Several of our U.S. presidents have called Ohio their home, including President Rutherford B. Hayes. We'll explore his journey from lawyer, to Major General, to becoming the 19th president of the United States.
Class Discussion Questions:
1) Rutherford B. Hayes lost the popular vote but won the Electoral College. What is the Electoral College?
2) Compare and contrast the Electoral College and the popular vote using a Venn diagram.
Read the Script:
Ah, I'm feeling presidential today, probably because of all the reading I just wrapped up about one of our state's many presidents. We've been home to more U.S. presidents than any other state, and one of them is Rutherford B. Hayes.
There aren't a lot of people named Rutherford these days, but back in 1822, when he was born, the name was much more common. He was the 19th president of the United States, and the third U.S. president from Ohio. His father died two months before he was born, so he never met his father, but he was very close with his sister Fanny, who was really smart.
Fanny encouraged her brother Rutherford to achieve all the things she could not do because she was a woman. So Rutherford worked really hard, and graduated at the top of his class from Kenyon College, in Gambier. He then went to Harvard law school to become a lawyer, and came back to Ohio to practice law in Cincinnati. That's where he married his wife Lucy. Here they are on their wedding day.
Lucy, like Hayes' sister Fanny, was a very intelligent woman. In fact, she was the first wife of a president to graduate from college, and she was very against slavery. Lucy influenced her husband to strengthen his anti-slavery beliefs. She also did not believe in drinking alcohol, and during his presidency, Rutherford never served any alcohol in the White House.
When the Civil War broke out, even though he had no military experience and was nearly 40 years old, Rutherford B. Hayes decided to join the fight, because he said he would rather die in conflict than live having done nothing for the Union. He fought hard in the war, and rose to the rank of Major General.
After the Civil War, Hayes turned from being a lawyer to a politician. He was elected to the U.S. House Of Representatives, and then served three terms as the governor of Ohio. He ran for president in 1876, and the race was so close, that on election night, he went to bed thinking he had lost. It turned out that even though he had just barely lost the popular vote, ultimately, he did get enough electoral votes to win the election. It was an extremely contested outcome, with accusations of voter fraud on both sides.
Rutherford B. Hayes said that he only wanted to serve one term as president, which is what he did. He is known for his effort to restore a good relationship between the North and the South after the Civil War. Unfortunately, not all of his ideas worked out as well as he had hoped, and it would take many years for the North and South to heal the divisions created by the Civil War. Nevertheless, Rutherford B. Hayes is also known for being honest and fair.
After his presidency, he retired to his beloved home in Fremont, Ohio, but he kept working for causes that he cared about, such as helping veterans, improving conditions in prisons, and promoting education.
Learn a little more...with a link!
Museum Website/Presidential Library: Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library and Museums at Spiegel Grove | Take a virtual visit to this presidential library located in Fremont, Ohio.