Amos Tappan Akerman (February 23, 1821 – December 21, 1880) was an American politician who served as United States Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant from 1870 to 1871.

Attorney General Akerman also prosecuted important land grant cases that concerned railroads in a rapidly expanding West.

Akerman advised on the United States first federal Civil Service Reform law implemented by President Grant and the U.S. Congress.

[1] He attended Phillips Exeter Academy prep school, and Dartmouth College, located in Hanover, where he graduated in the class of 1842 with Phi Beta Kappa honors.

[3] Akerman first served in General Robert Toombs' brigade and later in the quartermaster's department where it was his job to procure and dispense uniforms, weapons and other supplies to the soldiers.

[4] Akerman also strongly advocated Georgia's readmission into the Union and struggled to gain stability and federal compliance in the state.

[5] Akerman wrote that violence in the South against blacks was motivated by revenge after the white Southerners had been defeated by the North, lost substantial property in the emancipation of slaves, had their society disrupted, and were temporarily disenfranchised.

President Grant, initially, attempted to protect African American voters against white violence and discrimination by the use of State courts.

In June 1869, Akerman argued in defense of Richard W. White, a mulatto who had won the state election for Superior Court county clerk.

[7] The case went to the Georgia's Supreme Court where Akerman defended White's election and said his color did not deny him the right to hold office.

[8] He also noted that both President Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant had appointed black men to public office and that the current U.S. Constitution did not recognize or discriminate on the basis of a person's color.

He helped to appoint members and set standards, but due to the geographical constraints, past laws, and financial restrictions he struggled to properly build a strong Department of Justice.

[11] One of these subsidiaries was financially unable to complete the railroad through Kansas, as a result, the Union Pacific applied for federal assistance in the form of land grants and bonds.

[11] On June 1, 1871, Attorney General Akerman denied land grants and bonds to the Union Pacific and upheld previous rulings against federal assistance.

This upset Collis P. Huntington and Jay Gould, who were connected to the Union Pacific Railroad and demanded Akerman's removal from office.

[13] Akerman, however, ruled that the Commission did not constitutionally have the power to forbid an appointment; only to aid the President and Congress to put in the best person qualified for the job.

Gen. Akerman was well aware of the widespread violent tactics, known as "outrages" of the Ku Klux Klan, conducted primarily against African American voters, who had mostly registered as Republicans.

One United States attorney of later years characterized this Klan activity as "the worst outbreak of domestic violence in American history to date.

[14][17] Akerman, expanding the powers of the Department of Justice, started an investigating division that looked into the organization of the Klan in the South.

[17] After Grant had suspended habeas corpus in nine South Carolina counties on October 17, 1871, Akerman, who had traveled to the state, personally led U.S.

[citation needed] During December, while Akerman was busy prosecuting the Klan, he was unexpectedly asked to resign by President Grant.

[12][18] Rumor was that Grant was pressured by Secretary of Interior Columbus Delano, who sympathized with railroad tycoons Collis P. Huntington and Jay Gould, and had demanded Akerman's resignation.

[18] However, historian Eric Foner noted that Akerman's replacement, George H. Williams, continued to prosecute the Klan in the South.

Days before he entered active Confederate Army service in 1864 during the American Civil War, Akerman married Martha Rebecca Galloway.

[21][22] In Thought Clear And Strong, In Purpose Pure And Elevated, In Moral Courage Invincible, He Lived Loyal To His Convictions Avouring Them With Candor, And Supporting Them With Firmness.

He aggressively prosecuted the Ku Klux Klan for political terrorism and violence against African Americans before his forced resignation in 1871.