Happy Birthday Dear Rutherford
It is Rutherford Hayes' birthday today. The 19th President of the United States was born on october 4, 1822 (191 years ago today) in Delaware, Ohio. Hayes has the distinction of being the president who was declared the victor in the most fiercely disputed election in American history, even closer than Bush v. Gore. Unlike the election of 2000, in the election of 1876 three states (Louisiana, South Carolina and yes, Florida) were in dispute and Hayes needed to win all three for a victory.
The Ohio born Hayes was educated at Kenyon College and Harvard Law School. After five years of law practice in Lower Sandusky, he moved to Cincinnati, where his career as a lawyer flourished. He fought in the Civil War, where he was wounded in action several times. He rose to the rank of brevet major general and while still in the Army, Cincinnati Republicans ran him for the House of Representatives. He accepted the nomination, but refused to campaign, saying "an officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer ought to be scalped." He won by a heavy majority. Hayes entered Congress in December 1865. Between 1867 and 1876 he served three terms as Governor of Ohio.
His acceptance by Republicans across the party spectrum and a good war record made Hayes an acceptable Republican candidate in 1876. He ran against Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York. Running in the aftermath of Ulysses Grant's second term, one filled with various political scandals, Hayes expected to lose the election and when the first returns seemed to confirm this, he went to bed, believing he had lost. He did lose the popular vote and his election depended upon contested electoral votes in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida. He needed all of the disputed electoral votes to win. Months of uncertainty followed. In January 1877 Congress established an Electoral Commission to decide the dispute. The commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, determined all the contests in favor of Hayes by eight to seven. The final electoral vote was 185 for Hayes to 184 for Tilden. Historians disagree on whether or not a deal was made, though it seems likely that one was made promising southern Democrats at least one Cabinet post, federal patronage, and withdrawal of troops from Louisiana and South Carolina.
Hayes ended all federal army intervention in Southern politics, which in turn caused the collapse of Republican state governments and led to a solidly Democratic South. Hayes ordered federal troops to quiet the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and he implemented modest civil service reforms that laid the groundwork for further reform in the latter part of the 19th century. He vetoed the Bland-Allison Act that would have put silver money into circulation, insisting on maintenance of the gold standard.
Hayes kept his pledge not to run for re-election. He retired to his home in Ohio and became an advocate of social and educational reform. Rutherford Hayes died on January 17, 1893 at the age of 70.
The Ohio born Hayes was educated at Kenyon College and Harvard Law School. After five years of law practice in Lower Sandusky, he moved to Cincinnati, where his career as a lawyer flourished. He fought in the Civil War, where he was wounded in action several times. He rose to the rank of brevet major general and while still in the Army, Cincinnati Republicans ran him for the House of Representatives. He accepted the nomination, but refused to campaign, saying "an officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer ought to be scalped." He won by a heavy majority. Hayes entered Congress in December 1865. Between 1867 and 1876 he served three terms as Governor of Ohio.
His acceptance by Republicans across the party spectrum and a good war record made Hayes an acceptable Republican candidate in 1876. He ran against Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York. Running in the aftermath of Ulysses Grant's second term, one filled with various political scandals, Hayes expected to lose the election and when the first returns seemed to confirm this, he went to bed, believing he had lost. He did lose the popular vote and his election depended upon contested electoral votes in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida. He needed all of the disputed electoral votes to win. Months of uncertainty followed. In January 1877 Congress established an Electoral Commission to decide the dispute. The commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats, determined all the contests in favor of Hayes by eight to seven. The final electoral vote was 185 for Hayes to 184 for Tilden. Historians disagree on whether or not a deal was made, though it seems likely that one was made promising southern Democrats at least one Cabinet post, federal patronage, and withdrawal of troops from Louisiana and South Carolina.
Hayes ended all federal army intervention in Southern politics, which in turn caused the collapse of Republican state governments and led to a solidly Democratic South. Hayes ordered federal troops to quiet the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 and he implemented modest civil service reforms that laid the groundwork for further reform in the latter part of the 19th century. He vetoed the Bland-Allison Act that would have put silver money into circulation, insisting on maintenance of the gold standard.
Hayes kept his pledge not to run for re-election. He retired to his home in Ohio and became an advocate of social and educational reform. Rutherford Hayes died on January 17, 1893 at the age of 70.