Rutherford Birchard Hayes
At a Glance
Term: 19th President of the United States (1877-1881)
Born: October 4, 1822, Delaware, Ohio
Nickname: "Dark-Horse President"
Education: Kenyon College (graduated 1842), Harvard Law School (graduated 1845)
Religion: Methodist
Marriage: December 30, 1852, to Lucy Ware Webb (1831-1889)
Children: Birchard Austin (1853-1926), James Webb Cook (1856-1934), Rutherford Platt (1858-1927), Joseph Thompson (1861-1863), George Crook (1864-1866), Fanny (1867-1950), Scott Russell (1871-1923), Manning Force (1873-1874)
Career: Lawyer
Political Party: Republican
Writings: Diary and Letters (5 vols., 1922-26), ed. by Charles R. Williams
Died: January 17, 1893, Fremont, Ohio
Buried: Spiegel Grove State Park, Fremont, Ohio
A Life in Brief: The policies of Rutherford B. Hayes, America’s nineteenth President, began to heal the nation after the ravages of the Civil War. He was well suited to the task, having earned a steadfast reputation for integrity throughout his career as a soldier and a statesman. Upstanding, moral, and honest, Hayes was elected after the most lengthy, bitterly disputed, and corrupt presidential election in history. More....
Essays on Rutherford Birchard Hayes and His Administration
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Rutherford Birchard Hayes
A Life in Brief • Life Before the Presidency • Campaigns and Elections • Domestic Affairs • Foreign Affairs • Life After the Presidency • Family Life • The American Franchise • Impact and Legacy • Key Events |
| First Lady Lucy Hayes |
| Vice President William A. Wheeler (1877 - 1881) |
| Secretary of State William M. Evarts (1877 - 1881) |
| Secretary of War George W. McCrary (1877 - 1879) • Alexander Ramsey (1879 - 1881) |
| Postmaster General David M. Key (1877 - 1880) • Horace Maynard (1880 - 1881) |
| Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman (1877 - 1881) |
| Attorney General Charles Devens (1877 - 1881) |
| Secretary of the Navy Richard W. Thompson (1877 - 1880) • Nathan Goff Jr. (1881 - 1881) |
| Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz (1877 - 1881) |
Consulting Editor: Ari Hoogenboom
Professor Hoogenboom is a professor emeritus of history at Brooklyn College, The City University of New York (CUNY). His writings include:
Rutherford B. Hayes: "One of the Good Colonels" (McWhiney Foundation Press, 1999)
Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior and President (University Press of Kansas, 1995)
The Presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes (part of the American Presidency Series, University Press of Kansas, 1988)
Outlawing the Spoils: A History of the Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865-1883 (University of Illinois Press, 1961)
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center's Rutherford Birchard Hayes speech collection. To view the Miller Center's other speeches by Rutherford Birchard Hayes or by another President, please click the link below.
Miller Center Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on Rutherford Birchard Hayes.
Listen to Ari Hoogenboom’s 1995 presentation at the Miller Center on Rutherford B. Hayes.
Click here to learn more about the Center’s National Commission on Federal Election Reform and its relationship to Hayes.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center's Scripps Library that are designed to help students and scholars quickly conduct their research.
Information on Rutherford Birchard Hayes's Private and Public Papers