Andrew Johnson, who became President after Lincoln was assassinated, named Grant as Secretary of War, a position that he held for most of a year before resigning. In the subsequent election, Grant, running as the candidate of the Republican Party, won the Election of 1868, defeating the Democratic candidate, former N.Y. Gov. Horatio Seymour. At the time, Grant, at 46, was the youngest ever to serve as President.

During his first term as President, he oversaw the signing of the 15th Amendment, which guaranteed to male African-Americans the right to vote. He also continued the programs of Reconstruction begun by Lincoln and carried on by Johnson, supporting the military presence in the South that he thought was needed to keep the peace, in the wake of acts of terror by white supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, which Grant prosecuted.

He also made moves to better the lives of Native Americans, appointing Ely Parker, a Seneca, the first Native American to be Commissioner of Indian Affairs and establishing a Board of Indian Commissioners to root out corruption in the federal government's dealings with tribes.

His time in office was beset by scandals. During his first term, he inadvisably made public appearances with James Fisk and Jay Gould, a pair of speculators who tried to corner the gold market. This resulted in Black Friday, a financial panic that occurred on Sept. 24, 1869. Grant had no involvement in the scheme but was tarred by his association with those who did.

In 1872, he easily won re-election, defeating the Democratic Party candidate, newspaper editor Horace Greeley. This election was also the first to have a female presidential candidate: Victoria Woodhull, representing the Equal Rights Party. Her running mate was the African-American Frederick Douglass.

During Grant's second term, his private secretary, Orville Babcock, faced indictment for his role in the actions of the Whiskey Ring, a scheme of liquor distillers and distributors to cheat the federal government out of a significant amount of tax revenue. Grant had no involvement in Babcock's doings, defended his secretary, and saw him acquitted. Babcock resigned his post.

Grant also signed into law bills that created the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Justice, the Weather Bureau (what is now the National Weather Service), and Yellowstone National Park.

In the international realm, Grant negotiated the terms of the 1871 Treaty of Washington, settling low-level hostilities stemming the United Kingdom's interference with Union shipping during the Civil War. In that same year, he met defeat in the Senate of his plan to annex the Dominican Republic. Four years later, he met with success in the form of a free trade treaty with the Kingdom of Hawaii.

He left office in 1877 and toured the world for two-and-one-half years. He helped negotiate the end of a territorial crisis between China and Japan. He and Julia returned home and lived in New York, near their children and grandchildren.

In 1884, Grant lost his savings to a bank that had adopted questionable practices. He wrote about his war experiences for Century Magazine and, seeing how popular they were, wrote his autobiography, Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant. He finished writing just days before he died, of cancer, on July 23, 1885.

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