Here lies President Grant: a Timeline

I haven’t finished the opening chapter of this timeline yet, but here’s the outline.

POD: Grant has a heart attack and dies in summer 1871.

Vice President Colfax becomes President, but Colfax’s scandals emerge soon after Grant’s death instead of 1873 as IOTL. Due to the scandals, the GOP does not nominate him. Instead of him, they cannot agree on a candidate, so the consensus candidate is a Southern Republican Senator, Powell Clayton. Without the corruption of Grant’s OTL Cabinet, the 1876 election is a massive GOP victory, paving the way for a much more successful Reconstruction. The timeline is to end after a Great War between the Entente of France, Russia, Greece and Austria-Hungary vs the UK, Ottomans, Germany, Italy, and the USA.

This is my basic outline so far. Does anyone have any ideas for a VP (along with a good non-corrupt Cabinet) for Clayton? Once I have that I’m basically ready for the first post in the timeline.
 
Why would a Republican win in 1876 make any difference to Reconstruction?

By then, there were only three Republican State Governments left in the South, all clinging on by their fingernails. And, given the modest size of the peacetime US Army, there was nothing in particular that any President could have done to change this. Grant supported Reconstruction to the best of his ability and there is no reason to suppose that anyone else could have done better.
 
Why would a Republican win in 1876 make any difference to Reconstruction?

By then, there were only three Republican State Governments left in the South, all clinging on by their fingernails. And, given the modest size of the peacetime US Army, there was nothing in particular that any President could have done to change this. Grant supported Reconstruction to the best of his ability and there is no reason to suppose that anyone else could have done better.

A more effective Reconstruction between 1872 and 1876 due to it being a more popular, not corrupt Southerner reconstructing the South, as well as not ending Reconstruction in 1877. I’m considering having the Radical Republicans engage in court packing that would strike down all Jim Crow laws as violations of the 14th amendment. I’m also thinking about Clayton calling for formation and arming of Freedman’s Militias to fight the KKK remnants in former Confederate States in the middle of being Reconstructed to make up for the lack of the army.
 
A more effective Reconstruction between 1872 and 1876 due to it being a more popular, not corrupt Southerner reconstructing the South, as well as not ending Reconstruction in 1877. I’m considering having the Radical Republicans engage in court packing that would strike down all Jim Crow laws as violations of the 14th amendment. I’m also thinking about Clayton calling for formation and arming of Freedman’s Militias to fight the KKK remnants in former Confederate States in the middle of being Reconstructed to make up for the lack of the army.

How could having a different POTUS cause Southern State governments (of either party) to be any less corrupt? No one in Washington has any control over them.

There were Coloured militias OTL but they achieved little .

Incidentally, by 1873 much of the South - VA, NC, TN, GA and TX - is already "Redeemed", and in AL and AR, Radical rule has only a year or two left to run, far too short a time for any action by the new administration to have much impact. That only leaves four States. I suppose it's conceivable that a more stubborn Federal government could prolong Radical rule there by a couple of years, but that's probably about it.

In any case, even if the 1876 business is avoided, there is going to be a Democratic POTUS and/or Congress sometime. A governing party always wears out its welcome sooner or later. And as soon as that happens Reconstruction (even if it has managed to last that long), is over.
 
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