History UsefulNotes / RutherfordBHayes

Hayes was chosen in 1876 to be the Republican nominee for the presidency. His nomination was [[DarkHorseVictory unexpected]], being that he was a compromise candidate among GOP members who weren't fully on board with initial frontrunner James Blaine, and people nicknamed him the "Great Unknown" because they didn't quite know his position on the issues. The election was a controversial one, and probably the closest in American history, having been won by literally one vote. Reports arose that Republican officials packed ballot boxes with illegal votes for Hayes. Thus, Democrats questioned the legitimacy of the electors. Polls showed his opponent, Samuel J. Tilden, was winning the popular vote[[note]]Tilden, who won 254,000 more votes than Hayes nationwide, was in fact the ''only'' Democrat who won a majority of the popular vote between UsefulNotes/FranklinPierce in 1852 and UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt in 1932, and he remains the only losing presidential candidate to win a ''majority'', not just a plurality, of the popular vote.[[/note]] and up 184 to 165 in the Electoral College (the one that really counts), with 20 undecided votes remaining. The number needed for victory that year was 185. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, together making up 19 votes, were disputed states this election, and they sent two sets of returns, one each by and for the state Democratic and Republican parties. Both parties, each in control of a separate chamber of Congress (the Democrats had the House of Representatives, the Republicans the Senate), insisted that their respective counts from each of these states were the only ones that were legitimate. There was also a disputed vote from Oregon, since the elector was a former officeholder, which is illegal under the Constitution. To solve the matter, Congress set up a 15-member Electoral Commission. Each chamber chose five members (three of the majority, two of the minority), giving each party five members, and the Supreme Court made up the remaining five. Of the Court members, there were two Democrats and two Republicans, with one neutral and respected justice, David Davis, intended to be the tiebreaker vote. Then Davis was elected to the Senate by his home state, Illinois -- more specifically, its legislature's ''Democratic'' majority. Oops.

He rose to prominence as a lawyer who took cases of fugitive black slaves, which gained him the attention of the Republican Party, which eventually recruited him. When UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar broke out, Hayes joined the Union army and fought in the same regiment as another future president, UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley. Hayes, wounded five times during the war, rose to the rank of major general due to his bravery on the battlefield. After the war ended, Hayes became a member of the House of Representatives for a little more than two years (he represented Ohio's 2nd congressional district in the 39th and the first four months of the 40th Congress) and then a popular three-term governor of Ohio. He was widely praised for his honesty and won national attention.

Hayes was chosen in 1876 to be the Republican nominee for the presidency. His nomination was [[DarkHorseVictory unexpected]], being that he was a compromise candidate among GOP members who weren't fully on board with initial frontrunner James Blaine, and people nicknamed him the "Great Unknown" because they didn't quite know his position on the issues. The election was a controversial one, and probably the closest in American history, having been won by literally one vote. Reports arose that Republican officials packed ballot boxes with illegal votes for Hayes. Thus, Democrats questioned the legitimacy of the electors. Polls showed his opponent, Samuel J. Tilden, was winning the popular vote[[note]]Tilden, who won 254,000 more votes than Hayes nationwide, was in fact the ''only'' Democrat who won a majority of the popular vote between UsefulNotes/FranklinPierce in 1852 and UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt in 1932, and he remains the only losing presidential candidate to win a ''majority'', not just a plurality, of the popular vote.[[/note]] and up 184 to 165 in the Electoral College (the one that really counts), with 20 undecided votes remaining. The number needed for victory that year was 185. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, together making up 19 votes, were disputed states this election, and they sent two sets of returns, one Democrat and one Republican. Both parties, each in control of a separate chamber of Congress, insisted that it was only their count that was legitimate. There was also a disputed vote from Oregon, since the elector was a former officeholder, which is illegal under the Constitution. To solve the matter, Congress set up a 15-member Electoral Commission. Each chamber chose five members (three of the majority, two of the minority), giving each party five members, and the Supreme Court made up the remaining five. Of the Court members, there were two Democrats and two Republicans, with one neutral and respected justice, David Davis, intended to be the tiebreaker vote. Then Davis was elected to the Senate by his home state, Illinois, and its ''Democratic'' majority. Oops.

