Corruption Scandals During the Presidency of Ulysses Grant

Abstract

In this article, while examining the state of corruption in the upper echelons of power in the United States during the presidency of Ulysses Grant (1868–1877), the author focuses on methods of combating it. The topic is a timely one, not least due to the current practice of fighting corruption on a global scale. The struggle against corruption during the presidency of Ulysses Grant has not yet been studied by Russian specialists in American Studies. In American historiography, there are still conflicting assessments of this phenomenon, as well as of the personality of Ulysses Grant himself. The problem of the President's involvement in corruption schemes is still largely unresolved. The purpose of this article is to analyse corruption scandals and the struggle against corruption during Ulysses Grant's presidency. The source base includes documents and papers of the 18th President, congressional records, memoirs of contemporaries and periodicals. The study shows that as President Ulysses Grant relied too much on his relatives and his comrades-in-arms, yet took the necessary steps to deal with corruption scandals: dismissing unworthy officials and replacing them with honest and capable administrators such as Bristow, prosecuting and punishing the culprits. The scale of corruption was largely attributable to the chaotic state of the economy after the Civil War. Congressional investigations and revelations in the periodical press had a powerful effect in combating corruption.