Rutherford B. Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893)
was an American politician, lawyer, military leader and the
nineteenth President of the United States (1877–1881). Hayes was
elected President by one electoral vote after the highly disputed
election of 1876.
Born in Ohio in 1822, Hayes was educated at Kenyon College and
Harvard Law School. After five years of law practice in Lower
Sandusky, he moved to Cincinnati, where he flourished as a young
Whig lawyer.
He fought in the Civil War, was wounded in action, and rose to
the rank of brevet major general. While he was still in the Army,
Cincinnati Republicans ran him for the House of Representatives. He
accepted the nomination, but would not campaign, explaining, "an
officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to
electioneer... ought to be scalped."
Elected by a heavy majority, Hayes entered Congress in December
1865, troubled by the "Rebel influences ... ruling the White
House." Between 1867 and 1876 he served three terms as Governor of
Ohio.
Safe liberalism, party loyalty, and a good war record made Hayes
an acceptable Republican candidate in 1876. He opposed Governor
Samuel J. Tilden of New York.
Although a galaxy of famous Republican speakers, and even Mark
Twain, stumped for Hayes, he expected the Democrats to win. When
the first returns seemed to confirm this, Hayes went to bed,
believing he had lost. But in New York, Republican National
Chairman Zachariah Chandler, aware of a loophole, wired leaders to
stand firm: "Hayes has 185 votes and is elected." The popular vote
apparently was 4,300,000 for Tilden to 4,036,000 for Hayes. Hayes's
election depended upon contested electoral votes in Louisiana,
South Carolina, and Florida. If all the disputed electoral votes
went to Hayes, he would win; a single one would elect Tilden.
Months of uncertainty followed. In January 1877 Congress
established an Electoral Commission to decide the dispute. The
commission, made up of eight Republicans and seven Democrats,
determined all the contests in favor of Hayes by eight to seven.
The final electoral vote: 185 to 184.
Northern Republicans had been promising southern Democrats at
least one Cabinet post, Federal patronage, subsidies for internal
improvements, and withdrawal of troops from Louisiana and South
Carolina.
Hayes insisted that his appointments must be made on merit, not
political considerations. For his Cabinet he chose men of high
caliber, but outraged many Republicans because one member was an
ex-Confederate and another had bolted the party as a Liberal
Republican in 1872.
Hayes pledged protection of the rights of Negroes in the South,
but at the same time advocated the restoration of "wise, honest,
and peaceful local self-government." This meant the withdrawal of
troops. Hayes hoped such conciliatory policies would lead to the
building of a "new Republican party" in the South, to which white
businessmen and conservatives would rally.
Many of the leaders of the new South did indeed favor Republican
economic policies and approved of Hayes's financial conservatism,
but they faced annihilation at the polls if they were to join the
party of Reconstruction. Hayes and his Republican successors were
persistent in their efforts but could not win over the "solid
South."
Hayes had announced in advance that he would serve only one
term, and retired to Spiegel Grove, his home in Fremont, Ohio, in
1881. He died in 1893.
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The Cache
Although Easter Egg Rolls had been popular among Washington
families since the time of Lincoln, it was President Rutherford B.
Hayes who officially opened the White House grounds to local
children for egg rolling on Easter Monday in 1878. Successive
Presidents have continued the tradition of inviting children to the
South Lawn for egg rolling and other activities and
entertainment.
This cache, a camo'd medicine bottle, is hidden in a place where
you can find eggs all year round, not just on Easter.
This cache placed by a
Member
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