Ulysses S. Grant served as President of the United States.
Ulysses S. Grant ( born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27 , 1822 -- July 23 , 1885 ) was the 18th President of the United States ( 1869 -- 77 ) . Twice elected president , Grant led the Republicans in their effort to remove the vestiges of Confederate nationalism and slavery , protect African-American citizenship , and support economic prosperity . Elected president in 1868 , he stabilized the nation during that turbulent period , prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan , and enforced civil rights and voting rights laws using the army and the newly created Department of Justice . The Democrats and Liberal Republicans united behind Grant 's opponent in the presidential election of 1872 , but were unable to defeat his reelection .