From Disputed Election to Gilded Age Leader: Rutherford B Hayes Part 1

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

A few weeks back I dedicated an episode to the election of 1876 - the political moment that many historians cite as the final blow to Reconstruction. The results of the contest elevated Ohio Governor Rutherford B Hayes to the Presidency - a man who entered the office a lame duck, stating he would only serve a single term in office. The election of Hayes would also bring about the repression of the fragile, burgeoning black political power for generations. Despite promises made to the contrary, once back in power, white Democratic politicians of the South would erect significant legal and societal barriers for Black Americans, prohibiting their ability to engage in electoral politics for decades. It was an election with profound, long-lasting consequences. But who, exactly, was the man who took the oath of office that cold, snowy day in March 1877? 

This week I am diving into the life and legacy of Rutherford B. Hayes. What brought him into politics? What motivated his decision to remove troops from the southern states? And what legacy did he leave behind? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

In preparing the outline for Hayes, I realized that there was just too much to cover about the man and his administration to fit all into a single episode. Thus, dear friends - you can expect a two part treatment on President Hayes. Let us begin.

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born on October 4, 1822 in Delaware, Ohio. His father, Rutherford Ezekiel Hayes, died just a few weeks before his son entered the world, dying from what is described only as a fever - given the era this could range from malaria to typhoid to cholera. In addition to losing her husband and father of her children, Hayes’ mother Sophia Birchard was also mourning the loss of a daughter and thus, Rud, as was known, joined a family steeped in grief. There was initial cause for concern about Rud’s fate, too. The future military man was a sickly child and his survival questionable. Luckily, the young boy survived and grew incredibly close with his older sister Fanny. 

In 1838, Hayes enrolled at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio where he began the practice of keeping a diary - a habit that stayed with him for the rest of his life. After graduating, Hayes hoped to become a lawyer and began studying and reading law with a loca law office in Columbus, before his uncle intervened, insisting that his nephew receive a proper legal education. Instead, Hayes enrolled into Harvard law school in 1843, leaving after his third semester in 1845 and earning admission to the Ohio bar. 

In 1849, Hayes moved to Cincinnati where he established a legal practice, opening in January of 1850. Cincinnati seemed to be a good place for Hayes – he was actively building a strong legal career and was also pursuing hobbies including a literary club where he was to give and listen to speeches. Thanks to his success in the legal profession, Hayes was invited to become a partner at a prestigious law firm, joining what became Corwine, Hayes, & Rogers in 1853. The young attorney was also looking to develop his love life and began courting several ladies - including his future wife Lucy Ware Webb. 

Like Rud, Lucy also lost her father young, when he died attempting to free slaves in Kentucky. And Lucy was smart - attending the Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware - where the couple first met in 1847. The future president was quite taken with Lucy, professing his fondness for her in love letters and seeking her hand in marriage. On December 30, 1852 the couple married at Lucy’s home in front of friends and family. The marriage was one built on love and mutual admiration and the couple would remain married for forty years, sharing 8 children together. Described as intelligent and outgoing, Lucy no doubt proved to be of great service to her husband’s future political career. Hayes seemed to know exactly how lucky he was, writing shortly after their wedding, quote “a better wife I never hope to have,” end quote. 

Although trained as a lawyer, Hayes also showed an early interest in politics, becoming an early and ardent supporter of the Whig party. He supported William Henry Harrison, Henry Clay, and Zachary Taylor for president and in 1849, became a local member of the Whig Central Committee of the Lower Sandusky. When it came to the slavery question, Hayes did not support the institution - but also initially took issue with abolitionists. His opinions evolved and he eventually became more active in anti-slavery politics, including taking on a number of slavery-adjacent cases including involving an enslaved woman by the name of Rosetta Armstrong where Hayes and Salmon P. Chase worked together to help secure her freedom. As party politics evolved, Hayes found himself aligned with the newly established Republican party and was appointed to his first political post - that of city solicitor - in 1858 when the city council elected him to finish his deceased predecessor’s unfinished term. The post proved more lucrative than Hayes expected and so he ran for reelection and served in the post until 1861. 

When the war broke out, Hayes was like many of his neighbors in his belief that the conflict would end swiftly and that the south would simply be overpowered. Despite his age - nearly 40 - and ignoring the fact that he had a young family at home - Hayes decided to enter the service. In his eyes, it would be more dishonorable to live through the conflict without serving than to go into the fight and die on the field of battle. Thus, on June 7th, 1861 Hayes became a major for the 23rd Ohio Volunteers and served the entirety of the war where he was wounded several times. He eventually earned the rank of Brevet Major General and despite the fact that the country was at war, Hayes was unfond of cruelty and made sure to treat prisoners of war with respect and disliked disciplining soldiers who stepped out of line. Hayes participated in several major campaigns during the Civil War - including the Battle of South Mountain in the Antietam Campaign and he would remain forever proud of his military service - in fact, Hayes would list his military service ahead of his presidency when considering his proudest achievements. 

Hayes’s success on the battlefield may have also translated to political interest back home as members of the Republican party nominated him to run for Congress, asking that he consider taking a furlough from the army so that he could come home to campaign. Hayes refused, saying in part quote: “An officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in Congress ought to be scalped,” end quote. He was fine with being the nominee, but he would not abandon his post to ask for votes. As it turns out, he wouldn’t have to. Hayes was elected to the 39th Congress, set to begin on March 4th 1865 - with the first session of Congress scheduled for several months after in December. By the time Hayes took his seat in Congress, Lee had surrendered, President Lincoln had been shot, and Andrew Johnson had been elevated to the presidency. 

