Rutherford B. Hayes

19th President of the United States
Term: 1877-1881
Born: October 4, 1822
Died: January 17, 1893

Rutherford Birchard Hayes became president after one of the most fiercely disputed and controversial elections in American history. His administration marked the practical end of Reconstruction, the birth of a new era in federal civil service reform, and continued executive efforts to stabilize the nation following the devastation of the Civil War.

Although Hayes honored his pledge to serve only a single term, his presidency represented a massive turning point in American history. The withdrawal of federal troops from the South effectively allowed Southern state governments to regain broad, unchecked control over their internal affairs, profoundly altering the lives and rights of African Americans for generations to come.

Early Life

Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, in 1822. His father passed away several months before his birth, leaving Hayes to be raised primarily by his mother and his uncle.

He attended Kenyon College before earning a law degree from Harvard Law School. Hayes went on to establish a highly successful legal practice in Cincinnati, where he gradually became recognized for his professionalism and moderate political views.

Early Political Career

Before ascending to the presidency, Hayes built a solid record of public service, holding office as:

• City Solicitor of Cincinnati
• Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
• Governor of Ohio

Throughout his early political career, Hayes forged a lasting public reputation for personal honesty, administrative competence, and unyielding opposition to the westward expansion of slavery.

The Civil War

When the Civil War broke out, Hayes volunteered for immediate service in the Union Army. He rose steadily through the military ranks, eventually attaining the rank of brevet major general.

Hayes was wounded several times during the conflict and earned a widespread reputation for personal bravery under fire. Unlike many high-ranking officers who remained safely behind the lines, he frequently led his troops directly into active combat. His distinguished military record greatly enhanced his post-war public reputation and set the stage for his national political career.

Election of 1876

The election of 1876 remains one of the most controversial presidential contests in American history. Hayes, running as the Republican nominee, faced off against Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden.

Tilden successfully won the national popular vote and initially appeared to have secured enough electoral votes to win the presidency outright. However, heavily disputed election returns in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina — along with one contested elector from Oregon — left twenty electoral votes completely unresolved.

To break the deadlock, Congress created a special Electoral Commission to determine how the contested electoral votes should be counted. The commission consisted of eight Republicans and seven Democrats and voted along strict party lines, awarding all twenty disputed electoral votes to Hayes and granting him a narrow 185-184 victory in the Electoral College.

The Compromise of 1877

Although no formal, written agreement has ever been found by researchers — and the term "Compromise of 1877" was coined by historian C. Vann Woodward in his 1951 book Reunion and Reaction rather than appearing in any contemporary documentation — historians generally agree that intense political negotiations surrounding the election's resolution contributed to a set of understandings that shaped what followed.

As part of these political arrangements:

• Federal troops were permanently withdrawn from the remaining occupied Southern states.
• Republican-led Reconstruction governments in the South effectively collapsed.
• Southern Democrats successfully regained complete political control throughout the region.

Whether these events constituted a single, deliberately negotiated "compromise" or a series of independent political understandings remains an ongoing subject of historical debate.

End of Reconstruction

The withdrawal of federal troops marked the practical conclusion of the Reconstruction era. Without sustained federal military backing, many Southern state governments moved quickly to enact local policies designed to reduce African American political participation.

Over the subsequent decades, the implementation of literacy tests, poll taxes, systematic intimidation, violence, and other discriminatory measures severely restricted voting rights for Black citizens, despite the explicit protections outlined in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. Modern historians generally view the sudden end of Reconstruction as one of the most regressive and significant turning points in American civil rights history.

Civil Service Reform

Hayes firmly believed that the federal government needed to drastically cut back on political patronage. He worked tirelessly to establish a professional civil service system where appointments were based strictly on merit rather than partisan political loyalty.

While comprehensive, systemic reform would not be fully realized until after his term ended, Hayes successfully began limiting the reach of the toxic "spoils system" that had dominated federal appointments for decades. His executive efforts laid the indispensable groundwork for the eventual passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.

The Great Railroad Strike of 1877

During his first year in office, Hayes faced the first major nationwide labor uprising in American history. The Great Railroad Strike erupted after major railroad corporations slashed worker wages during a prolonged economic depression.

As the strikes spread rapidly across multiple states and violent riots broke out in several industrial cities, Hayes authorized the deployment of federal troops to restore order where requested by state authorities. While the strikes eventually collapsed, the crisis highlighted the growing, volatile tensions between industrial employers and organized labor during America's era of rapid industrialization.

Foreign Policy

On the world stage, Hayes pursued a generally cautious and pragmatic foreign policy. His administration focused primarily on strengthening global commercial relationships while deliberately avoiding major international conflicts. He also expressed strong support for the conceptual plans of a future canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but firmly opposed any exclusive European control over such a project.

Native American Policy

Hayes largely continued the established reservation policies inherited from the Grant administration. His presidency witnessed relentless westward expansion and steadily increasing economic and territorial pressure on Native American nations. Although Hayes openly favored peaceful negotiations wherever possible, bitter military conflicts between the United States and various Native American tribes continued across the western frontier throughout his term.

Personal Life

Hayes married Lucy Webb Hayes in 1852. She went on to become one of the most broadly popular First Ladies of the nineteenth century.

Lucy Hayes was a staunch supporter of the temperance movement and famously chose not to serve any alcoholic beverages at official White House functions. This policy later earned her the nickname "Lemonade Lucy" — though historical evidence indicates the moniker became widely used only after she left the White House, rather than during her actual tenure as First Lady.

Retirement and Death

True to a pledge made before taking office, Hayes refused to run for re-election, serving only a single term. He honored his word and happily retired to his estate, Spiegel Grove, located in Ohio. During a highly active retirement, he dedicated his time to educational reform, prison reform, and various charitable causes.

Rutherford B. Hayes died on January 17, 1893, at the age of seventy. He left public life widely respected by contemporaries for his personal integrity and unwavering commitment to public service.

Myth vs. History

Hayes Stole the Presidential Election of 1876
While the election results remain highly controversial, historians point out that both major political parties claimed widespread irregularities and fraud in the disputed states. The special Electoral Commission officially awarded the contested votes to Hayes under legal procedures explicitly established by Congress. Whether the final outcome is viewed as outright fraud, standard legal interpretation, or backroom political compromise remains a subject of intense scholarly debate.

The Compromise of 1877 Was a Single, Formally Signed Agreement
This is incorrect. No formal, written, or signed contract has ever been discovered by modern researchers, and the term itself was coined by a historian in 1951 rather than appearing in any document from the era. Most historians describe the "Compromise of 1877" as a fluid series of informal political negotiations and understandings rather than a single, documented piece of legislation.

Lucy Hayes Was Universally Called "Lemonade Lucy" While Serving as First Lady
Though the nickname is tightly bound to her legacy today, historical evidence suggests that the title became popular only after she left the White House and was not a term commonly used by the public or press during her actual tenure as First Lady.

Historical Significance

If Ulysses S. Grant's presidency represented the peak of the federal government's efforts to enforce the civil rights protections established after the Civil War, Rutherford B. Hayes's administration marked the definitive closing of that chapter.

The formal end of Reconstruction fundamentally reordered the relationship between the federal government and the Southern states. While Hayes successfully championed vital early reforms in civil service and maintained an unblemished reputation for personal honesty, his withdrawal of federal military protection for Reconstruction governments allowed decades of systemic racial discrimination and violent voter suppression to take root across the American South. Ultimately, Hayes's presidency serves as a stark historical reminder that turning points are often defined not just by the new policies an administration introduces, but by the previous policies it chooses to abandon.