This ''really'' screwed things up, since the remaining four justices were all Republicans. A relatively impartial one, Joseph Bradley, was chosen to replace Davis, but it was clear to everyone just who was going to win these disputed votes.[[note]]In recognition, during the Presidents Song in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', when Hayes' victory is mentioned, the scoreboard reads 8 to 7.[[/note]] Still, the Democrats made as much noise as possible, refusing to go down without a fight. Eventually, a backroom deal between both parties was formed. The Republicans agreed to remove all remaining troops in the South and end Reconstruction, and the Democrats agreed to let Hayes win the remaining votes and the election. This essentially meant that the North abandoned any remaining plans to protect blacks in the South. Now free to do as they pleased for the first time since before the Civil War, white Southerners responded by passing what are now known as Jim Crow laws, which reestablished segregation and created so many voter registration loopholes (such as poll taxes and grandfather clauses) that blacks in the South essentially lost their newly won right to vote. This would last into [[UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement the 1950s and '60s]]. Still, Hayes himself wasn't a racist (at least by his standard's time), and he supported civil rights bills never passed by Congress. Meanwhile, Hayes, known as "Rutherfraud" by his detractors, set about to heal the divide between the North and South. Both sides had long since grown tired of Reconstruction, so his moderation was welcomed by many.

He inherited two crises from the Grant administration: Widespread corruption and economic turmoil. The spoils system in place since UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson had reached its peak under Grant, and many (possibly even ''most'') government workers were awarded their job only because of party loyalty. Hayes disapproved of this, but he also had a small problem: namely, that it was ''his own party'' that appointed most of them. Not wanting to split the Republicans in half, he implemented some modest reforms and went after some of the most corrupt government employees, [[GoldenMeanFallacy but this satisfied neither side]]. Reformers charged that it was too little, too late, while anti-reformers were angered that he was acting at all. Interestingly, one of the people he fired was UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur, who was then in charge of the New York Customhouse. Hayes issued an executive order banning civil servants from managing political rallies and party events. When Arthur ignored the order, Hayes booted him out of office. He would go on to become [[{{Irony}} the president who finally reformed the civil service system and end the spoils system]].

As for the economy, the country was torn over a debate involving the currency. At almost the very moment when the Panic of 1873 began, the United States went back to the gold standard. This caused the money supply to contract, and prices deflated. Believe it or not, this was seen as a bad thing back then. Why? Well, the easy money "greenbacks" printed during the Civil War caused inflation, which meant that it was easier for farmers to pay off their debts. However, with the money now deflating, they faced an economic crisis.[[note]]Deflation also has the effect of discouraging spending, since if you've got any reason to expect prices will ''continue'' to deflate you're better off waiting until they get even lower until you buy anything. Which can lead to such things as food rotting before anybody buys it because they're holding out for even lower prices.[[/note]] Like Grant before him, Hayes sided with the "hard money" advocates and wanted money to be worth face value in gold. He built up the country's gold supply to handle the issue, and by mid-1878 the problem seemed to be solved. But then the debate switched to whether the country should be tied to just gold, or gold ''and'' silver. Congress passed a bill over his veto which mandated that the Treasury coin two to four million silver dollars each month. Hayes, fearing that too much silver could cause high inflation rates, [[LoopholeAbuse made sure the minimum was coined each month]]. With the economy back on sound money, prosperity returned in 1879, and business in the country would boom almost uninterrupted until 1893.

The first nationwide strike in American history, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, happened in his term. When all of the major railroad bosses decided simultaneously to cut pay to workers by 10%, they all went on strike. It's estimated that over 100,000 railroad workers were involved. Well over half of all railroads were shut down for about two months. However, these quickly turned to violent riots, and Hayes sent in the army to restore order and force the workers back to work. In the end, they won almost nothing. [[OldShame Hayes actually regretted]] having to use force to end the strike, and he thought the strikers were mostly good men whom greedy bosses' actions had pushed over the edge. Hayes, unlike many politicians of his time, was very suspicious of big business and was a critic of [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinism]]. However, he didn't think it was the role of government to get involved in the matter.

Other domestic concerns included a confrontation with the Democratic-controlled Congress during his last two years and attempts to reform the Native American policy. The Democrats attempted to attach legislation to unrelated but necessary money bills. These attachments, nicknamed "riders," were designed to tip voting requirements throughout the country (but especially the South) in a way that would benefit the Democrats in the upcoming presidential election. Namely, they wanted to put even more restrictions on black voters. An outraged Hayes vetoed these, and the Democrats eventually gave up the "Battle of the Riders." Garfield won the 1880 election narrowly. Hayes wanted to rid the Indian Bureau of corruption and help Native Americans assimilate into white culture -- namely, by placing more of them on reservations. However, the Native Americans didn't take very kindly to this, and there were some revolts. Notably, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce led a remarkable 1,700-mile retreat to Canada which almost succeeded.

