Grant became the 18th president of the United States and served his term from 1869-1877. While he sought to eliminate the affects of slavery, the numerous scandals that occurred among the Congress during his administration would overshadow is good efforts as a president. One scandal that occurred before and during Grant’s presidency was the Credit Mobilier scandal. In 1867, Congressman Oakes Ames became the head of the Credit Mobilier, a fraudulent company that charged the Union Pacific Railroad with the costs to build a transcontinental railroad. With the help of Thomas C. Durant, Ames disbursed the shares of the Credit Mobilier to the members of the Congress at prices way below the stock market. The members would then sell the stocks in order to gain a huge profit. Despite the fact that this scandal cost the government millions of dollars, no one was charged with this