| Rutherford B. Hayes 1877 - 1881 term in office |
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Nineteenth President of the United States of America |
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Rutherford B. Hayes was an honest, hard-working, loyal man who became president through one of the most hotly-contested elections in American history.
Hayes’ early life was marked by tragedy. His father died just 10 weeks before Rutherford was born, leaving his mother — who had just suffered the loss of a daughter — to raise three children alone. Despite this sad beginning, his childhood was happy and comfortable, and young Rutherford was encouraged to attend college. Upon graduating as valedictorian of his class at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, he attended Harvard Law School.
After setting up a law practice in Cincinnati, Ohio, Hayes used his legal expertise to defend runaway slaves, married abolitionist Lucy Ware Webb and became an antislavery crusader. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, he put his law career on the back burner and volunteered for the Union Army. A father of three with no military experience, he served with distinction, leading his troops through difficult victories and reaching the rank of major general.
His impressive war record prompted Ohio Republicans to nominate Hayes for the U.S. House of Representatives. Despite the fact that he had refused to leave his troops to campaign, Hayes won the election with an overwhelming majority. He served two years in the House and won re-election for a second term. However, when the opportunity arose to run for governor of Ohio, Hayes seized the chance to take a political post that would let him return home to his family. His wholesome popularity swept him into office for three terms. Among his accomplishments as governor were the establishment of Ohio State University and Ohio’s ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment.
With his unblemished reputation and strong war record, Hayes was selected as the Republican presidential candidate in 1876. It was a fiercely fought election against Democrat Samuel J. Tilden of New York, and while famous Republican speakers like Mark Twain showed their support, Hayes was unsure whether he would win. In fact, on election night, Hayes went to bed believing Tilden was the victor.
However, the validity of the returns were challenged in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina, with Republicans claiming one candidate victorious and Democrats claiming the other victorious. After four months of dispute, Congress created an Electoral Commission comprised of eight Republicans and seven Democrats to settle the dispute and decide which votes to count. In the final result, the election went to Hayes by a vote of eight to seven, along party lines. He won by one electoral vote — 185 to 184.
After such a close election, Hayes faced a nation unsure of his ability to lead. Once in office, he made his Cabinet appointments based on merit and not political clout, which ruffled some feathers. He worked diligently to end Reconstruction by withdrawing federal troops and promising not to interfere with local politics in the South. This action marked the return of white Democratic power to the South. Hayes successfully avoided a bloodbath between strikers and federal forces in 1877 during the national railroad strikes. He worked to stabilize the economy and reduce the national debt, which had grown over 4,000 percent during the Civil War. When the elections of 1878 left both houses of Congress dominated by Democrats, Hayes relied on his power of veto to help shape policy. He nullified laws that proposed ending federal protection of voting rights of African-Americans and preventing Chinese people from immigrating to America.
At the end of his term in 1880, Hayes declined a bid for re-election. Instead, he devoted the rest of his life to helping people, working to improve education for poor children and advocating prison reform.
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