Telephones were first installed in TheWhiteHouse during his administration, and he was the first president to take the Oath of Office inside the White House. Hayes' wife was known as "Lemonade Lucy" for refusing to serve alcohol at state functions. This had the side effect of convincing many prohibitionists to join the Republican Party, which led to the ban of alcohol in 1919. When he entered office, he pledged that he would not seek a second term. While he was popular for his honesty, the economic upswing, and better relations between the North and South and could have won another term, Hayes honored his pledge when the election of 1880 came. During the fall of that year, he undertook a "farewell tour" of the US that made him the first sitting President to visit California (where he saw Yosemite Valley and gave a speech at the coastal farming village of Los Angeles). He called himself the greatest president since UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams, with the exception of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. After he retired, Hayes became an advocate of well-funded universal education, including for blacks. Hayes died of a heart attack in 1893. The first presidential library, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, was funded by his family and opened in 1916.

He's a good example of how the general opinion of historical leaders and their actions can change a lot over time. Nearly everything he did while in office was popular in its time, but in hindsight, [[HarsherInHindsight historians consider most of them to be bad things]]. Voters applauded Hayes for what was then seen as a solution to the "Southern question," but today, he is widely criticized for the backroom deal which created it and for abandoning Southern blacks to Jim Crow. The full return to the gold standard under Hayes, considered then to be one of his greatest accomplishments, is today seen as creating an inelastic currency that would help cause future economic troubles. The policies adopted over Native Americans and Chinese immigrants are now considered to be regrettably representative examples of 19th-century American bigotry. In a post-New Deal era, sending the army to break up the railroad strikes is seen as having given too much power to big business, and they would continue to abuse workers for the next few decades. Initially a very popular Chief Executive, today Hayes is almost always considered to be forgettable at best. Still, it is worth mentioning that these criticisms are from a modern perspective. Some of his policies did work moderately well in his own time, and there's no denying that he was good at political maneuvering and moderating.

The election of 1876 saw the highest voter turnout in American history, an astounding '''81.8%'''. For some perspective, the last time it was above 60% was in 1968.[[note]]Though that's the percentage of ''eligible voters'', not of all adult US citizens. Since women were not allowed to vote at the time, arguably that's only equivalent to around 40% turnout today.[[/note]] Due to the narrowness of his victory and the possible fraud involved, his picture showed up on American TV news a lot immediately after the [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush 2000 presidential election]] and [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump the 2016 election]].

Telephones were first installed in TheWhiteHouse during his administration, and he was the first president to take the oath of office inside the White House. Hayes' wife was known as "Lemonade Lucy" for refusing to serve alcohol at state functions. This had the side effect of convincing many prohibitionists to join the Republican Party, which led to the ban of alcohol in 1919. When he entered office, he pledged that he would not seek a second term. While he was popular for his honesty, the economic upswing, and better relations between the North and South and could have won another term, Hayes honored his pledge when the election of 1880 came. He called himself the greatest president since UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams, with the exception of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. After he retired, Hayes became an advocate of well-funded universal education, including for blacks. Hayes died of a heart attack in 1893. The first presidential library, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, was funded by his family and opened in 1916.

'''Rutherford Birchard Hayes''' (October 4, 1822 -- January 17, 1893) was the 19th President ([[TheGildedAge 1877-1881]]). A Republican, he served between UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant and UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield. He's most notable for winning the closest presidential election in American history and for ending Reconstruction.

He rose to prominence as a lawyer who took cases of fugitive black slaves, which gained him the attention of the Republican Party, which eventually recruited him. When the Civil War broke out Hayes joined the Union army and fought in the same regiment as future president UsefulNotes/WilliamMcKinley. Hayes, wounded five times during the war, managed to rise to the rank of Major General due to his bravery on the battlefield. After the war ended, Hayes became a member of the House of Representatives for two years and then a popular two-term governor of Ohio. He was widely praised for his honesty and won national attention.

Hayes was chosen in 1876 to be the Republican nominee for the Presidency. He was a compromise candidate among the party, and people nicknamed him the "Great Unknown" because they didn't quite know his position on the issues. The election was a controversial one, and probably the closest in American history, having won by literally one vote. Reports arose that Republican officials packed ballot boxes with illegal votes for Hayes. Thus the legitimacy of the electors was called into question by Democrats. Polls showed his opponent, Samuel J. Tilden, was winning the popular vote[[note]]Tilden was in fact the ''only'' Democrat who won a majority of the popular vote between UsefulNotes/FranklinPierce in 1852 and UsefulNotes/FranklinDRoosevelt in 1932, and he remains the only losing Presidential candidate to win a ''majority'', not just a plurality, of the popular vote[[/note]] and up 184 to 165 in the Electoral College (the one that really counts), with 20 undecided votes remaining. The number needed for victory that year? 185. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, together making up 19 votes, were disputed states this election, and they sent two sets of returns, one Democrat and one Republican. Both sides, each in control of a separate chamber of Congress, insisted that it was their count that was legitimate. There was also a disputed vote from Oregon, since the elector was a former officeholder, which is illegal under the Constitution. To solve the matter, Congress set up a 15-member Electoral Commission. Each chamber chose 5 members (3 of the majority, 2 of the minority), giving each party 5 members, and the Supreme Court made up the remaining five. Of the members from Court, there were two Democrats and two Republicans, with one neutral and respected Justice, David Davis, intended to be the tie-breaker vote. Then Davis was elected to the Senate by his home state, Illinois, and its ''Democratic'' majority. Oops.

