Amos T. Akerman
Amos Tappan Akerman (
February 23,
1821 -
December 21,
1880) served as
United States Attorney General under
President Ulysses S. Grant from
1870-
1872. Born in
Bartow County,
Georgia, Akerman was a lawyer who served in the
Confederacy but was later pardoned for his actions.
As Attorney General, Akerman was the first to serve as head of the newly created Justice Department. He also took a stand against the terrorism being brought about by the Ku Klux Klan. Akerman resigned in 1872 because of the beginning of corruption that plagued Grant's administration.