Rutherford B. Hayes: Middle-of-the-Road
2023-07-09
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1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents.
2Today we are talking about Rutherford B. Hayes.
3He took office in 1877 and was president during the end of what Americans call Reconstruction - the period following the Civil War.
4Hayes had a public image as an honest, dignified man.
5And even though he had ideas that were radical at the time, he supported moderate policies and measured change.
6One exception was alcoholic drinks.
7Hayes banned wine and liquor from the White House.
8Before Rutherford Hayes was born, his father died.
9Not too long after that, his older brother died, too.
10As a result, Hayes grew up mostly with just his mother and his older sister.
11Later, an uncle helped raise him, as well.
12As a boy, Rutherford Hayes was called "Rud."
13He grew up on a farm in Ohio and spent his early years playing with his sister, who taught him to love books.
14Hayes was an excellent student, and in time he attended Kenyon College and Harvard Law School.
15Hayes started his career as a lawyer in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio.
16He did not go into a field that made much money.
17Instead, he defended people who were poor or in difficult situations.
18He also courted the woman he would marry.
19Lucy Webb - like Hayes' mother and sister - strongly influenced the way Hayes thought.
20Hayes' own views at the time were moderate.
21He drank alcohol, but not much.
22He opposed slavery, but he was not an anti-slavery activist.
23His new wife, however, was strongly against alcohol and slavery.
24She was part of social movements at the time to ban alcoholic drinks entirely in the United States.
25And she encouraged Hayes to defend not only the poor in his law business, but also runaway slaves.
26Together, Rutherford and Lucy Hayes formed an equal marriage committed to helping others.
27They were known for being friendly, informal and welcoming.
28They also went on to have eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood.
29Lucy Webb Hayes said her husband was "always calm" as a father, and took time even when he was president to care for his children.
30Because Hayes had such a positive public image, it is ironic that the contest that elected him president was one of the most hostile in U.S. history.
31The full story is complex.
32But the general story is that Hayes was the Republican candidate, and Samuel Tilden was the Democratic candidate.
33Tilden won more popular votes across the country.
34But in the U.S. system, the majority of voters do not choose the president.
35Instead, a few electors in each state cast votes.
36In a way, then, the states choose the president.
37And in the election of 1876, three Southern states gave conflicting reports.
38It was not clear whether Tilden or Hayes had won South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana.
39Even though the election was held in November, the debate over the winner lasted until the following March - days before the new president was to be sworn in.
40One of the most serious accusations was that Democrats in the South had prevented many black men from voting.
41If those men had been able to vote, they almost certainly would have voted for Hayes.
42In the end, a special commission in Congress gave the votes in all three disputed states to Rutherford Hayes.
43His opponents pointed out that the majority of people on the commission were Republicans.
44As a result, they said, the new president had earned his position only because of party politics.
45They called him "Rutherfraud" and "His Fraudulancy."
46But, in the end, Hayes was widely considered an independent president who operated outside of party loyalties.
47One of Hayes' first acts as president was probably his most important: He withdrew federal troops from Southern states.
48The troops had been trying to protect the civil and political rights of African-Americans .
49But white Democrats disliked the federal government's involvement in their affairs.
50Also, the troops were not very effective.
51So Hayes said that if Southern officials promised to obey the country's laws protecting all people equally, he would end the federal government's occupation of their states.
52The officials agreed, and the period known as Reconstruction officially ended.
53But, as the years went on, the rights of black Americans were increasingly violated.
54As a result, part of Hayes' legacy is one of betrayal.
55His policy permitted systemic violence and racism to continue for decades.
56Another of Hayes' important acts was to reform the country's civil service.
57For the most part, members of Congress offered their political allies government jobs with good pay.
58But Hayes sought to change the rules.
59He wanted to give government jobs to the most able workers.
60While his goal was a good one, his action shocked and angered many members of Congress.
61The Democrats especially sought to weaken Hayes' position by removing the president's ability to veto their bills.
62Hayes fought back - and won.
63By the second half of his term, Hayes had restored some of Americans' trust in government that had been lost under the two presidents before him, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant.
64He had helped ease the tensions between the North and South.
65He had stabilized the economy.
66He had increased the power of the presidency in a mostly positive way.
67And he had prepared the way for major civil service reform.
68But Hayes is not remembered as an especially great president.
69He is often placed toward the middle - not one of the best, and not one of the worst.
70Some historians suggest that Hayes would be better remembered if he had stayed a second term and supervised some of the gains begun in his first years.
71But, Hayes had promised that he would serve only one term as president.
72So, true to his word, Hayes did not seek re-election.
73Hayes had always believed that the best way to solve the country's problems was to improve the education system.
74So, in his retirement, Hayes became president of two social welfare organizations.
75One aimed to provide a Christian education to blacks in the South.
76One of the people helped by that organization was the well-known writer and activist W.E.B. DuBois.
77Hayes also led a group aimed at reforming the country's prison system.
78When he was 70 years old, Hayes fell ill.
79Although he had a big heart for children and for helping people, he died of heart failure.
80Afterwards, one of his sons began a new tradition in honor of his father.
81He established the first presidential library.
82I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.