This ''really'' screwed things up, since the remaining four Justices were all Republicans. A relatively impartial one, Joseph Bradley, was chosen, but it was clear to everyone just who was going to win these disputed votes.[[note]]In recognition, during the Presidents Song in ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', when Hayes's victory is mentioned, the scoreboard reads 8 to 7.[[/note]] Still, the Democrats made as much noise as possible, refusing to go down without a fight. Eventually, a backroom deal between both parties was formed. The Republicans agreed to remove all remaining troops in the South and end Reconstruction, and the Democrats agreed to let Hayes win the remaining votes and the election. This essentially meant that the North abandoned any remaining plans to protect blacks in the South. Now free to do as they pleased for the first time since before the Civil War, white Southerners responded by passing what are now known as Jim Crow laws, which reenforced segregation and created so many voter registration loopholes (such as poll taxes and grandfather clauses) that blacks in the South essentially lost their newly-won right to vote. This would last into [[UsefulNotes/CivilRightsMovement the 1950's and 60's]]. Still, Hayes himself wasn't a racist (at least by his standard's time), and he supported civil rights bills never passed by Congress. Meanwhile, Hayes, known as "Rutherfraud" by his detractors, set about to heal the divide between the North and South. Both sides had long-since grown tired of Reconstruction, so his moderation was welcomed by many.

He inherited two crises from the Grant administration: Widespread corruption and a terrible economy. The spoils system in place since UsefulNotes/AndrewJackson had reached its peak under Grant, and many (possibly even ''most'') government workers were awarded their job only because of party loyalty. Hayes was angered by this, but has also had a bit of a problem - namely, that it was ''his own party'' that appointed most of them. Not wanting to split his party in half, he implemented some modest reforms and went after some of the most corrupt government employees, but this satisfied neither side. Reformers claimed that it was too little, too late, while anti-reformers were angered that he was taking any action at all. Interestingly, one of the people he kicked out was UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur, who was then in charge of the New York Customhouse. Hayes issued an executive order banning civil servants from managing political rallies and party events. When Arthur ignored the order, Hayes booted him out of office. He would go on to become [[{{Irony}} the President who finally reformed the civil service system and end the spoils system]].

As for the economy, the country was torn over a debate involving the currency. At almost exactly the same moment when the Panic of 1873 began, the United States went back to the gold standard. This caused the money supply to contract, and prices deflated. Believe it or not, this was actually seen as a bad thing back then. Why? Well, the easy money "greenbacks" printed during the Civil War caused inflation, which meant that it was easier for farmers to pay off their debts. However, with the money now deflating, they faced an economic crisis.[[note]]Deflation also has the effect of discouraging spending, since if you've got any reason to expect prices will ''continue'' to deflate you're better off waiting until they get even lower until you buy anything. Which can lead to such things as food rotting before it gets purchased because people are holding out for even lower prices.[[/note]] Like Grant before him, Hayes sided with the "hard money" advocates and wanted money to be worth face value in gold. He built up the country's gold supply to handle the issue, and by mid 1878 the problem seemed to be solved. Then, however, the debate switched to whether the country should be tied to just gold, or gold ''and'' silver. Congress passed a bill over his veto which mandated that the Treasury coin between 2 and 4 million silver dollars each month. Hayes, fearing that too much silver could cause high inflation rates, [[LoopholeAbuse made sure the minimum was coined each month]]. With the economy back on sound money, prosperity returned in 1879, and business in the country would boom almost uninterrupted until 1893.

The first nationwide strike in American history, the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, happened in his term. When all of the major railroad bosses decided simultaneously to cut pay to workers by 10%, they all went on strike. It's estimated that over 100,000 railroad workers were involved. Well over half of all railroads were shut down for about two months. However, these quickly turned to violent riots, and Hayes sent in the army to restore order and force the workers back to work. In the end, they won almost nothing. [[OldShame Hayes actually regretted]] having to use force to end the strike, and he actually thought the strikers were mostly made up of good men who were pushed over the edge by greedy bosses. Hayes, unlike many politicians of his time, was very suspicious of big business and was a critic of social Darwinism. However, he didn't think it was the role of government to get involved in the matter.

