Executive Order—Expansion of Ute Indian Reservation Territory
  93. OrderNovember 22, 1875Executive Order
  94. OrderNovember 23, 1875Executive Order
  95. OrderDecember 21, 1875Executive Order—Hot Springs Reservation to Public Domain
  96. OrderDecember 27, 1875Executive Order—Establishment of Mission Indian Reserves in California
  97. OrderJanuary 28, 1876Executive Order—Restoring Malheur Indian Reservation to Public Domain
  98. OrderMarch 8, 1876Executive Order—Revoking Order of October 20, 1875 Establishing Crow Tribe Reservation in Montana Territory
  99. OrderApril 27, 1876Executive Order—Modification of White Mountain Indian Reservation Boundary in Arizona Territory
  100. OrderMay 15, 1876Executive Order—Reaffirmation of Boundaries for the Colorado River Indian Reservation
  101. OrderMay 20, 1876Executive Order
  102. OrderJune 23, 1876Executive Order—Establishment of Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation Boundaries
  103. OrderJune 23, 1876Executive Order—Creating the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation
  104. OrderJuly 18, 1876Executive Order—Canceling Jicarilla Apache Reserve
  105. OrderJuly 26, 1876Executive Order—Revocation of Camp Wright Military Reservation
  106. OrderAugust 10, 1876Executive Order
  107. OrderAugust 17, 1876Executive Order—Revocation of Uncompahgre Park Portion
  108. OrderAugust 31, 1876Executive Order—Pima and Maricopa or Gila River Reserve
  109. OrderOctober 30, 1876Executive Order—Revocation of Chiricahua Reserve
  110. OrderNovember 23, 1876Executive Order
  111. OrderNovember 28, 1876Executive Order—Additional Territory for Sioux Indians
  112. OrderJanuary 26, 1877Executive Order—Revocation of Portion of White Mountain Indian Reservation

Source: Executive Orders Archive, compiled from the American Presidency Project and the Federal Register. Topics are the archive's automated tags; "Revoked" and similar labels come from the Federal Register's records.

Pardons and commutations

A pardon wipes out the punishment for a federal crime; a commutation shortens a sentence but leaves the conviction. The Justice Department's published counts begin in 1900.

Granted each year

The Justice Department's published clemency counts begin in fiscal 1900, so there are no reliable yearly totals for this presidency.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Justice, clemency statistics, which lists every recipient with the crime and sentence.

Notable grants: tap to see the crime

John McDonaldPardonJanuary 26, 1877

The crime: Leading the Whiskey Ring, which stole millions in federal liquor taxes (convicted 1875)

Sentence: 18 months and a $5,000 fine

Why it drew attention: McDonald was the Grant-appointed tax supervisor in St. Louis at the center of the biggest scandal of Grant's presidency. Grant pardoned him five weeks before leaving office.

Source

Controversies and scandals

What happened, what was proven, and how it ended.

Proven convicted, admitted or confirmed by a court or official investigationCharged indicted or impeached (outcome stated)Disputed facts established, whether it was wrong is debatedAlleged reported but never established
The Whiskey RingProven1871–1875

Distillers and Treasury officials, mostly in St. Louis, conspired to skim millions of dollars in liquor taxes.

Outcome: More than 100 convictions. Grant's secretary was acquitted after Grant testified for him, and Grant pardoned the ring's leader.

Source
The Belknap briberyCharged1870–1876

The secretary of war and his wives received about $20,000 from a man who held a lucrative Army trading post.

Outcome: Impeached unanimously by the House; acquitted by the Senate.

Source
Black FridayProvenSeptember 1869

Financiers Jay Gould and Jim Fisk tried to corner the gold market, using Grant's brother-in-law to get inside information. When Grant ordered the Treasury to sell gold, the price collapsed and many investors were ruined.

Outcome: A congressional investigation in 1870 cleared Grant of wrongdoing.

Source
Crédit MobilierProvenRevealed 1872

A railroad construction company had given its stock to members of Congress, including Grant's vice president, Schuyler Colfax, while they oversaw its government funding.

Outcome: The House censured two congressmen; Colfax was dropped from the 1872 ticket.

Source
SlaveholdingProven1859

Grant owned one enslaved man, William Jones, whom he acquired from his father-in-law. His wife's family's enslaved servants also worked for the household before the war.

Outcome: Grant freed Jones in 1859 rather than sell him, though he was deeply in debt at the time.

Source
General Order No. 11ProvenDecember 1862

Before his presidency, as a Union general, Grant ordered all Jews expelled from his military district.

Outcome: Lincoln revoked it within weeks. Grant later called it wrong, and as president appointed more Jewish officials than any predecessor.

Source

In their own words

Widely quoted remarks, with the context they were said in.

Let us have peace.

May 29, 1868 · Letter accepting the Republican nomination. Source

Let no guilty man escape.

July 29, 1875 · Note on a letter about the Whiskey Ring investigation. Source

Failures have been errors of judgment, not of intent.

December 5, 1876 · Final annual message to Congress, acknowledging the mistakes of his administration. Source
How this page is made. Every president gets the same sections and the same checklist. A controversy is listed if it led to an investigation by Congress, an inspector general, a special or independent counsel or a court, or was a sustained national story covered across the political spectrum. Labels follow the strongest official finding, not media coverage. Debt figures come from the U.S. Treasury; deficits and GDP from the White House budget office and the Commerce Department; unemployment from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (before 1948, yearly estimates by Stanley Lebergott via NBER and the Census Bureau's Historical Statistics); prices from MeasuringWorth; executive orders from the Federal Register and National Archives; clemency from the Justice Department.