Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president. He was a Republican from Ohio and served from 1877 to 1881, right after Grant. In the Civil War he had been a Union general and was wounded more than once. His vice president was William A. Wheeler of New York. Hayes liked to say that a person serves his party best who serves his country best — country first, party second.

The election of 1876 was between Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden. It was so close the country argued for months. Tilden won the popular vote — more people’s votes. Electoral votes from some states were fought over. A special commission awarded them to Hayes, 185 to 184. Textbooks still mention this race because a disputed count ended with a political deal, not a simple landslide.

That bargain was the Compromise of 1877: Hayes took office, and remaining federal troops left the South. Reconstruction — the postwar effort to rebuild the Union and enforce new rules in the South, including a federal troop presence — ended. Hayes promised to serve only one term, four years, and he kept that promise. In 1881 he went home to Ohio on schedule. He also backed civil-service reform: hire people for skill, not just as a prize for campaign friends.