PERIODIC PRESIDENTS on BOBBLEHEAD GEORGE

Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio in 1822. Hayes was an educated man, and graduated from Harvard Law School in 1845. Hayes achieved much respect and earned a gallant reputation for his service during the Civil War. Throughout the war, Hayes was wounded a staggering five times. Following the war, Hayes became more involved in politics, serving as a US Representative before becoming governor of Ohio. 

 

The Republican Party was struggling due to an economic depression and corruption in the Grant administration. Hayes won the Republican nomination against New York Governor Samuel Tilden. The 1876 election was the closest in US History, as Hayes won by a single electoral vote. Hayes was able to win, despite Tilden winning the popular vote. The election was also very complex, as there was no conclusive winner of multiple states. A special commission was formed, and Hayes was declared the winner. The decision is also possibly due to the promise of removing federal troops from the South.

 

Hayes is perhaps best known as the president that oversaw the end of reconstruction, as federal troops were removed from former confederate territory.  Hayes’s administration was not completely from domestic conflict, as the Army was called in to end the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. As President, Hayes backed the gold standard, advocated for civil service reform, and had the first telephone installed in the White House. 

 

Hayes did not run for reelection and retired to his home in Ohio. Hayes passed away in his home at the age of 70 on January 17, 1893, due to complications from a heart attack.