Rutherford Hayes and Slavery
Before he was president, Rutherford B. Hayes was a lawyer whose practice included the defence of fugitive slaves. Hayes had begun his law practice dealing primarily with commercial cases but showed a greater aptitude as a criminal defense attorney. Hayes found his services requested to defend escaped slaves accused under the recently passed Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Cincinnati was just across the Ohio River from Kentucky, a slave state, so many cases involving fugitive slaves were tried in its courts.
Hayes was a staunch abolitionist, so he found his work on behalf of fugitive slaves compatible with his personal beliefs. It was also politically useful, as it raised his profile in the newly formed Republican party. His political reputation rose as the result of his legal work on behalf of the fugitive slaves. Hayes declined the Republican nomination for a judgeship in 1856.
Hayes saw service in the Civil War, rising to the rank of Brigadier General. (He received a field promotion to the rank of Major General. He was wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain, and he earned a reputation for bravery in combat. After the war, Hayes was elected to Congress, as a part of a large Republican majority. Hayes considered himself a moderate, but was willing to vote with the radicals for the sake of party unity. Hayes sided with his fellow Republicans on Reconstruction issues. He was in favour of having the South restored to the Union, but not without adequate protections for black southerners. President Andrew Johnson wanted to readmit the seceded states quickly without first ensuring that they adopted laws protecting the newly freed slaves' civil rights and granted pardons to many of the leading former Confederates. Hayes and many other congressional Republicans, disagreed and worked to reject Johnson's version of Reconstruction.
Congressman Hayes worked hard to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866.He continued to vote with the majority in the 40th Congress on the Reconstruction Acts, but resigned in July 1867 to campaign for Governor of Ohio. His political views were more moderate than the Republican party's platform, but he agreed with the proposed amendment to the Ohio state constitution that would guarantee suffrage to African-American Ohioans. Hayes narrowly won the election, but the Democrats won a majority and defeated the proposed amendment. As a Republican governor with a Democratic legislature, Hayes had a limited role in governing, especially since Ohio's governor had no veto power. Nominated for a second term in 1869, Hayes campaigned once more for equal rights for black Ohioans and sought to associate his Democratic opponent, George H. Pendleton with disunion and racism. Hayes was re-elected with an bigger majority, and the Republicans took the legislature, ensuring Ohio's ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed the vote for Freedmen.
Hayes had planned to retire from politics after two terms as Governor, but following the panic of 1873, he ran again for Governor in 1875 and was elected once again. Hayes didn't finish this term as he was nominated as the Republican candidate for President in 1876. He won the controversial election, despite losing the popular vote, after an electoral commission awarded him the electoral votes of three disputed states: Louisiana, South Carolina and, yes, you guessed it, Florida.
As President, Hayes was a disappointment in the field of civil rights and reconstruction, despite the promise of his background. Hayes had been a firm supporter of Republican Reconstruction policies throughout his political career, but the first major act of his presidency was to end Reconstruction and the return of the South to home rule. The House of Representatives was controlled by a Democratic majority that refused to appropriate enough funds for the army to continue to garrison the South. Even among Republicans, devotion to continued military Reconstruction was fading. Without troops to enforce the voting rights laws, there was little Hayes could do. Hayes's later attempts to protect the rights of southern blacks were ineffective, as were his attempts to rebuild Republican strength in the South. Democrats in Congress passed an army appropriation bill in 1879 with a rider that repealed the Force Acts, legislation passed during Reconstruction, which made it a crime to prevent someone from voting because of his race. Hayes was determined to preserve the law protecting black voters, and he vetoed the appropriation. The Democrats did not have enough votes to override the veto, but they passed a new bill with the same rider. Hayes vetoed this as well, and the process was repeated three times more. Finally, Hayes signed an appropriation without the offensive rider, but Congress refused to pass another bill to fund federal marshals, who were vital to the enforcement of the Force Acts. The election laws remained in effect, but the funds to enforce them were curtailed for the time being.
Hayes tried to uphold civil rights laws in the south by distributing patronage among southern Democrats. He wrote in his diary: "My task was to wipe out the color line, to abolish sectionalism, to end the war and bring peace. To do this, I was ready to resort to unusual measures and to risk my own standing and reputation within my party and the country." Unfortunately, this didn't work either. Hayes failed to convince the South to accept the idea of racial equality and failed to convince Congress to appropriate funds to enforce the civil rights laws.
Hayes made two appointments to the Supreme Court, one of which was a supporter of civil rights, the other was a disappointment. Hayes appointed John Marshall Harlan who served on the court for thirty-four years. He voted for an aggressive enforcement of the civil rights laws. Hayes also nominated William Burnham Woods, a Republican circuit court judge from Alabama. Woods proved a disappointment to Hayes as he interpreted the Constitution in a manner more similar to that of Southern Democrats than to Hayes's own preferences.
