Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1877-1881)
3
Rutherford B. Hayes was put in office by one of the most controversial election's in history. It is now well-documented that his political party, the Republicans, not he himself, struck a deal with the Democrats in which the Democrats agreed to let Hayes have the Presidency in exchange for the withdraw of all federal troops from the South. Two days before inauguration day, Hayes officially won the election with 185 electoral votes to his opponent's 184. However, never before had a man entered office so scorned and disliked, and left so well-respected. He restored dignity and integrity to the office of the Presidency after it had been tarnished during the Johnson-Grant Years. [1. Crisis Leadership *** out of ***** Stars] Less than two months after assuming office, Hayes ordered the first troops to withdraw from the South. This policy, while calming the nation's troubled waters, allowed the white supremacist party to rise again and continue to suppress the rights of African Americans for the next century. Hayes withdrawal also led to the rise of terrorist groups such as the KKK. However, while doing this, he systematically blocked in all ways available to him attempts to nullify the 15th Amendment, which granted African Americans the right to vote. Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers at the border had their hands full. Mexican nationals continued to conduct raids on American soil. Such raids had led to the deaths of several Americans. In a quick and decisive move, Hayes sent federal troops to the Texas border and ordered the pursuit of the raiders, even ordering them to travel across the Meican border if necessary. Mexico, fearful of a war, initiated an agreement which seemingly put an end to the raids. [2. Diplomatic Relations: **** out of ***** Stars] The President vetoed bills which would have put an end to Chinese Immigration, instead signing an agreement with the Chinese in which they agreed to make every effort to reduce the number of immigrants fleeing to the United States. However, Rutherford B. Hayes's greatest contribution to the country in foreign affairs was his active desire to construct a canal in Central America. Interests to build such a canal had been brewing for decades, and Hayes feared that if the United States did not endorse its construction, some other nation would have. In 1850, an agreement had been signed with Britain which called for joint ownership of such a canal. This would have to be renegotiated. Meanwhile, Hayes worked to block the French from constructing the canal. He even fired the Secretary of the Navy who had helped the French devise plans to build the canal in exchange for $25,000. Due to Hayes's boldness, the French soon abandoned the plan. The eventual construction of the Panama Canal in the early 1900s can be traced back to the efforts of President Hayes. [3. Economic Management: **** out of ***** Stars] During the Civil War, the national debt had increased by 4000%. The economy was in shambles. An unexpected result of the federal withdraw from the south was an improved economy, as the depression which had plagued the pre-Civil War era was partly due to lack of southern production. The "greenbacks" paper dollars which had been issued during the Civil War practically lost their value. The problem of maintaining a stable currency had plagued American since the Revolution. Several economic downturns had been fueled by printed money losing its value. The Hayes Administration moved quickly to greatly increase the government's gold supply, while issuing millions of dollars minted in the form of silver coins per month. This kept inflation down. Partly due to these measures, the economy began to recover, and the greenback dollars issued during the Civil War began to regain their value. [4. Vision For The Country: *** out of ***** Stars] Hayes ironically had been a longtime advocate of Civil Service Reform, and he began to shift that into gear upon assuming office. However, much of his Civil Service Reform Laws were rejected by a Congress which was more corrupt than ever before. Nonetheless, Hayes's actions on the matter were popular with the average citizen and began the process towards true Civil Service Reform by succeeding Presidents. Hayes did however, manage to reform the Indian Bureau, the department in the government responsible for policies toward Native Americans. Compare to other administrations, Hayes made a real effort to improve their lot, setting tought standards for the Bureau and closely reviewing their actions. However, the Hayes Era nonetheless marked another dark era for Native Americans with the forcible removal of tribes from their lands resulting in epic hardships. As I mentioned earlier, Hayes's vision of constructing the Panama Canal led to its eventual completion in the 1900s. [5. Morality/Popularity: *** out of ***** Stars] Despite the method in which he won the popularity, the improving economy and his battle against the seriously corrupt Congress gained him much popularity throughout his term in office, and he would have easily been re-elected had he chose to run again. He was a man of integrity, and having pledged not to seek re-election when he first won in 1876, was able to make decisions on his own merit without having to worry about what his Party thought of him. [Final Score: 3.4 - *** out of *****] In the final analysis, Rutherford B. Hayes restored a great amount of dignity and honor to the Office of the Presidency and left the country in ultamately better shape than he found it economically and politically. His mistakes with Reconstruction did have severe negative effects on America for the following decades. However, his boldness and dedication sent a strong messege to Mexico and European Nations such as France, and set America on the course to becoming a world power.