Like many of his republican colleagues, Hayes was initially more impressed with Johnson than he expected and believed that he was a man who could be reasoned with to effectuate meaningful change. Unfortunately, time quickly showed Andrew Johnson’s true colors and Hayes shifted his opinion of Johnson believing he was being influenced by the former rebels. Hayes was not overly fond of his congressional life and he wasn’t a particularly effective legislator. He was not known for giving speeches and was not involved in putting together much legislation. He made plenty of relationships while in D.C., but his only lasting contribution was as a member of the Library Committee where he successfully lobbied for an additional two wings for the Library of Congress and increased funding so the library could procure more books. Despite a rather lackluster Congressional career, Hayes was approached at making a run for the Governor’s seat in his home state of Ohio ahead of the 1867 campaign. 

Hayes initially demurred, unsure if he wanted to take on the role, before ultimately deciding to resign his seat from Congress to enter the race. The campaign was a little rough as Hayes announced his support for an amendment to the Ohio state constitution requiring voting rights for Black Americans - something that his Democratic opponents attacked hard. But Hayes - using anti-Catholic messaging to hurt his Democratic opponents - managed to eke out the smallest of victories - winning by just 3,000 votes. It was only a partial victory, however, as the Democrats won control of the state legislature leaving Hayes very little power or influence on state affairs. Despite entering the job under these outwardly fraught conditions, Hayes seemed to manage just fine. In a letter to his uncle, Hayes expressed that he was enjoying his new office and that there was quote “not too much hard work - plenty of time to read” end quote. As Governor, Hayes helped Ohio ratify the 15th Amendment and helped establish what later became Ohio State University - but he also kept his eye on national politics - indicating his support for conviction after President Johnson was impeached and working hard to get Ulysses S. Grant into the White House. 

In 1872, Hayes briefly considered quitting politics - but politics wasn’t quite finished with Hayes as friends drafted him to serve an unprecedented third term as Ohio Governor. Those who lured Hayes into the post hinted that the man who sat in the Governor’s seat was likely to be the next President of the United States - something that undoubtedly piqued Hayes’ interest. Yet, Hayes still waffled - largely due to finances since this was an era when being a public servant was still very costly and could cost much more than an incumbent might earn while in position. He was also in disagreement with some of the party’s positions, writing quote: “I doubt the ultra measures relating to the South, and I am opposed to the course of General Grant on the third term, the civil service, and the appointment of unfit men or party men on partisan or personal grounds,” end quote. Despite his public protests, the party nominated him on June 2nd by a vote of 396 to 151. Hayes - running on the money issue - won his race and became a potential presidential candidate in the process. As one biographer noted Hayes was quote “acknowledged to be honest in a corrupt age and a faithful party member,” end quote. 

Of course, I’ve covered the particulars of the election of 1876 in a prior episode, so please re-visit that if you want more details about how exactly Hayes was elected to the presidency. But, in brief - the election came down to contested results in just a few states which eventually prompted Congress to establish a bipartisan commission to resolve the results of the election. Their resolution led to Hayes earning the victory - but the contested results meant that some were unconvinced that Hayes was the rightful president and the incoming executive received death threats ahead of his assuming the oath of office - something that likely gave many in his inner circle pause considering the assassination of President Lincoln just a decade prior. 

In his inaugural address, Hayes tied universal suffrage to universal education - calling on states to establish free public schools and also called for resumption of specie payments, civil service reform, and lent his support for a proposed amendment increasing presidential terms to six years. In addressing the controversy surrounding the election and his elevation to the presidency, Hayes said quote: “The fact that two great political parties have in this way settled a dispute in regard to which good men differ as to the facts and the law no less than as to the proper course to be pursued in solving the question in controversy is an occasion for general rejoicing,” end quote. 

A man who promised to only serve a single term, nineteenth president Rutherford B. Hayes entered the White House a lame duck president. Despite the drama of his election, Hayes wanted to maintain an aura of impartiality and fairness - starting with his cabinet appointments. This turned into quite the difficult task since Hayes wanted to exclude anyone from the prior administration - which was tainted with scandal, anyone who was a former presidential candidate, and wanted to avoid selecting someone who could be perceived as repayment for a political favor. Hayes sought those who had had a reputation for independence - but also wanted to the south some goodwill by appointing a southerner to the cabinet. But looking at this from another lens - one that viewed Hayes’s election as suspicious - a political transaction where his victory was dependent upon him selecting a southerner for a cabinet post - and Hayes’s decision looked less than scrupulous. In selecting his cabinet, Hayes managed to alienate both sides of the Republican party - the Roscoe Conklin-led Stalwarts and the Halfbreeds led by James G. Blaine - the president was not off to a great start. 

Hayes had several domestic issues demanding his attention upon assuming office: patronage appointments - a system he disagreed with, finding a peaceable solution for the south once and for all, and addressing the ongoing economic issues initiated during the Great Panic in 1873. Like his predecessors, Hayes also faced the ongoing question of how to appropriately and effectively deal with the ongoing land disputes with the various indigenous nations and what was to be done with the members of said tribes. 

And here, dear friends, is where we will break in our coverage of the nineteenth president. Be sure to come back next week where I dive into how Hayes chose to handle the domestic issues facing the United States, how his actions impacted Black and Indigenous Americans, and what legacy he left behind. 

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Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next time.