Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes
Mathew Benjamin Brady · Public domain · source
Name	Rutherford B. Hayes
Caption	Hayes c. 1877
Order	19th
Office	President of the United States
Vicepresident	William A. Wheeler
Term start	March 4, 1877
Term end	March 4, 1881
Predecessor	Ulysses S. Grant
Successor	James A. Garfield
Office2	29th and 32nd Governor of Ohio
Term start2	January 10, 1876
Term end2	March 2, 1877
Predecessor2	William Allen
Successor2	Thomas L. Young
Term start1	January 13, 1868
Term end1	January 8, 1872
Predecessor1	Jacob Dolson Cox
Successor1	Edward F. Noyes
Birth date	4 October 1822
Birth place	Delaware, Ohio
Death date	17 January 1893
Death place	Fremont, Ohio
Party	Republican
Spouse	Lucy Webb Hayes, 1852
Children	8, including Birchard and Webb Hayes
Education	Kenyon College (BA), Harvard University (LLB)
Branch	Union Army
Serviceyears	1861–1865
Rank	Brevet Major General
Unit	23rd Ohio Infantry Regiment
Battles	American Civil War

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th President of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. His presidency is a pivotal and controversial chapter in the history of the US Civil Rights Movement, as his administration formally ended the federal government's commitment to Reconstruction and the protection of African Americans in the South, ushering in the Jim Crow era of racial segregation and disfranchisement.

Early Life and Political Career

Born in Delaware, Ohio, Hayes graduated from Kenyon College and Harvard Law School. He established a legal practice in Cincinnati, where he became involved in the nascent Republican Party and the abolitionist cause, defending fugitive slaves. During the American Civil War, he served with distinction in the Union Army, rising to the rank of brevet major general and was wounded several times. His war record propelled his political career, and he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1864. He later served two terms as Governor of Ohio, where he supported black suffrage and educational reform, aligning with the Radical Republicans' vision for a biracial democracy.

Presidency and the End of Reconstruction

Hayes assumed the presidency after the most disputed election in American history, the 1876 presidential election, in which he lost the popular vote to Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The electoral votes of three Southern states—Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina—were contested. To resolve the crisis, Congress established the Electoral Commission, which awarded all disputed votes to Hayes. His presidency was thus inextricably linked to the political bargain that resolved this crisis. Hayes's inaugural address called for reconciliation and the restoration of "wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government" in the South, signaling a retreat from federal enforcement of civil rights.

The Compromise of 1877 and Withdrawal of Federal Troops

The resolution of the election is known as the Compromise of 1877, an unwritten deal between Hayes's Republican allies and Southern Democrats. In exchange for Democratic acceptance of his presidency, Hayes agreed to withdraw the last remaining federal troops from the South, which were stationed in Louisiana and South Carolina. This withdrawal in April 1877 effectively ended the federal military presence that had propped up the last Republican state governments and protected the rights of freedmen. The move allowed Democratic "Redeemer" governments to seize power, leading to the violent suppression of black political participation and the collapse of Reconstruction governments.

Civil Rights Record and the "New Departure"

Hayes's policy, often called the "New Departure" for Southern Republicans, argued that civil rights for African Americans could be secured through the goodwill of Southern white elites and economic progress, rather than federal force. He appointed former Confederate Democrat David M. Key as Postmaster General and advocated for federal aid to Southern infrastructure, like the Texas and Pacific Railway. However, he continued to rhetorically support civil rights and, in 1879, vetoed several versions of the Army Appropriations Act that contained riders repealing federal laws protecting black voters, though these vetoes were ultimately overridden by the Democratic-controlled Congress. His administration saw a dramatic increase in Lynching in the decision to withdraw federal troops, Hayes abandoned the primary federal tool for enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment.

Later Life and the Legacy

Hayes, honoring a pledge, did not seek re-election in 1880. He retired to his estate, Spiegel Grove, in Fremont, Ohio. In his post-presidential years, he focused on educational philanthropy, serving on the board of The Ohio State University and advocating for the education of poor and black students, including supporting the founding of the B. Hayes Presidential Center, the nation's first presidential library. His legacy is profoundly ambiguous. While a principled abolitionist and advocate for black suffrage in his early career, his presidency is widely regarded by historians as the moment the national government abandoned the promise of Reconstruction and the constitutional rights of African Americans. This decision, rooted in the Compromise of 1877, facilitated the rise of the Solid South, disfranchisement, and the Jim Crow regime, delaying meaningful progress in the US Civil Rights Movement for nearly a century.