Grant’s Peace Policy

In 1868, President Ulysses S. Grant faced a new problem in the aftermath of the Civil War: the cultural assimilation of Native Americans.

He enforced a Peace Policy, which ensured that there would be no armed conflict between settlers and Native Americans. Essentially, instead of using violence and corrupt tactics that were previously used, Grant’s Peace Policy let Christian organizations take over all life on certain Native American reservations.

The religious organizations were happy to oblige, because they used the opportunity to try to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. However, the program was widely disliked by Native Americans, who had no desire to be penned into reservations and be told how to behave or who to worship.