The Views Of President Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes was a president during a very crucial time in American history. His election for president occurred not long after the civil war, and although some historians view him as an interim president, he was able to have substantial influence. The views of President Hayes were not common at the time; however, his thoughts helped shape the country to become the way it is today. After the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln, there were still Federal troops in the southern states to make sure that the rights of everyone were protected, even though inequality was still an extremely large problem. Hayes believed that everyone deserved, and should have, equal rights and that the color of their skin didn’t matter. Hayes impacted

Hayes was unique because Hayes didn’t win the popular vote, he won by electoral college. This was the first time this happened in the country, and so congress had to choose who would be president. He lobbied with and agreed with the current congress to remove the federal troops from the south, even though that wasn’t his opinion, so that he could become the nineteenth president of the United States of America. “Hayes agreed to recall the federal troops… These troops had been placed in the South to ensure that white Southerners would uphold the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution which had abolished slavery and granted full citizenship rights” (The Nineteenth-Century United States...). Hayes’s use of his legislative powers when making this compromise, shows that he is flexible, but not always willing to stick with what he thinks is right. This agreement was very important. ¨Hayes’s first important measure was to carry out ‘the bargain’ by withdrawing the Federal troops from the south¨ (U.S. History in Context). Because he didn’t stick with what he thought was right, and cared more about conceding his opinion to become president, his removal of the troops meant that he might be likely to do things against his opinions if it meant he got something in return. The way he used his legislative powers when bargaining with congress shows that his skills in negotiation could also help when using his military

Hayes had different opinions than many previous presidents. Hayes wanted to end the “Spoils System”. Past presidents had appointed people that had contributed to their campaign, or were friends with the president. Hayes chose people for his cabinet based on their qualifications, even if he didn’t agree with their opinions. “As president, Hayes sent an important example by appointing candidates who were well qualified for the jobs” (Otfinoski 58). This showed in his choice of David Key as postmaster general even though he was a southerner,at a time the north and the south still didn’t get along. Hayes also removed people who “he believed to be corrupt” to make sure that only qualified people were running the country (Otfinoski 60). The removal of people that Hayes didn’t see fit for the jobs helped make sure that the people in charge were people that were qualified and capable to effectively do their jobs. The way he used his executive powers to choose the people he thought were best fit for the jobs shows how he truly cared about the people that were in charge of making important decisions, and that their contributions to his campaigns were not important to him when it came to federal positions. Additionally, Hayes wanted to make sure that other important people in the country couldn’t choose people based on campaign