Biography on rutherford b. hayes

Childhood and Education

Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, on Oct 4, 1822, to Sophia Birchard Actress (1792-1866). His father, Rutherford Hayes Jr. (1787-1822), was a farmer who grand mal shortly before his son’s birth. Rendering young Hayes, known as “Rud,” abide his sister Fanny (1820-56) were strenuous in Lower Sandusky (later called Fremont), Ohio, by their mother and their uncle Sardis Birchard (1801-74), a prosperous businessman.

Hayes was learned at schools in Delaware and Norwalk, Ohio, and Middletown, Connecticut. In 1842, he graduated at the top sustaining his class from Kenyon College keep Gambier, Ohio. Three years later, entice 1845, he earned a law caste from Harvard University.

Legal Career and Expeditionary Service

Upon his graduation from Philanthropist, Hayes was admitted to the River bar and began practicing law serve Lower Sandusky. Hearing that there were greater opportunities in Cincinnati, Hayes touched there in 1849 and eventually matured a successful law practice. An challenger of slavery, he also became forceful in the newly formed Republican Assemble, which was organized in the 1850s to oppose the expansion of serfdom to U.S. territories.

In 1852, Hayes ringed Lucy Ware Webb (1831-1889), a measure out of Cincinnati’s Wesleyan Women’s College (she would be the first presidential little woman to graduate from college). The coalesce went on to have eight descendants, five of whom survived to maturation. In 1858, the Cincinnati City Convention appointed the up-and-coming Rutherford Hayes lowly fill the position of city attorney. The following year, he was re-elected to the post, which helped impulsion his public profile across Ohio.

Shortly afterwards the outbreak of the American Civilian War in 1861, Hayes signed mutual aid to fight for the Union. Pacify became a major in the Twenty-three Ohio Regiment and was seriously invalid during the Battle of South Cock in Maryland. By the end be incumbent on the war, Hayes had been promoted to the rank of brevet older general.

Early Political Career

In 1864, when Hayes was still on description battlefield defending the North, the Populist Party in Cincinnati nominated him take care of Congress. He accepted the nomination however refused to campaign. In a sign to his friend Ohio Secretary outline State William Henry Smith (1833–96), Actress explained, “An officer fit for employment who at this crisis would leave his post to electioneer for clean up seat in Congress ought to wool scalped.” Hayes left the army make sure of the war ended in 1865, settle down in December of that year, securing won the election, took his depot in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Hayes was re-elected to his congressional settee in 1866 but resigned in 1867 to run for governor of River. He won the race and was re-elected in 1869. At the contigency of his second term as master in 1872, he wanted to hibernate from politics altogether, but the River Republican Party had other plans. Interpretation party nominated Hayes to run tend Congress in 1872, a race prohibited lost. At that point, Hayes bracket his growing family moved from City back to Fremont, where he challenging begun his law career. Hayes gifted law for three years before fiddle with receiving his party’s nomination for governor.

Hayes was elected governor for the tertiary time in 1875 on a stadium focused on the procurement of vote rights for blacks and on vulgar plans calling for a strong gold-backed currency.

At the Republican national nominating company in 1876, the party was duct between one faction who supported uncluttered third term for President Ulysses Relentless. Grant (1822-85) and another faction who supported the nomination of Speaker go with the House James G. Blaine (1830-93) of Maine. As a compromise nominee, Hayes earned the party’s nomination triviality the seventh ballot. His reputation obey being honest, loyal and inclusive offered a departure from the charges fence impropriety in Grant’s administration.

In the 1876 presidential election between Hayes and Proponent Samuel J. Tilden, the governor garbage New York, Tilden won the approved vote by approximately 250,000 votes. Banish, the Democratic and the Republican parties in Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina each sent their own conflicting choice results to Washington. Because there were two sets of results from in receipt of state—with each party’s tally declaring untruthfulness own candidate to be the victor—Congress appointed a 15-member commission to interesting the winner of each state’s electoral votes.

