Research Paper on "Grant and Wilson Public Policy as Governments"

Research Paper 4 pages (1303 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Grant and Wilson Public Policy

As governments evolved and adapted from the ancient city states it became necessary to implement projects that were designed to improve the structure and function of the government. Public policy is a guide for the administrative function of the state to implement laws, regulatory measures and funding priorities that will benefit the citizenry. Generally, it is embodied within macro constitutional or legislative documents and acts, and/or judicial decisions (Schuster, 2009).

In general, when Ulysses Grant came into office, he preferred to try his best to avoid the political infighting that resulted after Lincoln's assassination. Rather than form public policy based on party lines, he sought to surround himself with people who would give him accurate advice and a continuation of the reconciliation with the South rather than retribution or appeasement. Add to this, though, his need to ensure that the Federal government protected the newly freed slaves and prevented former Confederate separatists from regaining power in the South (Grant: A Reference Resource, 2011).

President Woodrow Wilson believed in a strong, active role for the central government and during his term established legislation that significantly enlarged the government's regulatory powers. Most of these issues surround a reformist platform, and even before his Presidency was one of the three most prominent public administrationists of the late 19th century. As governor he continued this policy, preparing himself for his role in such issues as immigration, women's suffrage, and child labor (Woodrow Wilson, 2011).

Grant and Reconstruction- Reconstruction dominated Grant's presidency. Reconstruction is the name for the period in United States history that covers the post-Civil War era, roughly 1865-1877. Technically, it refers to the policies that focused on the aftermath of the war; abolishing slavery, defeating the Confederacy, and putting legislation in effect to restore the nation -- per the Constitution. Most contemporary historians view Reconstruction as a failure with ramifications that lasted at least 100 years later: issues surrounding Civil Rights were still being debated in the 1970s, corrupt northern businessmen "carpetbaggers" brought scandal and economic corruption, monetary and tariff policies were retributive and had legal results in the north as well. However, that was not the intent of Grant, who truly believed that the Union should be preserved and that the rights of all citizens protected (Foner, 2002).

One particular issue that was important to grant was the idea of the newly freed slaves and their right to vote. Beginning in 1870, Congress passes a series of laws known as the Enforcement Acts, designed to protect the right to vote. One of these, the Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, was specifically pushed by Grant to protect southern blacks from the Klan by providing a civil remedy for abuses committed in the South. While the Southern States could not legally prevent Blacks from voting, they often utilized the Klan to terrorize and prevent former slaves from exercising their new right. President Grant did not want the Federal Government to be continually involved in arbitration or enforcement procedures with the states, but used the situation in South Carolina to have the Federal authority broadened so that he could intervene on the side of the former slaves. After the Act was passed (April 20, 1871) Grant had the power to suppress state disorders on his own and to suspect the right of habeas corpus. Grant was firm on his belief in this regard and used this public authority on numerous occasions, and as a result the Klan was dismantled, first in South Carolina, and then in other Southern States and did not resurface until after the 20th century (Scaturro, 1999, pp. 70-2).

Wilson and the Reformist Agenda- Woodrow Wilson came into the presidency almost as a radical priest. He was intent on expanding economic opportunities for that portion of society at the bottom of the rung, and wanted to eliminate the constant… READ MORE

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