Rutherford Hayes, the 19th US President, was born in Ohio in 1822. He was known for his civil rights reform and education. He won the presidency in a controversial election and ended Reconstruction. He also signed a bill allowing women to practice law. After his term, he returned to promoting education and served on Ohio University’s board until his death in 1893.
Rutherford Hayes born in Ohio, October 4, 1822 was the 19th president of the United States, serving only one term after a closely contested race in which he failed to win the popular vote. He is known for his insistence on civil rights reform at the end of Southern Reconstruction. He was also considered one of the first significantly educated presidents, with a taste for literature. His wife, Lucy Webb Hayes was the first First Lady to have a college education.
As an undergraduate, Rutherford Hayes won an extraordinary distinction. He graduated first in his senior class from Kenyon College in Ohio, and finished Harvard Law School in just two years. Rutherford Hayes did not enter politics until 13 years after he began his law practice in 1849. His first elected position was as district attorney in Cincinnati, Ohio for just one year.
True to his roots in education, when Rutherford Hayes moved to Cincinnati, he joined the Cincinnati Literary Club. When the Civil War began, the club created a military unit from its members, and Hayes entered his military service as a major. His war service was distinguished, and he quickly rose through the ranks due to his frequent acts of bravery. While still serving in the Union Army, he was first elected to the Senate, a position he refused to campaign for. He served in the United States Senate for two years from 1865 to 1867, then resigned to become governor of Ohio for four years.
Hayes’s political career has had its ups and downs. After his four-year term as governor, Hayes considered rejoining the Senate, but he was not elected. However, he served as governor from 1876-77. As a Republican candidate for president in the 1876 election, Hayes was not considered a leading candidate. However, Republicans were trying to shed the image of corruption that had marked the Grant administration, and Hayes was known as exceptionally honest.
Hayes’ election was still grisly, with allegations of voter tampering and lobbying from both sides of the political spectrum. Hayes lost the popular vote by 250,000 votes to the Democratic frontrunner, Samuel J. Tilden. Since neither candidate garnered enough electoral votes for a clear victory, the U.S. House and Senate formed a committee to determine the winner of the election. Rutherford Hayes’ key decision for the presidency was based on a series of commitments for the withdrawal of troops from the South and an official end to Reconstruction. Still many argued that Hayes’ victory was achieved primarily through fraud.
Hayes’s biggest policy decision in office was to end Reconstruction. One of his most unpopular decisions was to enlist federal troops to quell riots caused by supporters of Baltimore and Ohio railroad employees who launched a full-scale strike. 70 people were killed when the troops arrived, and Hayes’ decision to bring in troops was not well received by the workers or even the railroad administrators.
His cultured wife may have influenced an interesting decision Hayes made during his presidency. In 1879 he signed a bill allowing women to practice law in court or to file cases in court. This was definitely a step forward in promoting women’s rights, although most people are unfamiliar with the bill due to Hayes’ much more overt act of ending Reconstruction.
Hayes had no interest in being re-elected and instead returned to the job he was perhaps best designed to do. He was helped to promote and start Ohio University as governor and served on the university’s board of trustees following his presidency. He was certainly content to be a member of the board and served for 13 years until his death in January 1893. His wife predeceased him in his death in 1881, as did three of his children (he had eight total) who died early childhood.
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