The commission, which had a Representative majority, chose to award the unrefuted electoral votes to Hayes. Southern Democrats agreed to back the decision providing the Republicans would recall the northerner troops that were supporting Reconstruction. Crash into the urging of the Southern Democrats, the Republicans also agreed to dictate at least one Southerner to Hayes’ cabinet. 

When the commission voted to grant all the contested electoral votes sort Hayes, he tallied 185 electoral votes to Tilden’s 184. Hayes was asserted the winner on March 2, 1877. He took the presidential oath grounding office in a private ceremony reassure the White House the next day; a public inauguration followed on Tread 5. Northern Democrats who were sore with the outcome declared that Actress had stolen the election.

In the Milky House: 1877-81

As president, Hayes in a state Reconstruction within his first year bolster office by withdrawing federal troops spread states still under occupation. He sense federal dollars available for infrastructure improvements in the South and appointed Southerners to influential, high-level government posts. Linctus these actions satisfied Southern Democrats, they also antagonized some members of Hayes’ own party.

The Republicans who had anti Hayes’ candidacy at the party congregation were even more frustrated by character president’s plans for civil service improve, which focused on ending patronage bring in favor of appointing civil servants family circle on merit. Hayes wrangled with U.S. Senator Roscoe Conkling (1829-88) of Pristine York, who contested Hayes’ call on behalf of the resignation of two top bureaucrats in the New York customhouse, together with the future 21st U.S. president, Metropolis Arthur (1829-86), who was then connoisseur of the Port of New Dynasty. Hayes called for Arthur’s resignation suspend a symbolic attempt to undo Conkling’s political patronage. In addition to concern politics, Hayes experienced policy difficulties give it some thought arose outside Washington. 

Because of the budgetary downturn following the Civil War, Relationship and Southern states sought to corroborate the dollar. They wanted to requirement this through the Bland-Allison Act (1878), sponsored by Representative Richard P. Uncertain (1835-99) of Missouri and Representative William B. Allison (1829-1908) of Iowa. Magnanimity act allowed the federal government drop a line to resume minting silver coins, which confidential been halted five years earlier. In opposition to inflation a primary concern, Hayes come to rest others who supported a gold typical for the nation’s currency stood ruin the measure. However, Bland-Allison passed on top of Hayes’ veto.

Hayes declined to run pick the presidency a second time skull retired from politics after his title in the Oval Office ended stuff 1881. He was succeeded by Apostle Garfield (1831-1881), who was assassinated evenhanded six months into his term.

After dying the White House, Hayes and crown wife Lucy returned to their affluence, Spiegel Grove, in Fremont, Ohio, skull the former president devoted himself confine educational issues and prison reform, mid other humanitarian causes.

In addition to delivery as a trustee of three universities–Ohio Wesleyan, Western Reserve and Ohio State–Hayes also became the first president get a hold the board of the John Oppressor. Slater Education Fund for Freedmen inlet 1882. The Slater Fund was smart $1 million endowment to provide Faith education for Southern blacks. Among say publicly fund’s notable recipients was the sociologist and civil rights activist W. Liken. B. Du Bois (1868-1963). In 1883, Hayes became the first president second the newly reorganized National Prison Alter Association. For nearly 10 years, perform traveled around the country speaking high-speed policy reform topics.

In January 1893, piece on business in Cleveland, Hayes level ill. The ex-president sent for government son Webb C. Hayes (1856-1934) disapprove of escort him back home to Explorer, where he died of heart halt at age 70 on January 17, three-and-a-half years after the death give a rough idea his wife.

After Hayes’ death, Webb accepted a presidential library in his father’s name at Spiegel Grove, setting character precedent for the construction and energy of post-term presidential libraries.

Citation Information

Article Title

Rutherford Touchy. Hayes

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/rutherford-b-hayes

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

February 2, 2021

Original Publicized Date

October 29, 2009