Hayes decided not to seek re-election in 1880, keeping his pledge that he would not run for a second term. He was gratified with the election of James A. Garfield to succeed him. Hayes gave a speech in 1889 encouraging black students to apply for scholarships from the Slater Fund, one of the charities with which he was affiliated. One such student, W. E. B. Du Bois, received a scholarship in 1892.
Hayes was a staunch abolitionist, so he found his work on behalf of fugitive slaves compatible with his personal beliefs. It was also politically useful, as it raised his profile in the newly formed Republican party. His political reputation rose as the result of his legal work on behalf of the fugitive slaves. Hayes declined the Republican nomination for a judgeship in 1856.
Hayes saw service in the Civil War, rising to the rank of Brigadier General. (He received a field promotion to the rank of Major General. He was wounded five times, most seriously at the Battle of South Mountain, and he earned a reputation for bravery in combat. After the war, Hayes was elected to Congress, as a part of a large Republican majority. Hayes considered himself a moderate, but was willing to vote with the radicals for the sake of party unity. Hayes sided with his fellow Republicans on Reconstruction issues. He was in favour of having the South restored to the Union, but not without adequate protections for black southerners. President Andrew Johnson wanted to readmit the seceded states quickly without first ensuring that they adopted laws protecting the newly freed slaves' civil rights and granted pardons to many of the leading former Confederates. Hayes and many other congressional Republicans, disagreed and worked to reject Johnson's version of Reconstruction.
Congressman Hayes worked hard to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1866.He continued to vote with the majority in the 40th Congress on the Reconstruction Acts, but resigned in July 1867 to campaign for Governor of Ohio. His political views were more moderate than the Republican party's platform, but he agreed with the proposed amendment to the Ohio state constitution that would guarantee suffrage to African-American Ohioans. Hayes narrowly won the election, but the Democrats won a majority and defeated the proposed amendment. As a Republican governor with a Democratic legislature, Hayes had a limited role in governing, especially since Ohio's governor had no veto power. Nominated for a second term in 1869, Hayes campaigned once more for equal rights for black Ohioans and sought to associate his Democratic opponent, George H. Pendleton with disunion and racism. Hayes was re-elected with an bigger majority, and the Republicans took the legislature, ensuring Ohio's ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guaranteed the vote for Freedmen.
Hayes had planned to retire from politics after two terms as Governor, but following the panic of 1873, he ran again for Governor in 1875 and was elected once again. Hayes didn't finish this term as he was nominated as the Republican candidate for President in 1876. He won the controversial election, despite losing the popular vote, after an electoral commission awarded him the electoral votes of three disputed states: Louisiana, South Carolina and, yes, you guessed it, Florida.
As President, Hayes was a disappointment in the field of civil rights and reconstruction, despite the promise of his background. Hayes had been a firm supporter of Republican Reconstruction policies throughout his political career, but the first major act of his presidency was to end Reconstruction and the return of the South to home rule. The House of Representatives was controlled by a Democratic majority that refused to appropriate enough funds for the army to continue to garrison the South. Even among Republicans, devotion to continued military Reconstruction was fading. Without troops to enforce the voting rights laws, there was little Hayes could do. Hayes's later attempts to protect the rights of southern blacks were ineffective, as were his attempts to rebuild Republican strength in the South. Democrats in Congress passed an army appropriation bill in 1879 with a rider that repealed the Force Acts, legislation passed during Reconstruction, which made it a crime to prevent someone from voting because of his race. Hayes was determined to preserve the law protecting black voters, and he vetoed the appropriation. The Democrats did not have enough votes to override the veto, but they passed a new bill with the same rider. Hayes vetoed this as well, and the process was repeated three times more. Finally, Hayes signed an appropriation without the offensive rider, but Congress refused to pass another bill to fund federal marshals, who were vital to the enforcement of the Force Acts. The election laws remained in effect, but the funds to enforce them were curtailed for the time being.
Hayes tried to uphold civil rights laws in the south by distributing patronage among southern Democrats. He wrote in his diary: "My task was to wipe out the color line, to abolish sectionalism, to end the war and bring peace. To do this, I was ready to resort to unusual measures and to risk my own standing and reputation within my party and the country." Unfortunately, this didn't work either. Hayes failed to convince the South to accept the idea of racial equality and failed to convince Congress to appropriate funds to enforce the civil rights laws.
Hayes made two appointments to the Supreme Court, one of which was a supporter of civil rights, the other was a disappointment. Hayes appointed John Marshall Harlan who served on the court for thirty-four years. He voted for an aggressive enforcement of the civil rights laws. Hayes also nominated William Burnham Woods, a Republican circuit court judge from Alabama. Woods proved a disappointment to Hayes as he interpreted the Constitution in a manner more similar to that of Southern Democrats than to Hayes's own preferences.
Hayes decided not to seek re-election in 1880, keeping his pledge that he would not run for a second term. He was gratified with the election of James A. Garfield to succeed him. Hayes gave a speech in 1889 encouraging black students to apply for scholarships from the Slater Fund, one of the charities with which he was affiliated. One such student, W. E. B. Du Bois, received a scholarship in 1892.