1VOA Learning English presents America's Presidents. 2Today we are talking about Rutherford B. Hayes. He took office in 1877 and was president during the end of what Americans call Reconstruction - the period following the Civil War. 3Hayes had a public image as an honest, dignified man. And even though he had ideas that were radical at the time, he supported moderate policies and measured change. 4One exception was alcoholic drinks. Hayes banned wine and liquor from the White House. 5Early life 6Before Rutherford Hayes was born, his father died. Not too long after that, his older brother died, too. 7As a result, Hayes grew up mostly with just his mother and his older sister. Later, an uncle helped raise him, as well. 8As a boy, Rutherford Hayes was called "Rud." He grew up on a farm in Ohio and spent his early years playing with his sister, who taught him to love books. 9Hayes was an excellent student, and in time he attended Kenyon College and Harvard Law School. 10Hayes started his career as a lawyer in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. He did not go into a field that made much money. Instead, he defended people who were poor or in difficult situations. 11He also courted the woman he would marry. Lucy Webb - like Hayes' mother and sister - strongly influenced the way Hayes thought. 12Hayes' own views at the time were moderate. He drank alcohol, but not much. He opposed slavery, but he was not an anti-slavery activist. 13His new wife, however, was strongly against alcohol and slavery. She was part of social movements at the time to ban alcoholic drinks entirely in the United States. 14And she encouraged Hayes to defend not only the poor in his law business, but also runaway slaves. 15Together, Rutherford and Lucy Hayes formed an equal marriage committed to helping others. They were known for being friendly, informal and welcoming. 16They also went on to have eight children, five of whom survived to adulthood. Lucy Webb Hayes said her husband was "always calm" as a father, and took time even when he was president to care for his children. 17Election of 1876 18Because Hayes had such a positive public image, it is ironic that the contest that elected him president was one of the most hostile in U.S. history. 19The full story is complex. But the general story is that Hayes was the Republican candidate, and Samuel Tilden was the Democratic candidate. 20Tilden won more popular votes across the country. But in the U.S. system, the majority of voters do not choose the president. Instead, a few electors in each state cast votes. In a way, then, the states choose the president. 21And in the election of 1876, three Southern states gave conflicting reports. It was not clear whether Tilden or Hayes had won South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. 22Even though the election was held in November, the debate over the winner lasted until the following March - days before the new president was to be sworn in. 23One of the most serious accusations was that Democrats in the South had prevented many black men from voting. If those men had been able to vote, they almost certainly would have voted for Hayes. 24In the end, a special commission in Congress gave the votes in all three disputed states to Rutherford Hayes. 25His opponents pointed out that the majority of people on the commission were Republicans. As a result, they said, the new president had earned his position only because of party politics. They called him "Rutherfraud" and "His Fraudulancy." 26But, in the end, Hayes was widely considered an independent president who operated outside of party loyalties. 27Presidency 28One of Hayes' first acts as president was probably his most important: He withdrew federal troops from Southern states. 29The troops had been trying to protect the civil and political rights of African-Americans . But white Democrats disliked the federal government's involvement in their affairs. Also, the troops were not very effective. 30So Hayes said that if Southern officials promised to obey the country's laws protecting all people equally, he would end the federal government's occupation of their states. 31The officials agreed, and the period known as Reconstruction officially ended. 32But, as the years went on, the rights of black Americans were increasingly violated. 33As a result, part of Hayes' legacy is one of betrayal. His policy permitted systemic violence and racism to continue for decades. 34Another of Hayes' important acts was to reform the country's civil service. For the most part, members of Congress offered their political allies government jobs with good pay. But Hayes sought to change the rules. He wanted to give government jobs to the most able workers. 35While his goal was a good one, his action shocked and angered many members of Congress. 36The Democrats especially sought to weaken Hayes' position by removing the president's ability to veto their bills. Hayes fought back - and won. 37By the second half of his term, Hayes had restored some of Americans' trust in government that had been lost under the two presidents before him, Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant. 38He had helped ease the tensions between the North and South. 39He had stabilized the economy. 40He had increased the power of the presidency in a mostly positive way. 41And he had prepared the way for major civil service reform. 42But Hayes is not remembered as an especially great president. He is often placed toward the middle - not one of the best, and not one of the worst. 43Some historians suggest that Hayes would be better remembered if he had stayed a second term and supervised some of the gains begun in his first years. 44But, Hayes had promised that he would serve only one term as president. 45So, true to his word, Hayes did not seek re-election. 46Final years 47Hayes had always believed that the best way to solve the country's problems was to improve the education system. 48So, in his retirement, Hayes became president of two social welfare organizations. One aimed to provide a Christian education to blacks in the South. One of the people helped by that organization was the well-known writer and activist W.E.B. DuBois. 49Hayes also led a group aimed at reforming the country's prison system. 50When he was 70 years old, Hayes fell ill. Although he had a big heart for children and for helping people, he died of heart failure. 51Afterwards, one of his sons began a new tradition in honor of his father. He established the first presidential library. 52I'm Kelly Jean Kelly. 53Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 54______________________________________________________________ 55______________________________________________________________ 56Words in This Story 57dignified - adj. serious and somewhat formal 58court - v. to act in a way that shows that you want or intend to get married 59encourage - v. to make someone more determined, hopeful, or confident 60committed - v. willing to give time and energy to something 61informal - adj. having a friendly and relaxed quality 62positive - adj. good or useful 63ironic - adj. strange or funny because a situation is different from what you expected 64contest - n. a struggle or effort to win or get something 65decade - n. a period of 10 years 66stabilize - v. to stop getting worse