The President's Vision for a Settler-Colonial Expansion
In his final annual message, President Ulysses S. Grant reflects on the centennial of the republic, the management of the post-war South, and a failed dream of annexing Santo Domingo to solve the 'Negro question.'
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In his final annual message to Congress, President Ulysses S. Grant offered a reflection on the state of the Union, touching upon the Centennial of 1876, the management of the military, and his controversial ambitions for territorial expansion. Most striking was his admission of failure regarding the annexation of Santo Domingo. Grant argued that by possessing the island as a territory, the United States could have created a 'congenial home' for freedmen, whom he believed would be empowered by the option to migrate elsewhere. 'The possession of the territory would have left the negro master of the situation, by enabling him to demand his rights at home on pain of securing them elsewhere,' Grant wrote. He also used the message to address the volatile political landscape in the South and the ongoing struggles of naturalized citizens, calling for greater uniformity in citizenship laws and protection for postmasters who feared for their lives due to their political affiliations.
“The possession of the territory would have left the negro master of the situation, by enabling him to demand his rights at home on pain of securing them elsewhere.”
Grant’s commentary on the 'Negro question' and his proposed solution—the mass relocation of Black Americans to the Caribbean—highlights the era's deep-seated discomfort with racial equality after the Civil War. While his specific policy proposals were abandoned, the language of 'shipping away' populations to solve domestic inequality remains a dark, recurring theme in American political history.
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