Rutherford B. Hayes by Hans L. Trefousse
Well, needless to say, after Grant I had modest hopes for this slim biography of Rutherford B. Hayes, another unassuming yet efficient entry in the American Presidents series.
To be honest, I’m writing this review six months after having read the book and I have virtually no memory of it whatsoever. As for the man himself though, let us summarize.
America’s 19th President, Hayes oversaw the waning days of Reconstruction and is best remembered for, brace yourselves, civil service reform. He enjoyed a cordial if somewhat strained relationship with his predecessor, Grant. That strain no-doubt exacerbated by the awkward fact that Hayes had to undue what was seen as the pervasive corruption present in his friend’s administration.
Born and raised in Ohio, my home of Columbus happily appears frequently throughout the text as Hayes makes his way up the political ladder - entering Congress in 1865 after fighting in the Civil War and then serving three terms as Governor of the Buckeye State thereafter.
Running for President against Democratic nominee Samuel Tilden of New York, a major player in our last book on the Brooklyn Bridge, Hayes won one of the most tightly contested presidential elections in the nation’s history, eventually tallying 4,300,000 votes to Tilden’s 4,036,000. Hayes’s election depended upon contested electoral votes in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida. If all the disputed electoral votes went to Hayes, he would win; just a single one would result in a Tilden presidency.
After months of uncertainty, a Congressional electoral commission finally ruled in favor of Hayes. The final electoral count was 185 to 184.
Upon taking office, Hayes did away with the old spoils system that for nearly a century saw federal jobs handed out to party loyalists, friends, family members, hangers on etc. and instead worked to install men (they were still in this day all men) based on merit and competence rather than political connection.
He’s perhaps more famous for presiding over the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, in which he called in federal troops to break the strike after workers protested multiple wage cuts from management at the B&O.
As for Reconstruction, Hayes returned the South to ‘home rule’ and more or less ended any occupation by federal troops resulting in further erosion of voting rights for Blacks.
Hayes kept his promise to only serve one term and retired to his home in Fremont, Ohio upon conclusion of his duties in 1881.