Hayes, Rutherford (Birchard) (1822-1893)

19th president of the USA 1877-81, a Republican. He was a major general on the Union side in the Civil War. During his presidency federal troops were withdrawn from the Southern states (after Reconstruction) and the civil service was reformed.

Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, graduated from Kenyon College in 1842 and Harvard Law School in 1845, and practised law in Cincinnati 1849-61. In 1864 he was elected as a Republican congressman from Ohio, and was governor of that state in 1867, 1869, and 1875.

He was noted for his honesty, and his integrity was viewed by many as a way to overcome the aura of corruption that had surrounded the Ulysses Grant administration. Under Hayes, the political role of federal employees was curtailed.