Other domestic concerns included a confrontation with the Democrat-controlled Congress during his last two years and attempts to reform the Native American policy. The Democrats attempted to attach legislation to unrelated but necessary money bills. These attachments, nicknamed "riders," were designed to tip voting requirements throughout the country (but especially the South) in a way that would benefit the Democrats in the upcoming presidential election. Namely, they wanted to put even more restrictions on black voters. An outraged Hayes vetoed these, and the Democrats eventually gave up the "Battle of the Riders." The 1880 election narrowly went to the Republicans. Hayes wanted to rid the Indian Bureau of corruption and help Native Americans assimilate into white culture - namely, by placing more of them on reservations. However, the Native Americans didn't take very kindly to this, and there were some revolts. Notably, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce led a remarkable 1,700 mile retreat to Canada which almost succeeded.

Despite being rather obscure in American history, Hayes is a [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff national hero in Paraguay]]. He served as an arbitrator after the UsefulNotes/WarOfTheTripleAlliance in South America that had pitted Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay against Paraguay. Hayes ruling in favor of Paraguay forever immortalized him in the country's history as their savior. He has a city (Villa Hayes) and a department (Presidente Hayes) named after him, as well as many schools, roads, and even a soccer team. Hayes also used the Monroe Doctrine to prevent the French from building a canal across Panama. There was some controversy at the time over Mexican bandits crossing the border and raiding American towns, but Hayes and the Army worked with Mexican leaders to put an end to this. Additionally, anti-Chinese sentiment on the West Coast exploded, with an anti-Chinese riot breaking out in San Fransisco in 1877. Congress attempted to ban immigration from China, but Hayes vetoed the bill. Hayes tried to negotiate with the Chinese to solve the issue, but it was no use. One year after he left office, Congress passed another bill banning Chinese immigration, and it would remain in effect until 1943.

Telephones were first installed in the White House during his administration, and he was the first president to take the oath of office inside the White House. Hayes' wife was known as "Lemonade Lucy" for refusing to serve alcohol at state functions. This had the side effect of convincing many prohibitionists to join the Republican Party, which led to the ban of alcohol in 1919. When he entered office, he pledged that he would not seek a second term. While he was popular for his honesty, the economic upswing, and better relations between the North and South and could have won another term, Hayes honored his pledge when the election of 1880 came. He called himself the greatest president since UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams, with the exception of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. After he retired, Hayes became an advocate of well-funded universal education, including for blacks. Hayes died of a heart attack in 1893. The first presidential library, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, was funded by his family and opened in 1916.

He's a good example of how the general opinion of historical leaders and their actions can change a lot over time. Nearly everything he did while in office was popular in their own time, but, in hindsight, [[HarsherInHindsight historians consider most of them to be bad things]]. Voters applauded Hayes for what was then seen as a solution to the "Southern question," but today, he is widely criticized for the backroom deal which created it and for abandoning Southern blacks to Jim Crow. The full return to the gold standard under Hayes, considered then to be one of his greatest accomplishments, is today seen as creating an inelastic currency that would help cause future economic troubles. The policies adopted over Native Americans and Chinese immigrants are now considered to be sad examples of 19th century American bigotry. In a post New Deal-era, sending the army to break up the railroad strikes is seen as having given too much power to big business, and they would continue to abuse workers for the next few decades. Initially a very popular Chief Executive, today Hayes is almost always considered to be forgettable at best. Still, it is worth mentioning that these criticisms are from a modern perspective. Some of his policies did work moderately well in his own time, and there's no denying that he did a good job when it came to political maneuvering and moderating.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' featured Heinz Doofenshmirtz trying to turn a Hayes statue into a bread loaf because Hayes had the longest beard of all Presidents in American history and Doof couldn't grow himself a beard. Later in that episode, Betty Jo and an old rival of hers decided to race to the statue.

