I think it's underrated since people generally rate it so poorly to begin with. His time in office is considered to be almost a waste since there was so much co

I think it's underrated since people generally rate it so poorly to begin with. His time in office is considered to be almost a waste since there was so much corruption by those who gained his trust and got into positions of power. Really, Sect of State Hamilton Fish was just about Grant's only good judge of character when building his administration. Even though surrounded by corruption, he achieved important success by using his platform as by far America's most famous living person to push the country forward significantly on unpopular civil rights issues. To this end he developed as a public speaker and self-publicist while in office (as a poor judge of character he couldn't really rely on those around him).