"Grantism" - Jackie Amaro, Period 6

During American President Ulysses S. Grant's terms multiple corruptions broke out in his administration, and though Grant himself did not participate in any of the scandals they did affect the view society had of him. Some of the corruptions during Grant's Presidential Terms were: Credit Mobilier, Black Friday, Whiskey Ring, and the Belknap Scandal. Credit Mobilier was a dummy construction agency created by Representative Oakes Ames of Massachusetts and Thomas C. Durant. Both Ames and Durant were prominent stockholders in the Union Pacific Railroad, and with the creation of their new company the pair started to hire themselves for jobs around the city and in the end stole up to $20 million in federal funds. When the fraud was exposed to the public in 1872 it was revealed that Grant's Vice President, Schuyler Colfax, had been bribed. The news of this sent Grants administration into a frenzy as the public started to talk about the corrupt government and president they had appointed. Another scandal, the Indian Ring, was a less prominent problem during Grants administration however is does show the greed and corruption which came to describe Grants time in office.  
Spear heading the Indian Ring was Grant's Secretary of War William W. Belknap. Within this scandal Belknap accepted bribes from companies who had the authority to trade on the reservations of many Native American Tribes, thus further imposing their white society and culture on to the Indian people. Once Belknap had been figured out he was impeached by the House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate in August 1876 (a few years after the fact). After this scandal the term "Grantism" was officially coined by Senator Charles Sumner in 1872. Sumner coined the term during a speech and created the term to create a distinction between what he believed was the Republican Party and Grant. While the term applied undoubtedly to the majority of Grants term in office, Sumner did have a resentment towards Grant when he coined the term. This lasting resentment was because of the fact that Sumner refused to annex Santo Domingo to the United States when Grant wished it so. Sumner would ultimately call Grant an autocrat like Julius Caesar. The term Grantism thus became a way for people to sum up corruption, greed, and Grant's presidency. Grantism had lingering affects on the United States, with the array of schemes played by American Politicians many Americans became skeptical of the political world. For many people during this time period congressmen, vice presidents, senators, even their own president couldn't be completely trusted. Grantism hindered the United States on a social, economic, and political level.


Lash, Andrew. "Grant Administration Scandals." United States American History. 2 Jan. 2002. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h234.html>.
Kelly, Rebecca. "Grantism and its Effects." American Presidents. 4 May. 2005. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.Americanpresidents.com/pages/h32.html>.
O'Neck, R. "Grantism" United States Fun Facts. 6 April. 2008. Web. 13 Dec. 2011. <http://www.Unitedstatesfacts.org/.html>.

Kelly