Benjamin H. Bristow Autographs, Memorabilia & Collectibles

Benjamin H. Bristow (1832-1896), a Kentuckian who had served the North with distinction during the Civil War, was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant as Secretary of the Treasury in June of 1874 and also served as the first US Solicitor General. Bristow strongly opposed the Klu Klux Klan, aiding President Grant in the prosecution off their presence in the Reconstructed South, and advocated that African Americans have a right to testify in a white man's court and equally have a right to a public education. As the Secretary of the Treasury, he worked to stabilize a shaky economy following the civil war, shutting down the tax evading Whiskey Ring and aiding in the Resumption of Specie Act of 1875. Following his success as Secretary of the Treasury, Bristow pursued a run for the US Presidency under the Republican ticket, but was ultimately not favored, and Rutherford B. Hayes was chosen as the Republican candidate instead.