Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes
Portrait, c. 1870–1880
19th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1877 – March 4, 1881
Vice President	William A. Wheeler
Preceded by	Ulysses S. Grant
Succeeded by	James A. Garfield
29th and 32nd Governor of Ohio
In office January 10, 1876 – March 2, 1877
Lieutenant	Thomas L. Young
Preceded by	William Allen
Succeeded by	Thomas L. Young
In office January 12, 1868 – January 8, 1872
Lieutenant	John Calvin Lee
Preceded by	Jacob Dolson Cox
Succeeded by	Edward Follansbee Noyes
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 2nd district
In office March 4, 1865 – July 20, 1867
Preceded by	Alexander Long
Succeeded by	Samuel Fenton Cary
Personal details
Born	Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822-10-04)October 4, 1822 Delaware, Ohio, U.S.
Died	January 17, 1893(1893-01-17) (aged 70) Fremont, Ohio, U.S.
Resting place	Spiegel Grove
Political party	Whig (until 1854) Republican (from 1854)
Spouse(s)	Lucy Ware Webb ​ ​ (m. 2030; died 1889)​
Children	8, including Webb and Rutherford
Relatives	John Humphrey Noyes (first cousin) and Carl Edwards (great-great-great grandson)
Education	Kenyon College (BA) Harvard University (LLB)
Occupation	Politician lawyer
Signature
Military service
Branch/service	Union army United States Volunteers
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Brigadier general Major general (brevet)
Regiments	23rd Ohio Infantry
Commands	Kanawha Division
Battles/wars	See list American Civil War Battle of Carnifex Ferry Battle of Giles Court House Battle of South Mountain (WIA) Battle of Buffington Island Battle of Cloyd's Mountain Battle of Lynchburg Second Battle of Kernstown Third Battle of Winchester Battle of Fisher's Hill Battle of Cedar Creek

Rutherford Birchard Hayes (/ˈrʌðərfərd/ (listen); October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881. Before becoming president, he was the governor of Ohio non-consecutively from 1868 to 1872 and again from 1876 to 1877.

Early life

Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio in 1822. He went to Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, and then went to Harvard Law School. After graduating from law school, he became a lawyer. In 1849, he joined the Republican Party, which was new then, because he was against slavery. In 1852, he married Lucy Webb, a woman who was also against slavery. In the 1860s, he served in the American Civil War on the Union side, and became a major general. After the war ended, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a part of the Republican Party. In 1867, he became the governor of Ohio.

Election of 1876

Ulysses S. Grant had been president since 1869, and was not going to run for president a third time in 1876. Grant was a member of the Republican Party, and while he was president, became known for allowing corruption to go on around him. The Republican Party did not want people to think that everybody in the party was corrupt, so they decided to make Hayes their candidate. They thought he was a good candidate because he had made many changes in Ohio while he was governor there that people thought were good, and because he was thought to have been a hero in the Civil War.

Hayes ran against Samuel Tilden, whom the Democratic Party nominated. The election was close, and many people who did not think that Hayes fairly won the election called him "His Fraudulency". Tilden actually got more votes than Hayes, but Hayes got 185 votes in the Electoral College, while Tilden got 184, so Hayes won the election.

Post-Presidency

While he was president, Hayes ended the Reconstruction period that followed the American Civil War. Rutherford B. Hayes ordered military forces that had been in the Southern states to leave. He also sent federal troops to end a railroad strike. Hayes refused to seek a second term as president.

After being president, Hayes retired to Fremont, Ohio where he would die of a heart attack at age 70. Meanwhile, He spent time talking about his beliefs that all children should have the chance to go to school, that people who had been in the military should get their fair payments for their service, and that people in prisons should be treated better.

Other websites

• Hayes' White House biography Archived 2009-01-17 at the Wayback Machine