Rutherford B. Hayes: His Fraudulency (1877 - 1881)

Summary

Rutherford B. Hayes’s presidency (1877–1881) was shaped by the disputed election that brought him to office and his decision to end federal military involvement in the South.

Background

After serving as a Union general in the Civil War, Hayes served in Congress and was elected governor of Ohio three times.

Disputed election of 1876

Hayes lost the popular vote to Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, but a congressional commission awarded Hayes 20 contested electoral votes, giving him the presidency. The settlement involved Democrats accepting Hayes’s election in return for the removal of federal troops from the South.

Critics called it the “Corrupt Bargain,” and Hayes was derided as “Rutherfraud” and “His Fraudulency.”

End of Reconstruction

Although Hayes had supported Republican Reconstruction policies, he withdrew federal troops and restored “home rule” in the South. The video notes that continuing Reconstruction would have been difficult: Democrats controlled the House and would not fund the troops, while Republican support for the military presence was fading.

Only two states remained under military occupation, and there were too few troops to enforce voting-rights laws, weakening those protections.

Consequences for African-Americans

The end of Reconstruction reversed many gains made by African-Americans after the Civil War. The video links it to the rise of Jim Crow laws and the prolonged disenfranchisement and subjugation of Southern Black people.

Other legacy and overall assessment

Hayes pursued civil-service reform, helping set the stage for further reforms in later decades. He also sought to reconcile the country after the Civil War and did not run for reelection, honoring his promise to serve only one term.

The narrator credits Hayes with checking the decline of executive power after Lincoln’s death and supporting civil-service reform, but judges the end of Reconstruction a severe failure. Hayes is generally ranked in the bottom half of U.S. presidents.

Speakers and sources

• Professor Dave — narrator and presenter.
• No other speakers are heard in the subtitles.