Ulysses S. Grant had no political experience when he became president

Though a combat hero who sat in on cabinet sessions during Reconstruction under President Andrew Johnson, Ulysses S. Grant had little political experience when he was nominated for president in 1868. However, because the Civil War was still looming at the moment, it made sense that one of the people credited with holding the United States together would be given a chance.

He was re-elected for a second term, but scandals, such as the 1869 Black Friday incident, in which two financiers attempted to corner the country's gold market while Grant's Treasury Department sold gold at weekly intervals to pay off the national debt, and his inability to maneuver party politics dogged his administration.

In his parting statement to Congress, he said, "It was my privilege, or misfortune, to be called to the office of Chief Executive without any previous political training." "Under such conditions, it is only reasonable to assume that mistakes of judgment occurred."