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Rutherford Birchard Hayes ( / ˈrʌðərfərd /; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881. As an attorney in Ohio, Hayes served as Cincinnati 's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861.
- Childhood and Education
- Legal Career and Military Service
- Early Political Career
- A Controversial Presidential Election
- In The White House: 1877-81
- Post-Presidential Years
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Rutherford Birchard Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, on October 4, 1822, to Sophia Birchard Hayes (1792-1866). His father, Rutherford Hayes Jr. (1787-1822), was a farmer who died shortly before his son’s birth. The young Hayes, known as “Rud,” and his sister Fanny (1820-56) were raised in Lower Sandusky (later called Fremont), Ohio, by their mothe...
Upon his graduation from Harvard, Hayes was admitted to the Ohio bar and began practicing law in Lower Sandusky. Hearing that there were greater opportunities in Cincinnati, Hayes moved there in 1849 and eventually developed a successful law practice. An opponent of slavery, he also became active in the newly formed Republican Party, which was orga...
In 1864, when Hayes was still on the battlefield defending the North, the Republican Party in Cincinnati nominated him for Congress. He accepted the nomination but refused to campaign. In a letter to his friend Ohio Secretary of State William Henry Smith (1833–96), Hayes explained, “An officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post ...
At the Republican national nominating convention in 1876, the party was split between one faction who supported a third term for President Ulysses S. Grant(1822-85) and another faction who supported the nomination of Speaker of the House James G. Blaine (1830-93) of Maine. As a compromise candidate, Hayes earned the party’s nomination on the sevent...
As president, Hayes ended Reconstruction within his first year in office by withdrawing federal troops from states still under occupation. He made federal dollars available for infrastructure improvements in the South and appointed Southerners to influential, high-level government posts. While these actions satisfied Southern Democrats, they also a...
After leaving the White House, Hayes and his wife Lucy returned to their estate, Spiegel Grove, in Fremont, Ohio, and the former president devoted himself to educational issues and prison reform, among other humanitarian causes. In addition to serving as a trustee of three universities–Ohio Wesleyan, Western Reserve and Ohio State–Hayes also became...
Learn about the life and career of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States who won a controversial election against Samuel Tilden. Find out how he withdrew troops from the Reconstruction states and served a single term as he had promised.
Jun 5, 2024 · Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States (1877–81), who brought post-Civil War Reconstruction to an end in the South and who tried to establish new standards of official integrity after eight years of corruption in Washington, D.C. Learn more about his life and presidency in this article.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Learn about the life and achievements of Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th President of the United States who oversaw the end of Reconstruction and civil service reform. Find out how he won the disputed election of 1876 and why he served only one term.
Learn about the life and achievements of Rutherford B. Hayes, the nineteenth president of the United States. Explore his military service, political career, civil rights reforms, and retirement at Spiegel Grove.
Apr 2, 2014 · Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president of the United States and oversaw the end of the rebuilding efforts of the Reconstruction.
The presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes began on March 4, 1877, when Rutherford B. Hayes was inaugurated as President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1881.
