May 9: Grant signed legislation establishing the 8-hour work day for federal employees
September 24: Black Friday, the collapse of the U.S. gold market
1870
February 3: Grant signed the 15th Amendment to the Constitution, giving black men the right to vote
February 9: Grant established The Division of Telegrams and Reports, the forerunner of the National Weather Service
June 22: Congress established the Department of Justice at Grant’s request
July 22: Grant sent troops to North Carolina to suppress KKK violence
1871
March 4: Congress passed the Civil Service Reform Act
April 20: Congress passed the 2nd Enforcement Act to suppress denial of African American rights
May 8: Treaty of Washington signed by the US and Great Britain
October 17: Grant suspends habeus corpus in several South Carolina counties
1872
March 1: Grant signed legislation establishing Yellowstone as the nation’s first national park
May 22: Grant signed the amnesty bill for former Confederates
June 10: Grant accepted the Republican nomination for a second term as president
September 24: Crédit Mobilier scandal eroded public trust
November 5: Grant was re-elected president, carrying 31 of 37 states
1873
February 12: Fourth Coinage Act passed, demonetizing silver
March 3: Congress passed the “Salary Grab” Act, doubling the President’s salary and giving raises to Supreme Court Justices and members of Congress. Public outcry forced Congress to rescind their retroactive raises.
May 22: Grant announces that he will use force if necessary to restore order in Louisiana
1874
April 22: Grant vetoed the inflation bill
September 17: Grant ordered US troops and naval vessels to New Orleans to restore law and order
1875
January 14: Grant signed the Resumption Act, returning the country to the gold standard
January 30: The US and Hawaii signed a trade treaty, giving land at Pu’u Loa to establish a US naval base
March 1: Civil Rights Act passed
May 10: Whiskey Ring scandal is exposed. Many of Grant’s appointees were indicted in this tax evasion scandal
1876
March 27: US v Cruikshank weakens the Civil Rights Act
June 25: Battle of Little Bighorn. An armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the US Army.
August: Belknap Trading Post Extortion Scam. Grant’s Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, accepted bribes from companies with licenses to trade on the reservations of many Native American tribes.
August 1: Colorado entered the Union as the 38th state