Who Was Ulysses S. Grant?

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

President Grant had a rough time during his presidency because of a lack of good judgement when it came to his advisors and the people he appointed to his cabinet.

His presidency was tainted by many scandals led by people in his administration. He was never personally found guilty of participating in, or benefitting from, any immoral acts, yet people are assumed guilty by association, and judged by the company they keep.

• Have you ever been guilty by association?
• Have you ever been in a situation where you did not participate in an activity but knew about it and, therefore, were found to be at fault?

• Write a journal entry about a situation when you were blamed for something that didn't necessarily include you or your direct actions. Include how this made you feel, and how it may have affected your relationship with the people involved.

The following article spells out some of the scandals that President Grant had to navigate through during his time in office. While reading this article, take notes on the different situations and how they may have affected public opinion of him and his presidency. Hang on to your notes; you will need them in the Go! section of this lesson.

Take a look at these Grant administration scandals from Wikipedia.

In the next section, you will watch a video about President Grant and his presidency.