Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States serving from 1869 – 1877. As the embodiment of the victorious Union army, Frederick Douglass was a strong supporter of President Grant and his administration, even when faced with evidence of corruption within its ranks. Douglass campaigned vigorously for Grant during his two elections noting that a Grant presidency was required to maintain the freedoms won during the Civil War.
“Douglass embraced Grant in 1872 and beyond for a reason similar to his more restrained endorsement of Lincoln in 1860 – Grant was the candidate the South and the resurgent Democrats feared most. He had moved effectively to defeat the Klan…he concluded his official endorsement of Grant in 1872 by stating ‘Long ago we adopted the maxim ‘never to occupy ground which our enemies desired us to occupy’ if we could help it.’”[1]
Ulysses S. Grant died on July 23, 1885 at the age of 63. He was buried in the General Grant National Memorial in New York City, New York.
Exact Grave GPS coordinates: 40.813301, -73.963140
[1] David W. Blight, Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2018), 702.
The Graves of Frederick Douglass 