Ulysses Simpson Grant (1869-1877)

A better than average general and by most accounts a decent man who was unfit for the office. His administration did have some accomplishments, but it had more than its share of blunders, bungles and corruption. While there is no evidence of personal corruption, he was unable or unwilling to control the rapaciousness of his friends and colleagues.

More proof that great generals rarely make great presidents ...

I don't like the fact that the $50 bill is rarely in my walle. 3 stars, however.

Insanely overrated military hero type president. Couldn't hold a candle to Lee as as a miliaray strategist or a field general (and knew it), which is probably why he drank himself into an early grave. How a winner can be a Loser

He was a good General I will give him that...but he wasn't cut out for the presidency...Not really. General Drunkard...

The only reason I'm rating this president is because I'm a direct descendant to him. Otherwise I couldn't care less about politicians, not like he was any good at that anyway. However he was a damn good general. Props to my ancestor.

Good general, bad president.

corruption was wide spead in his presidency. But was a supporter of Civil Rights.

Modern Monday Morning Quarterbacks are always running him down. He actually got a lot done and was a fairly good president. What did you expect in the decade following the Civil War?

Probably one of the more lenient Republican politicians/presidents to the south and confederate leaders  after the war. The scandals during his presidency are what people remember, that is why I will give him two stars.

Guess I am in the minority here, because I would say good President/ mediocre general. I give Grant credit for seeing the big picture militarily during the war; but let's face it- Lee acted stupidly and the south was, for all intents and purposes, already beaten by the time Grant took overall command.

Just barely makes the "OK" category for me, because of his poor judgement of character and corrupt Administration; however, he was right on almost every moral issue, including the black man and the red man, and was beloved by most of his countrymen.

A great general.A lousy president.He was too trusting,and therefore was embroiled in corruption scandals.He lost a lot of money.Then,just as he started to recoup the lost money by writing his memoirs,the poor bastard died.

At forty-six he was the youngest man ever elected to the office at the time.. Treated like a rock star in his day.. Short and frumpy.. Reeked of cigar smoke from a twenty cigar per day habit.. Elected without a majority of the white vote.. Once got a speeding ticket for racing his horse and buggy through Central Park.

Columnist John J. Miller said this of Grant, Let us not insist that Grant was a great president. But he was a solidly good one, whose hard-money policies fought inflation and who kept the peace with foreign powers. Miller adds, Some claim he didn't do enough to help blacks in the South secure their rights in the 1870s but this is grossly unfair, because Grant was hobbled by a Congress and a public that didn't want to go as far as he did. Furthermore, Grant's administration may have been corrupt, but the corruption was not categorically worse than what has been found in several other administrations and it did not reach to the top of the organizational chart. Historians who continue to rank Grant near the bottom of the presidential pile are partisan and unfair. Grant deserves better. He was good. If I were to rank all forty-two presidents from best to worst, Grant would fall somewhere between seventeen and twenty-one. He is underrated.

A great man, but not so good president. He was very kind to Robert E. Lee, he did not ask him to surrender his sword. In the peace agreement he let the southern men take their horses home with them because they would be needed to plow the fields. In later years when someone was putting down Grant, Robert Lee overheard the man talking and dressed him down (he was very upset, and told the man so).

A disgusting ugly man, inside and out.

not an awful president, but surely he made a better general

Never should have tried it. What? The Presidentcy or booze? Both!

Have another drink Ulysses.

Great general and, along with WT Sherman, invented modern warfare. But a weak president, not corrupt himself, but surrounded himself with corruption. Perhaps most corrupt administration ever (only possibly Harding and Clinton had more problems). Best thing was ending the first incarnation of the KKK.

Useless Grant -- Mediocre president, but you gotta love him for beating the slave-having traitors in the South!

Grant was a good General but a terrible President with a notorious drinking problem.

He wasn't horrible, but he was involved in a lot of scandals. He should have stuck to fighting wars.

He tried.

Another late-19th century Carpet-Bagger-Dork. At least I don't confuse him with Grover Cleveland. The only reason he gets 3-stars is to keep him ahead of Bush, jr.

The GOP is still making them like they used to. U.S. gets high marks for enabling Lincoln to hold the country together. Grant's admin. as pres. is historically one of the worse, full of skullduggery.

Grant's presidency was stricken with scandal. He should have stuck with being a military genius. If this rating was for his military prowess, he'd get a five, but since he was a horrible president who didn't deserve to get elected, he gets one star.

Are you serious? The most corrupt administration ever (with the possible exception of G.W. Bush).

I don't understand why he's so low. He tried so hard to do his job. He sent out police troops to protect freed slaves and arrest the KKK. He tried a lot more to help this country than some of the other presidents rated higher.

General that helped win the war to free the slaves, righting a terrible wrong which infested our country!

South-hating, yankee booze hound. Ain't worth the powder it would take to blow him up.

Grant, the commanding General for the Union during the Civil War, a great war leader, was a political novice, and it showed. He appointed old loyal cronies to political posts, completely ignoring their competence. Grant's poor judgement showed as scandal after scandal rocked his administration due to the indiscretions of his cabinet members. Eventually he would difuse the issue somewhat by establishing the Civil Service Commission in 1871. (1)Crisis Leadership: 2 out of 5 Stars- Grant worked relentlessly during his first year in office to ensure the passage of the 15th Amendment granting all African Americans the right to vote. Military occupation of the South continued during his entire Administration, leading to the resentment of white southernors, who soon formed groups such as the Klu Klux Clan. The rise of these groups would lead to the continued robbing of rights from Southern blacks. Grant promised to use federal troops to protect freed slaves, but soon many Americans become dis... Read more

TERRIBLE. Bottom 5 of all Presidents. Sexy, though.

Was not the best president and he was not as good of a general as Lee

Just had to take all the credit for the victories over the confederacy. William Sherman deserved the presidency, had he run i would have voted for him. Grant did some good things but was a fighter not a politician.

Was a great general and a great president.

Great military leader, Bad president maybe if he had more time.....hummmmm

Great general, Bad president, and that is what we are rating.

Great general.

Poor Grant was a good military leader, but a bad president. This is the case with most military people who become politicans. They have a hard time understanding fiscal policy or foreign policy. In the case of Grant, he didn't know that his own people were doing monkey business underneath his own nose. He was an ineffective president, but a good, not great, military leader during the Civil War.

Grant's Presidency does not deserve this "4" but Grant himself is one of the greatest American heros.