Rutherford B. Hayes took office after the most contentious election in U.S. history, where the outcome was decided by a political compromise between the two parties that would end Reconstruction in the South. Hayes was dubbed “His Fraudulency” (and worse) by his critics.

Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio. After attending Kenyon College and Harvard Law School, he practiced law in Fremont, Ohio. He enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. After rising to the rank of major general, he learned he had been nominated for Congress. Hayes refused to return home to campaign, writing, “An officer…who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer for a seat in Congress ought to be scalped.” Hayes served in the U.S. House for two years before being elected for two non-consecutive terms as governor of Ohio.

As part of the compromise that brought him to the White House, President Hayes withdrew remaining federal troops from Southern states and ended Reconstruction policies. Without federal protection for African Americans, these actions led to the rise of the segregated Jim Crow South.

Hayes did enact some civil service reforms, sent federal troops to help quell a large railroad strike, and dealt with several disputes between the government and various Indian tribes.

In 1881, Hayes, who had promised to serve only one term, retired to Spiegel Grove, his home in Fremont, Ohio, where he continued to be involved in civic life, especially education. He died in 1893.