No. 18 · The Presidents
Ulysses S. Grant
1869-1877
Grant came into office with high popularity after leading the Union to victory as its general. Once there, he decided to appoint his cabinet based on friendship rather than merit. While not the only president to do so, the sheer amount of administration abuses committed under his watch, including the Black Friday, Crédit Mobilier and Whiskey Ring scandals astonish historians to this day.
Lyrics
Capo 4 · A, A/G♯, A/G, A/F♯
oh Ulysses
you're a war hero
but your competence
stands around zero
filling your cabinet
with friendship over merit
was fun for about a day
you thought that you could use them
but they thought the same of you and
their abuses still astonish us today
black Friday
credit mobilier
whiskey ring just to name a few
oh Ulysses, what are you going to do?
what are you going to do? what are you going to do?
From the book, published 2009 · song & page updated
Friendship over merit