Rutherford B.Hayes was the 19th President of the United States of America and belonged to the Republican Party. He was in the Presidential office from 1877 to 1881. He was elected not by popular votes but by electoral votes. His major opponent was Samuel Tilden.
Rutherford B.Hayes was born on 4th October 1822 in Ohio. His mother was Sophia Birchard and his father, Rutherford Hayes, died three months prior to his birth. He was taken care of by his mother and an uncle named Sardis Birchard. He attained his primary education in the local schools of the area. Primary education was successfully followed by higher education, in which he excelled exceptionally well. He completed his graduation from Kenyon College, located in Gambier, Ohio. He also had a basic knowledge of law and later acquired a graduate degree in law from the Harvard Law School. After passing, he began his own law practice. In 1852, he married Lucy Ware Webb.
Rutherford B Hayes moved to Cincinnati, when the council that was present in the city offered him the post of a solicitor. He prospered as a successful lawyer over the years. He was also an active participant in the Civil War, where he was promoted to the rank of a Major General. Rutherford B Hayes’ political career also began in and around the same time.
While he was still active in the US Army, the Republicans in Cincinnati wanted him in the House of Representatives. Fortunately, he won the elections by an unexpected majority and became a member of the Congress in the year 1865. He was also the Governor of Ohio for three terms, from 1867 to 1876.
His performance as the Governor as well as his illustrious career graph made him an instant favorite with the Republicans and he was selected as a Republican candidate for the Presidential Election in the year 1876. This was one of the most disputed elections in the history of Presidential Elections in the United States of America. An electoral Commission had to be formed to bring a solution to these disputes. the Commission had both Democrats and Republicans in a ratio 7:8. Electoral votes were cast and went in favor of the Republicans by 185 to 184. Rutherford B. Hayes was sworn in as the President of the United States of America in1877.
Facts |
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|---|---|
| Full Name: | Rutherford Birchard Hayes |
| Date of Birth: | October 4, 1822, Delaware, Ohio |
| Died on: | January 16, 1893, Fremont, Ohio |
| Burial site: | Spiegel Grove State Park, Fremont, Ohio |
| Parents: | Rutherford and Sophia Birchard Hayes |
| Spouse: | Lucy Ware Webb (1831-1889; m. 1852) |
| Children: | Sardis Birchard Austin (1853-1926); James Webb Cook (1856-1935); Rutherford Platt (1858-1927); Joseph Thompson (1861-1863); George Crook (1864-1866); Frances (Fanny) (1867-1950); Scott Russell (1871-1923); Manning Force (1873-1874) |
| Religion: | Methodist |
| Education: | Kenyon College (1842); Harvard University Law School (1845) |
| Profession(s): | Lawyer; soldier |
| Government ranks: | U.S. Representative from Ohio; Ohio governor |
| Political Party: | Republican |
| President Term: | March 3, 1877-March 4, 1881 |
| Age when assumed office: | 54 |
Outcome of the Elections |
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|---|---|---|---|
| 1876 | Presidential / Vice Presidential Candidates | Popular votes | Electoral votes |
| Rutherford B. Hayes / William A. Wheeler (Republican) | 4036298 | 185 | |
| Samuel J. Tilden / Thomas A. Hendricks (Democratic) | 4300590 | 184 | |
Snapshot of Rutherford B.Hayes’s life |
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|---|---|
| 1822 | Born in Ohio |
| 1842 | Graduates from Kenyon College |
| 1845 | Graduates from Harvard Law School; establishes practice in Fremont (then called East Sandusky), Ohio |
| 1849 | Moves law practice to Cincinnati |
| 1861 | Begins fighting in Civil War; wounded four times through 1865 |
| 1865-67 | Serves in U.S. House of Representatives |
| 1868-72 | Serves two terms as governor of Ohio |
| 1876-77 | Serves third term as governor of Ohio |
| 1876 | Trails Samuel J. Tilden in disputed presidential election |
| 1877 | Special electoral commission formed containing fifteen members (five representatives, five senators, five Supreme Court justices); disputed electoral votes awarded to Hayes, who is declared the victor on March 2, 1877, only days before the presidential in |
| 1877-81 | Serves as nineteenth U.S. President |
| 1881 | Retires to Ohio |
| 1893 | Dies in Ohio |
Presidential Term and its details |
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|---|---|
| Dates: | March 4, 1877-March 4, 1881 |
| Vice President: | William Almon Wheeler |
Hayes served as US President for four years and made several changes and reforms in the administration. Rutherford B. Hayes worked for the rights of the Afro-Americans who lived in the South. He also made it clear that Government appointments of any sort will be made only on the basis of merit and not on any other fields of considerations like color, creed or race. He worked against racism that prevailed in the country and demanded equal rights for every citizen of the United States of America. He believed in a form of government that will include all classes and every individual in the country. He is well known for his economic ideas and reforms. there were number of bills and acts that were signed by him, during his Presidency. This includes the following:
- Timber and Stone Act
- Desert Land Act
- Compromise of 1877
- Tidewater Act
- Bland-Allison Act
Rutherford B Hayes, American President, had declared on the very onset of his Presidential term that he did not intend to get re-elected. the Ohio State University had him as one of the Board of Trustees after his tenure as a President. It was on 17th January 1893 that this illustrious American President expired after a severe heart attack. He breathed his last in Fremont, Sandusky County in Ohio.
There are certain incidents regarding Rutherford B Hayes, which are very interesting. Some of them are as follows :
A congressional Commission was required to elect the President, Rutherford B Hayes and this has not been repeated in the history of the US Presidential Elections.
The first President, who had taken an oath in the White House, was Rutherford B Hayes. Telephones and Typewriters were first used in the White House during the period of Rutherford B Hayes. The term ‘First Lady’ was coined for the wife of the President during his tenure.
Hayes, Rutherford B had several famous quotes that have their relevance till the present day. Some of the most well-known quotes are as follows:
- “Law without education is a dead letter. With education the needed law follows without effort and, of course, with power to execute itself; indeed, it seems to execute itself”.
- “As friends go it is less important to live”.
- “the independence of all political and other bother is a happiness”.
- “I am not liked as a President by the politicians in office, in the press, or in Congress. But I am content to abide the judgment the sober second thought of the people”.
- “He serves his party best who serves his country best”.
- “No person connected with me by blood or marriage will be appointed to office”.