Hayes was chosen in 1876 to be the Republican nominee for the Presidency. He was a compromise candidate among the party, and people nicknamed him the "Great Unknown" because they didn't quite know his position on the issues. The election was a controversial one, and probably the closest in American history, having won by literally one vote. Reports arose that Republican officials packed ballot boxes with illegal votes for Hayes. Thus the legitimacy of the electors was called into question by Democrats. Polls showed his opponent, Samuel J. Tilden, was winning the popular vote and up 184 to 165 in the Electoral College (the one that really counts), with 20 undecided votes remaining. The number needed for victory that year? 185. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, together making up 19 votes, were disputed states this election, and they sent two sets of returns, one Democrat and one Republican. Both sides, each in control of a separate chamber of Congress, insisted that it was their count that was legitimate. There was also a disputed vote from Oregon, since the elector was a former officeholder, which is illegal under the Constitution. To solve the matter, Congress set up a 15-member Electoral Commission. Each chamber chose 5 members (3 of the majority, 2 of the minority), giving each party 5 members, and the Supreme Court made up the remaining five. Of the members from Court, there were two Democrats and two Republicans, with one neutral and respected Justice, David Davis, intended to be the tie-breaker vote. Then Davis was elected to the Senate by his home state, Illinois, and its ''Democratic'' majority. Oops.

The election of 1876 saw the highest voter turnout in American history, an astounding '''81.8%'''. For some perspective, the last time it was above 60% was in 1968. Due to the narrowness of his victory and the possible fraud involved, his picture showed up on American TV news a lot immediately after the [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush 2000 presidential election]] and [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump the 2016 election]].

As for the economy, the country was torn over a debate involving the currency. At almost exactly the same moment when the Panic of 1873 began, the United States went back to the gold standard. This caused the money supply to contract, and prices deflated. Believe it or not, this was actually seen as a bad thing back then. Why? Well, the easy money "greenbacks" printed during the Civil War caused inflation, which meant that it was easier for farmers to pay off their debts. However, with the money now deflating, they faced an economic crisis. Like Grant before him, Hayes sided with the "hard money" advocates and wanted money to be worth face value in gold. He built up the country's gold supply to handle the issue, and by mid 1878 the problem seemed to be solved. Then, however, the debate switched to whether the country should be tied to just gold, or gold ''and'' silver. Congress passed a bill over his veto which mandated that the Treasury coin between 2 and 4 million silver dollars each month. Hayes, fearing that too much silver could cause high inflation rates, [[LoopholeAbuse made sure the minimum was coined each month]]. With the economy back on sound money, prosperity returned in 1879, and business in the country would boom almost uninterrupted until 1893.

The election of 1876 saw the highest voter turnout in American history, an astounding '''81.8%'''. For some perspective, the last time it was above 60% was in 1968. Due to the narrowness of his victory and the possible fraud involved, his picture showed up on American TV news a lot immediately after the [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush 2000 presidential election]], and more controversially, [[UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump the 2016 election]].

The election of 1876 saw the highest voter turnout in American history, an astounding '''81.8%'''. For some perspective, the last time it was above 60% was in 1968. Due to the narrowness of his victory and the possible fraud involved, his picture showed up on American TV news a lot immediately after the [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush 2000 presidential election]], and more controversially, [[Creator/DonaldTrump the 2016 election]].

Despite being rather obscure in American history, Hayes is a [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff national hero in Paraguay]]. He served as an arbitrator after the WarOfTheTripleAlliance in South America that had pitted Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay against Paraguay. Hayes ruling in favor of Paraguay forever immortalized him in the country's history as their savior. He has a city (Villa Hayes) and a department (Presidente Hayes) named after him, as well as many schools, roads, and even a soccer team. Hayes also used the Monroe Doctrine to prevent the French from building a canal across Panama. There was some controversy at the time over Mexican bandits crossing the border and raiding American towns, but Hayes and the Army worked with Mexican leaders to put an end to this. Additionally, anti-Chinese sentiment on the West Coast exploded, with an anti-Chinese riot breaking out in San Fransisco in 1877. Congress attempted to ban immigration from China, but Hayes vetoed the bill. Hayes tried to negotiate with the Chinese to solve the issue, but it was no use. One year after he left office, Congress passed another bill banning Chinese immigration, and it would remain in effect until 1943.

The election of 1876 saw the highest voter turnout in American history, an astounding '''81.8%'''. For some perspective, the last time it was above 60% was in 1968. Due to the narrowness of his victory and the possible fraud involved, his picture showed up on American TV news a lot immediately after the [[UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush 2000 presidential election]].

