American History Series: Grant’s Second Term Worse Than First
The administration of Ulysses Grant was marked by accusations of corruption.
24 February 2010
Welcome to THE MAKING OF A NATION – American history in VOA Special English.
America’s eighteenth president, Ulysses Grant, was elected to his second term in eighteen seventy-two. Grant had led the Union army of the North to victory over the Confederate army of the South during the Civil War. He easily won the presidency in eighteen sixty-eight in the first election held after the war. Now, he would spend four more years as president of the United States.
This week in our series, Harry Monroe and Kay Gallant tell about Grant’s second term in office.
HARRY MONROE: Grant's first administration was marked by dishonesty and shameful events. The situation grew much worse after he won a second term.
Grant himself was not involved directly. But his administration suffered because of his ties to those who were involved.
Soon after Grant's re-election, for example, there was a serious incident that involved many of his supporters in Congress.
The Union Pacific Railroad Company had helped build a railroad across the American west to California. The cost of building the railroad was very high. The company got large amounts of aid from the government.
Not all this aid came honestly. An investigation showed that leading members of Congress, and even the Vice President, received shares of ownership in the company for free, or at low cost. In exchange, they voted to use federal money to help build the railroad.
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