On May 20, 1868, Ulysses S. Grant - a native of Clermont County - was chosen as the Republican presidential candidate at the party's national convention in Chicago.

Three years earlier, Grant had declined Abraham Lincoln's invitation to accompany the president to Ford's Theatre on the night of Lincoln's assassination. On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth had planned to kill Lincoln and, it is speculated, also Grant - who had just accepted Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender. Grant was elected the 18th president in 1868. He was re-elected four years later.

Chief among his interests was protecting the rights of blacks and American Indians.

But Grant - the first West Point graduate to become president - was a better soldier than politician. Many of his appointees were involved in scandals. Most historians, however, believe that Grant himself was too honest to be directly involved.

- Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com or call 768-8361