Hayes was chosen in 1876 to be the Republican nominee for the Presidency. He was a compromise candidate among the party, and people nicknamed him the "Great Unknown" because they didn't quite know his position on the issues. The election was a controversial one, and probably the closest in American history. Reports arose that Republican officials packed ballot boxes with illegal votes for Hayes. Thus the legitimacy of the electors was called into question by Democrats. Polls showed his opponent, Samuel J. Tilden, was winning the popular vote and up 184 to 165 in the Electoral College (the one that really counts), with 20 undecided votes remaining. The number needed for victory that year? 185. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, together making up 19 votes, were disputed states this election, and they sent two sets of returns, one Democrat and one Republican. Both sides, each in control of a separate chamber of Congress, insisted that it was their count that was legitimate. There was also a disputed vote from Oregon, since the elector was a former officeholder, which is illegal under the Constitution. To solve the matter, Congress set up a 15-member Electoral Commission. Each chamber chose 5 members (3 of the majority, 2 of the minority), giving each party 5 members, and the Supreme Court made up the remaining five. Of the members from Court, there were two Democrats and two Republicans, with one neutral and respected Justice, David Davis, intended to be the tie-breaker vote. Then Davis was elected to the Senate by his home state, Illinois, and its ''Democratic'' majority. Oops.

He inherited two crises from the Grant administration: Widespread corruption and a terrible economy. The spoils system in place since AndrewJackson had reached its peak under Grant, and many (possibly even ''most'') government workers were awarded their job only because of party loyalty. Hayes was angered by this, but has also had a bit of a problem - namely, that it was ''his own party'' that appointed most of them. Not wanting to split his party in half, he implemented some modest reforms and went after some of the most corrupt government employees, but this satisfied neither side. Reformers claimed that it was too little, too late, while anti-reformers were angered that he was taking any action at all. Interestingly, one of the people he kicked out was UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur, who was then in charge of the New York Customhouse. Hayes issued an executive order banning civil servants from managing political rallies and party events. When Arthur ignored the order, Hayes booted him out of office. He would go on to become [[{{Irony}} the President who finally reformed the civil service system and end the spoils system]].

----

He's a good example of how the general opinion of historical leaders and their actions can change a lot over time. Nearly everything he did while in office was popular in their own time, but, in hindsight, [[HarsherInHindsight historians consider most of them to be bad things]]. Voters applauded Hayes for what was then seen as a solution to the "Southern question," but today, he is widely criticized for the backroom deal which created it and for abandoning Southern blacks to Jim Crow. The full return to the gold standard under Hayes, considered then to be one of his greatest accomplishments, is today seen as creating an inelastic currency that would help cause future economic troubles. The policies adopted over Native Americans and Chinese immigrants are now considered to be sad examples of 19th century American bigotry. In a post New Deal-era, sending the army to break up the railroad strikes is seen as having give too much power to big business, and they would continue to abuse workers for the next few decades. Initially a very popular Chief Executive, today Hayes is almost always considered to be forgettable at best. Still, it is worth mentioning that these criticisms are from a modern perspective. Some of his policies did work moderately well in his own time, and there's no denying that he did a good job when it came to political maneuvering and moderating.

Other domestic concerns included a confrontation with the Democrat-controlled Congress during his last two years and attempts to reform the Native American policy. The Democrats attempted to attach legislation to unrelated but necessary money bills. These attachments, nicknamed "riders," were designed to tip voting requirements throughout the country (but especially the South) in a way that would benefit the Democrats in the upcoming presidential election. Namely, they wanted to put even more restrictions on black voters. An outraged Hayes vetoed these, and the Democrats eventually gave up the "Battle of the Riders." The 1880 election narrowly went to the Republicans. Hayes wanted to rid the Indian Bureau of corruption and help Native Americans assimilate into white culture - namely, by placing them more of them on reservations. However, the Native Americans didn't take very kindly to this, and there were some revolts. Notably, Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce led a remarkable 1,700 mile retreat to Canada which almost succeeded.

!!Tropes associated with Rutherford B. Hayes

* ArchEnemy: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalwart_%28politics%29 The Stalwarts.]] They were a pro-patronage (and quite corrupt) faction of the Republican Party that had some issues with moderate Republicans (whom they called Half-Breeds) like Hayes, and were against the civil service reforms that Hayes wanted. Two of the most notable Stalwarts were New York Senator Roscoe Conkling and future president UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur.[[note]]Arthur broke away from the Stalwarts after President Garfield's assassination[[/note]]
* CrusadingLawyer: Hayes was a staunch abolitionist and gained notability for defending fugitive slaves accused under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
* EmbarrassingNickname: Rutherfraud, His Fraudulency, or Old Eight-to-Seven, due to the Compromise of 1877 which got him into the White House.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: Hayes is probably more remembered by Paraguayans than Americans.
* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: He believed that if "respectable" upper-class whites were allowed back into power in the South, they would guarantee the safety and protect the basic rights of the black freedmen out of a sense of racial paternalism. One instauration of Black Codes (some of the most notorious of which was simply the White government re-ratifying the pre-abolition laws and replacing the word "slave" with "Negro", which in effect made the laws ''worse'' as the pre-Abolition laws did not apply to black freedmen) and passing of Jim Crow laws later, he was proven wrong.
* InsanityDefense: When he was a lawyer, Hayes used the insanity defense to save one of his clients from the gallows.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: To his supporters he was President Personable with a slight tint of President Action. To his enemies he was a President Schemer.

