The Presidency of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison

President Rutherford B. Hayes former governor of Ohio was the 1876 presidential nominated for the Republican Party and he was chosen over the more dynamic Speaker of the House of Representative, James G. Blaine. Corruption in politics was widespread. Hayes was elected by a narrow margin of 185 electoral votes to 184 in a disputed election over the Democratic nominee Samuel Tilden, even though Tilden won the popular vote. The election was so contentious that some Democrats threatened to march on Washington and force the inauguration of Tilden; others wanted a filibuster to prevent the recording of the electoral vote and leave the country on March 4 with no president. The votes were recorded on March 02, 1877 after the 1877 Compromise.

Rutherford B. Hayes was a graduate of Harvard Law School; he practiced law in Connecticut and was a member of the Union Army. He was wounded at South Mountain on the eve of Antietam and was a part of the Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1864. His reputation of honesty and moderation was refreshing during an era of political corruption. He was conflicted with a sunny outer disposition as he struggled with a disastrous nervousness inner disposition. His inability to take action on some key issues sent mixed signals; he was considered a lackluster president who did not effectively used his executive power. He complained about the South’s failure to treat Blacks decently however he did not take action. He worked hard for civil service reform but failed to achieve complete and rapid change he promised. His limited accomplishment included the approval for the resumption of gold in 1879. He was contented to making the requests but not following through with action. He was the nineteen president of the United ...

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...riff to an all time high and passed the Sherman Antitrust Act. Harrison had little to do with these measures. He was served one term as president from 1889 to 1893 he was defeated by Glover Cleveland by more than 350,000 votes.

Blacks in the South were overlooked during the Presidency of Hayes, Garfield, Arthur, Cleveland, and Harrison. President Hayes wrote in his diary that blacks were deprived of their suffrage rights to vote but he did nothing about it. Garfield was just as passive when he stated, “Time is the only cure” he too did nothing about it. Arthur gave patronage to anti-black groups in an effort to split the Democratic South. Cleveland explained that “separate schools were much more benefits for colored people.” They subscribed to hypocritical statements about equality and constitutional rights but did nothing to make policy changes to implement them.