The Election of 1876 was a turning point in American history. For the previous 11 years, Reconstruction, the occupation of the South by federal troops in the years following the Civil War, was remaking the former Confederacy. During these years of Reconstruction, the United States bore witness to a number of events that would forever shape the make up of our country and relationship between the people and their government. The previous 11 years had witnessed the assassination of President Lincoln, the impeachment of President Johnson, and the corruption of President Grant. The Constitution had been amended 3 times during Reconstruction, abolishing slavery, defining citizenship, establishing civil rights, and banning discrimination at the ballot box on the basis of race. The occupation of the South allowed for the protection of recently freed slaves, the dismantling of the Ku Klux Klan, and election of Republican majorities in Southern capitals. African Americans in the South, though still facing extreme discrimination, poverty, and racism, were experiencing a level of freedom only dreamed of by previous generations. Numerous African Americans were even elected to public office. The nation was, however timidly, taking the first grueling steps toward the "new birth of freedom" of which Lincoln had once spoke. However, all this political reform became expensive and Americans have short attention spans. Southern Democrats hated Reconstruction and wanted the Yankee "carpetbaggers" to leave so that they might "redeem" the South. Fiscally conservative northern Republicans were getting tired of paying for an endless military occupation of the Southern states. The scars of the Civil War were far from healed, but the nation no longer wanted endure the necessary treatment. In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated by the Republican Party to be their candidate for president. After 8 years of corruption in the scandal-ridden Grant administration, the Republicans knew they had to put forward a candidate with a reputation for honesty. Hayes had been an officer in the Civil War, a Congressman, and a successful Governor. He was known as a person of high character and was from the all important state of Ohio. For these reasons, he was chosen as the nominee. On Election Day 1866, the race was deadlocked. As the days passed, it was unclear whether Hayes or Samuel Tilden, the Democratic Governor of New York, had been elected the new President. When all votes were counted, it was appearing as if Hayes had lost. Behind by hundreds of thousands of ballots in the popular vote, Hayes had resigned to the fact that he wouldn't be elected. However, 3 states, South Carolina, Louisiana, and yes, Florida each set two sets of officially election returns for Congress to verify. In short, one set of returns from each state was legitimate, the other fraudulent. This is not surprising given the extremely corrupt nature of Gilded Age politics. It was unclear who won these three states, but the election hung in the balance. Both parties declared victory. The contentious election led to very real threats of a new Civil War. By early 1877, Americans still didn't know who would be the new commander-in-chief. And you though 2000 was bad? Congress and President Grant agreed to form a new bipartisan electoral commission consisting of congressmen, senators, and member of the supreme court. After weeks of negotiations, the commission awarded the election to Hayes, the loser of the popular vote. Why? There was a quid pro quo in which the Democrats agreed to let the Republicans have the White House if the GOP would in turn end Reconstruction allowing for a return of Democratic control of southern legislatures. With the end of Reconstruction came the implementation of Jim Crow, the reversal of progressive social polices, and the political domination of blacks by whites. It isn't clear whether or not Hayes personally agreed to this proposal, but nevertheless it happened. Hayes' presidency has been forgotten by most Americans, but it was certainly divisive in its day. Being elected President without winning the popular vote, without the consent of the governed, is an unenviable position for anyone and Hayes was no different. To many Americans, the President was known as "Ruther-Fraud" or "His Fraudulentcy". Being considered illegitimate by a large portion of the population makes enacting a real agenda quite difficult. Unlike other Presidents far down on this list, there are no scandals or policies personally enacted by Hayes that had dire consequences for the nation, rather a complacency that seemed to allow social and economic problems to persist without action on the President's part. Unlike the previous Grant administration that, for all of it's shortcomings, attempted to bring about change to the nation, Hayes was content to "let 'em alone." This is not only true of the tragic discrimination of blacks in the South, but also toward the growing influence of corporate America and the unfair treatment of industrial workers that came to characterize the Gilded Age. We know that Hayes was personally concerned with the treatment of blacks in the South, but he did nothing. We know that the President had real concerns about the growing disparity between the rich and poor, but his reaction to labor unrest was to send in federal troops. This can be seen with his handling of the Great Railroad Strike. We know that Hayes was disgusted by the corrupt nature of late nineteenth century politics in which party bosses filled government posts with loyalist and those willing to pay the highest price. However, Hayes was politically hamstrung by the fact that many viewed him as illegitimate (That happens when you lose the popular vote) and accomplished very little.
Hayes honored a pledge to serve only one term. After leaving office he became a champion for education reform. The former president helped raise money that opened the door for education opportunity for many. For his post-presidency work he should be commended. What is obvious is that Rutherford B. Hayes believed in the power of collective action. He believed that government, at least from a nineteenth century perspective, could have a positive impact on the lives of Americans. It is truly ironic however that during his time in White House he did very little to use the powers of his office for good.
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