* EmbarrassingNickname: Rutherfraud or His Fraudulency, due to the Compromise of 1877 which got him into the White House.

The election of 1876 saw the highest voter turnout in American history, an astounding '''81.8%'''. For some perspective, the last time it was above 60% was in 1968. Due to the narrowness of his victory and the possible fraud involved, his picture showed up on American TV news a lot immediately after the [[GeorgeWBush 2000 presidential election]].

* ArchEnemy: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalwart_%28politics%29 The Stalwarts.]] They were a pro-patronage (and quite corrupt) fraction of the Republican Party that had some issues with moderate Republicans (whom they called Half-Breeds) like Hayes, and were against the civil service reforms that Hayes wanted. Two of the most notable Stalwarts were New York Senator Roscoe Conkling and future president UsefulNotes/ChesterAArthur.[[note]]Arthur broke away from the Stalwarts after President Garfield's assassination[[/note]]

->''"Every age has its temptations, its weaknesses, its dangers. Ours is in the line of the snobbish and the sordid."''\\
--'''Rutherford B. Hayes'''

Telephones were first installed in the White House during his administration, and he was the first president to take the oath of office inside the White House. Hayes' wife was known as "Lemonade Lucy" for refusing to serve alcohol at state functions. This had the side effect of convincing many prohibitionists to join the Republican Party, which led to the ban of alcohol in 1919. When he entered office, he pledged that he would not seek a second term. While he was popular for his honest, the economic upswing, and better relations between the North and South and could have won another term, Hayes honored his pledge when the election of 1880 came. He called himself the greatest president since UsefulNotes/JohnQuincyAdams, with the exception of UsefulNotes/AbrahamLincoln. After he retired, Hayes became an advocate of well-funded universal education, including for blacks. Hayes died of a heart attack in 1893. The first presidential library, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, was funded by his family and opened in 1916.

* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: As noted above, Hayes is probably more remembered by Paraguayans than Americans.

'''Rutherford Birchard Hayes''' (1822-1893) was the 19th President ([[TheGildedAge 1877-1881]]). A Republican, he served between UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant and UsefulNotes/JamesGarfield. He's most notable for winning the closest presidential election in American history and for ending Reconstruction.

He rose to prominence as a lawyer who took cases of fugitive black slaves, which gained him the attention of the Republican Party, which eventually recruited him. When the Civil War broke out Hayes joined the Union army and fought in the same regiment as future president WilliamMcKinley. Hayes, wounded five times during the war, managed to rise to the rank of Major General due to his bravery on the battlefield. After the war ended, Hayes became a member of the House of Representatives for two years and then a popular two-term governor of Ohio. He was widely praised for his honesty and won national attention.

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: The [[TropeNamers Trope Namer]], Carl Schurz, served as Hayes's Interior Secretary.

He inherited two crises from the Grant administration: Widespread corruption and a terrible economy. The spoils system in place since AndrewJackson had reached its peak under Grant, and many (possibly even ''most'') government workers were awarded their job only because of party loyalty. Hayes was angered by this, but has also had a bit of a problem - namely, that it was ''his own party'' that appointed most of them. Not wanting to split his party in half, he implemented some modest reforms and went after some of the most corrupt government employees, but this satisfied neither side. Reformers claimed that it was too little, too late, while anti-reformers were angered that he was taking any action at all. Interestingly, one of the people he kicked out was ChesterAArthur, who was then in charge of the New York Customhouse. Hayes issued an executive order banning civil servants from managing political rallies and party events. When Arthur ignored the order, Hayes booted him out of office. He would go on to become [[{{Irony}} the President who finally reformed the civil service system and end the spoils system]].

* ArchEnemy: [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalwart_%28politics%29 The Stalwarts.]] They were a pro-patronage (and quite corrupt) fraction of the Republican Party that had some issues with moderate Republicans (whom they called Half-Breeds) like Hayes, and were against the civil service reforms that Hayes wanted. Two of the most notable Stalwarts were New York Senator Roscoe Conkling and future president ChesterAArthur.[[note]]Arthur broke away from the Stalwarts after President Garfield's assassination[[/note]]

'''Rutherford Birchard Hayes''' (1822-1893) was the 19th President ([[TheGildedAge 1877-1881]]). A Republican, he served between UlyssesSGrant and JamesGarfield. He's most notable for winning the closest presidential election in American history and for ending Reconstruction.