Excerpt from "A Complete and Graphic Account of the Crédit Mobilier Investigation" from Behind the Scenes in Washington

Published in 1873; reprinted on Making of America Books (Web site)

Evidence mounts against the vice president of the United States

"The people do not wish to believe him guilty; but they are appalled by the terrible mass of circumstantial evidence against him.…"

Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885; served 1869–77), the Union general who led the North to victory in the American Civil War (1861–65), was pressed into politics by those seeking a fresh start after the troubled presidency of Andrew Johnson (1808–1875; served 1865–69) (see Chapter 11). Grant had never run for office, nor did he seek the presidency, but the war hero was nominated by the Republican Party in 1868 and won. His simple slogan, "Let us have peace,"...