Rutherford B. Hayes

D

1

Disputed Vote

When the election returns came in, Tilden had won the popular vote by a small margin of about 250,000 out of a total vote of 8,320,000. However, both candidates claimed victory in the electoral vote. The confusion arose from the chaotic political situation in the postwar South. In South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida, claimed by Tilden, the election officials were Republicans who would not accredit the Democratic electors. They gave Hayes their electoral votes. This made the electoral count a tie, with 184 each to Tilden and Hayes. Furthermore, one of Oregon's three electoral votes was claimed by both parties.

E

Electoral Commission

To settle the dispute, the Electoral Commission of 1877 was appointed, consisting of five U.S. senators, five U.S. representatives, and five U.S. Supreme Court justices. Seven of these men were Democrats, and seven were Republicans. The 15th member was expected to be Justice David Davis, who had no clear party affiliation. Before the commission voted, however, Davis resigned from the Court to become senator from Illinois. A Republican justice filled his place, giving the Republicans a majority on the commission. It awarded all the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, who was declared elected by 185 to Tilden's 184.

It is thought that the Southern Democrats and the Hayes supporters reached a friendly agreement, called the Compromise of 1877, even before the commission voted. According to this theory, Hayes, if elected, was to withdraw troops from South Carolina and Louisiana, put through appropriations to rebuild the war-torn South, and name a Southerner to the Cabinet.

IV

President of the United States

Hayes did not try to be a president of heroic stature. It was foreign to his nature and to his concept of his role. Steadiness was what the nation wanted of its president after the Civil War and Reconstruction. The new president was above all a steady, moderate man.

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Two of President Hayes's earliest acts seem to substantiate the existence of a previous agreement with the Southern Democrats. He named David M. Key of Tennessee, a Democrat and Confederate veteran, as postmaster general. He also ordered the withdrawal of federal troops from South Carolina and Louisiana. By the end of April this had been done.

A

Withdrawal of Troops

Hayes's removal of the remaining army units from South Carolina and Louisiana marked the end of a decade of political and military reconstruction. The dominance of the Republicans in the South collapsed when the last blue-clad soldiers left. The Democratic Party quickly asserted itself as the so-called Solid South.

The Solid South consisted of Democratic members of Congress from the Southern states who usually voted as a bloc in Congress on matters related to Southern interests. They favored states' rights over federal power and generally opposed change that would diminish the power of white landholders. The bloc was kept in office by the Southern electorate, which voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Party in election after election for many years. Any Democratic presidential candidate could count on carrying the Southern states. The Solid South remained important in United States politics until the mid-20th century, although it grew more out of step with Northern Democrats as they leaned toward the interests of labor and minorities.

B

Civil Service Reform

Hayes at once made it plain to his party that he meant to do away with the spoils system, whereby civil service (federal) jobs were awarded as payment for political favors. Henceforth such jobs were to be given for merit. Hayes had the support of Secretary of War George W. McCrary and Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz, both staunch advocates of civil service reform. Since Hayes did not mean to seek a second term, he was able to proceed without fear of alienating influential Republicans, many of whom opposed his reforms.

In June 1877 the president by executive order directed federal workers not to take part in the management of political parties and campaigns and forbade parties to demand political contributions from them. The directive brought an outcry from Republicans who, under President Grant, had acted in this manner.

An investigation ordered by Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman uncovered a civil service scandal in the New York Custom House. Many of its employees were ignoring their jobs and working instead at Republican Party politics. Among those involved in the scandal were Chester A. Arthur, later president of the United States, and Alonzo B. Cornell, later governor of New York. After a struggle with Congress, Hayes was able to remove Arthur and Cornell from office.

Hayes also sponsored a bill in Congress for broad civil service reform, which Schurz helped to write. The bill was defeated in Congress, but Hayes's efforts made the public aware of the need for reform. Thus the way was paved for such future reforms as the reestablishment of the Civil Service Commission in 1883.