Rutherford B. Hayes
19th President of the United States
(March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1881)
Full Name: Rutherford Birchard Hayes
Nickname: "Dark-Horse President"
Born: October 4, 1822, in Delaware, Ohio
Died: January 17, 1893, at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio
Father: Rutherford Hayes (1787-1822)
Mother: Sophia Birchard Hayes (1792-1866)
Married: Lucy Ware Webb (1831-1889), on December 30, 1852
Children: Birchard Austin Hayes (1853-1926); James Webb Cook Hayes (1856-1934); Rutherford Platt Hayes (1858-1927); Joseph Thompson Hayes (1861-63); George Crook Hayes (1864-66); Fanny Hayes (1867-1950); Scott Russell Hayes (1871-1923); Manning Force Hayes (1873-74)
Religion: No formal affiliation
Education: Graduated from Kenyon College (1842) and Harvard Law School (1845)
Occupation: Lawyer
Political Party: Republican
Other Government Positions:
- Member of U.S. House of Representatives, 1865-67
- Governor of Ohio, 1868-72
- Governor of Ohio, 1876-77
Presidential Salary: $50,000/year
Presidential Election Results:
Year Candidate Popular Votes Electoral Votes
1876 Rutherford B. Hayes 4,036,572 185
(map) Samuel J. Tilden 4,284,020 184
Vice President: William A. Wheeler (1877-81)
Cabinet:
- Secretary of State
- William M. Evarts (1877-81)
- Secretary of the Treasury
- John Sherman (1877-81)
- Secretary of War
- George W. McCrary (1877-79)
Alexander Ramsey (1879-81) - Attorney General
- Charles Devens (1877-81)
- Postmaster General
- David M. Key (1877-80)
Horace Maynard (1880-81) - Secretary of the Navy
- Richard W. Thompson (1877-80)
Nathan Goff, Jr. (1881) - Secretary of the Interior
- Carl Schurz (1877-81)
Supreme Court Justices:
John Marshall Harlan (1877-1911)
William Burnham Woods (1881-1887)
Notable Events:
- 1877
- Federal troops withdrew from the South ending Reconstruction.
- Hayes battles Congress over civil service reform.
- Striking railroad workers and federal troops clashed.
- 1878
- Bland-Allison Silver Purchase Act passed despite Hayes veto.
- 1880
- Hayes leaves Chicago in September on a 71-day tour of the west coast.
Internet Biographies:
- Rutherford B. Hayes -- from The Presidents of the United States of America
- Compiled by the White House.
- Rutherford B. Hayes -- from The American President
- From the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, in addition to information on the Presidents themselves, they have first lady and cabinet member biographies, listings of presidential staff and advisers, and timelines detailing significant events in the lives of each administration.
- Rutherford B. Hayes -- from Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Facts about Hayes and his presidency.
Videos:
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America's Presidents - Rutherford B. Hayes1876 Election: Fraud, Intimidation, Compromise, and the Very Bad Deal - a Presidential Story Ep. 46Rutherford B. Hayes | 60-Second Presidents | PBSScenic Stops: Rutherford B. Hayes' HomeVoter fraud, suppression and partisanship: A look at the 1876 election1 / 2
Historical Documents:
- Inaugural Address (1877)
- Rutherford B. Hayes Digital Collections - from the Library of Congress
- Diary and Letters of Rutherford B. Hayes
Other Internet Resources:
- The Best Biographies of Rutherford B. Hayes
- In 2012, Stephen Floyd started his search for the best biography of each president. He usually has reviews of multiple biographies for each president.
- Finding Precedent: Hayes vs. Tilden
- Source materials, primarily from Harper's Weekly, around the historic events around the Electoral College controversy of 1876-1877. Includes a day-by-day timeline, editorial cartoons, and biographies of the key players.
- Health and Medical History of Rutherford Hayes
- Medical background of each president with references. Compiled by John Sotos, MD.
- Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums
- The first presidential library, the home, tomb and museum about the life of Hayes. Biographical and tourist information available.
- Spiegel Grove
- History of the Hayes Family home in Fremont, Ohio from 1873.
Points of Interest:
17 East William Street, Delaware, Ohio
Spiegel Grove, Fremont, OH 43420
17 East William Street, Delaware, Ohio
Spiegel Grove, Fremont, OH 43420
Additional Facts:
- Hayes' father died a few months before he was born.
- Of the five presidents who served in the Civil War, Hayes was the only one to be wounded.
- Arriving in San Francisco on September 8, 1880, Hayes became the first president to visit the West Coast while in office.
- Hayes was the first president to graduate from law school.
- Mrs. Hayes was known as "Lemonade Lucy" because she refused to serve alcohol in the White House.
- Lucy Hayes was the first First Lady to have graduated from college.
- He won the presidency by only one electoral vote. He was also the first president to win the presidency while losing the popular vote.
- He signed the act that permitted women to plead before the Supreme Court.
- The first White House telephone was installed, by Alexander Graham Bell himself, during the Hayes administration.
- The first Easter egg roll on the White House lawn was conducted by Hayes and his wife.
- Hayes was the first president to have a telephone and a typewriter in the White House.
Quotes:“Every expert was once a beginner.”
“Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office seeking.”
“He serves his party best who serves the country best.”
“To vote is like the payment of a debt, a duty never to be neglected, if its performance is possible.”
“One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals.”
“Every expert was once a beginner.”
“Nothing brings out the lower traits of human nature like office seeking.”
“He serves his party best who serves the country best.”
“To vote is like the payment of a debt, a duty never to be neglected, if its performance is possible.”
“One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals.”