Ulysses Grant's reputation has been attacked over the years, but no President other than Lincoln did more during the first 185 years of our history to fight domestic terrorism and defend the basic civil rights of all Americans. Grant used powers given to him by Congress to successfully destroy the largest domestic terrorist organization in American history, the KKK. He stepped in when local authorities refused to prevent or prosecute attacks on freed slaves.
Grant used the military and Attorney General's office to protect the right to vote and hold office for African-Americans. After he left office, it would be nearly a century before the federal government once again intervened to guarantee the civil rights and safety of all Americans in the South.
How does Grant compare to Reagan? It would be hard to argue that any President has done more to support acts of terrorism than Ronald Reagan. I know it's not very nice to write that on his birthday but let's be honest about his record amidst the whitewashed hero worship.
I'll start with his well known support of Saddam Hussein. The Reagan Administration authorized military aid to Iraq, including chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. He sold helicopters that were used to gas the Kurds and Iraqi Shiites.
He gave Iran intelligence and sold them weapons in violation of the law. He lied about negotiating with terrorists who took American hostages.
He supported the Nicaraguan Contras, who carried out horrifying acts of torture and terrorist attacks against civilians, in addition to lending direct and indirect support to roaming death squads in other Latin American nations.
"I'm a Contra too!" - Ronald Reagan
His administration trained multiple dictators and terrorists at the School of Americas.
Reagan supported, along with the South African apartheid government, a terrorist campaign in Angola and other African nations.
Along with Osama bin Laden, he aided the Afghan Mujahideen who he called the "moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” Yes, that means Reagan indirectly helped give rise to al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The verdict is easy. Grant, the fighter of terrorists, wins out over Reagan, the funder and enabler of terrorists.
When I point out Reagan's support of terrorism to die-hard conservatives they usually start by denying that Saint Ronald the Liberator would ever do something so vile. When I cite specific examples they shift from denial to justifying it as a defense against Communism.
It's amazing to see how quickly people will abandon their core beliefs, like the idea that America shouldn't support terrorists and brutal dictators. All you have to do is find a charismatic leader and frighten people by exaggerating an external threat.