Remembering Rutherford Hayes
On January 17, 1893 (120 years ago today) Rutherford Birchard Hayes, the 19th President of the United States, died in his home in Fremont Ohio, at the age of 70. It's somewhat remarkable that he didn't live to a longer age, given that he managed to survive being shot three times in battle in the Civil War and seemed indestructable.
After winning election in 1876 in the closest and probably most controversial presidential election (decided in Congress). Hayes kept his pledge to not to seek re-election in 1880. He was happy when his fello Ohian James Garfield was elected as his successor and he consulted with Garfield on appointments for the next administration. After Garfield's inauguration, Hayes and his family returned to his home known as "Spiegel Grove" in Fremont, Ohio. Although he remained a loyal Republican, Hayes privately admitted that he was not too disappointed in Grover Cleveland's election to the Presidency in 1884, because he shared Cleveland's views on civil service reform. He was also happy about the progress of the political career of William McKinley, his army comrade and political protégé and another Ohio Republican.
Hayes became an advocate for educational charities, arguing for federal education subsidies for all children, regardless of colour. He believed that education was the best way to heal the rifts in American society and allow individuals to improve themselves. Hayes was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University, the school he helped found during his time as governor of Ohio, in 1887. He emphasized the need for vocational, as well as academic, education. He said "I preach the gospel of work. I believe in skilled labor as a part of education." He unsuccessfully urged Congress to pass a bill written by Senator Henry W. Blair that would have allowed federal aid for education for the first time. In 1889 Hayes gave a speech encouraging black students to apply for scholarships from the Slater Fund, one of the charities with which he was affiliated. One such student was W. E. B. Du Bois, who later became a prominent civil rights leader, and who received a scholarship in 1892. Hayes also lobbied for better prison conditions.
Another issue which troubled Hayes was the disparity between the rich and the poor. He said in an 1886 speech that "free government cannot long endure if property is largely in a few hands and large masses of people are unable to earn homes, education, and a support in old age." A year later, Hayes recorded his thoughts on that subject in his diary:
"In church it occurred to me that it is time for the public to hear that the giant evil and danger in this country, the danger which transcends all others, is the vast wealth owned or controlled by a few persons. Money is power. In Congress, in state legislatures, in city councils, in the courts, in the political conventions, in the press, in the pulpit, in the circles of the educated and the talented, its influence is growing greater and greater. Excessive wealth in the hands of the few means extreme poverty, ignorance, vice, and wretchedness as the lot of the many. It is not yet time to debate about the remedy. The previous question is as to the danger—the evil. Let the people be fully informed and convinced as to the evil. Let them earnestly seek the remedy and it will be found. Fully to know the evil is the first step towards reaching its eradication. Henry George is strong when he portrays the rottenness of the present system. We are, to say the least, not yet ready for his remedy. We may reach and remove the difficulty by changes in the laws regulating corporations, descents of property, wills, trusts, taxation, and a host of other important interests, not omitting lands and other property."
In 1889 first lady Lucy Hayes died and the loss hurt Hayes deeply. He wrote "the soul had left this" when Lucy died. After Lucy's death, Hayes's daughter, Fanny, became his traveling companion and he enjoyed visits from his grandchildren. In 1890, he chaired the "Lake Mohonk Conference on the Negro Question", a conference for reformers that met in upstate New York to discuss racial issues.
Hayes died of complications of a heart attack at his home on January 17, 1893. Still devoted to his late wife, his last words were "I know that I'm going where Lucy is." President-elect Grover Cleveland and Ohio Governor William McKinley led the funeral procession that followed Hayes's body to his burial in Oakwood Cemetery. Following the donation of his home to the state of Ohio for the Spiegel Grove State Park, he was re-interred there in 1915. The following year the Hayes Commemorative Library and Museum, the first presidential library in the United States, was opened on the site, funded by contributions from the state of Ohio and Hayes' family.
After winning election in 1876 in the closest and probably most controversial presidential election (decided in Congress). Hayes kept his pledge to not to seek re-election in 1880. He was happy when his fello Ohian James Garfield was elected as his successor and he consulted with Garfield on appointments for the next administration. After Garfield's inauguration, Hayes and his family returned to his home known as "Spiegel Grove" in Fremont, Ohio. Although he remained a loyal Republican, Hayes privately admitted that he was not too disappointed in Grover Cleveland's election to the Presidency in 1884, because he shared Cleveland's views on civil service reform. He was also happy about the progress of the political career of William McKinley, his army comrade and political protégé and another Ohio Republican.
Hayes became an advocate for educational charities, arguing for federal education subsidies for all children, regardless of colour. He believed that education was the best way to heal the rifts in American society and allow individuals to improve themselves. Hayes was appointed to the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University, the school he helped found during his time as governor of Ohio, in 1887. He emphasized the need for vocational, as well as academic, education. He said "I preach the gospel of work. I believe in skilled labor as a part of education." He unsuccessfully urged Congress to pass a bill written by Senator Henry W. Blair that would have allowed federal aid for education for the first time. In 1889 Hayes gave a speech encouraging black students to apply for scholarships from the Slater Fund, one of the charities with which he was affiliated. One such student was W. E. B. Du Bois, who later became a prominent civil rights leader, and who received a scholarship in 1892. Hayes also lobbied for better prison conditions.
Another issue which troubled Hayes was the disparity between the rich and the poor. He said in an 1886 speech that "free government cannot long endure if property is largely in a few hands and large masses of people are unable to earn homes, education, and a support in old age." A year later, Hayes recorded his thoughts on that subject in his diary:
"In church it occurred to me that it is time for the public to hear that the giant evil and danger in this country, the danger which transcends all others, is the vast wealth owned or controlled by a few persons. Money is power. In Congress, in state legislatures, in city councils, in the courts, in the political conventions, in the press, in the pulpit, in the circles of the educated and the talented, its influence is growing greater and greater. Excessive wealth in the hands of the few means extreme poverty, ignorance, vice, and wretchedness as the lot of the many. It is not yet time to debate about the remedy. The previous question is as to the danger—the evil. Let the people be fully informed and convinced as to the evil. Let them earnestly seek the remedy and it will be found. Fully to know the evil is the first step towards reaching its eradication. Henry George is strong when he portrays the rottenness of the present system. We are, to say the least, not yet ready for his remedy. We may reach and remove the difficulty by changes in the laws regulating corporations, descents of property, wills, trusts, taxation, and a host of other important interests, not omitting lands and other property."
In 1889 first lady Lucy Hayes died and the loss hurt Hayes deeply. He wrote "the soul had left this" when Lucy died. After Lucy's death, Hayes's daughter, Fanny, became his traveling companion and he enjoyed visits from his grandchildren. In 1890, he chaired the "Lake Mohonk Conference on the Negro Question", a conference for reformers that met in upstate New York to discuss racial issues.
Hayes died of complications of a heart attack at his home on January 17, 1893. Still devoted to his late wife, his last words were "I know that I'm going where Lucy is." President-elect Grover Cleveland and Ohio Governor William McKinley led the funeral procession that followed Hayes's body to his burial in Oakwood Cemetery. Following the donation of his home to the state of Ohio for the Spiegel Grove State Park, he was re-interred there in 1915. The following year the Hayes Commemorative Library and Museum, the first presidential library in the United States, was opened on the site, funded by contributions from the state of Ohio and Hayes' family.