Hayes B Rutherford's Accomplishments

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Hayes B. Rutherford was the 19th President of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. He was a Republican, and his presidency is often associated with the end of Reconstruction in the South and the beginning of the Gilded Age. He ran against Democrat candidate Samuel J. Tilden. At first, Rutherford had believed he had lost. It was 4,300,000 for Tilden and 4,036,000 for Rutherford. He was depending on the electoral college voting in certain states. The electoral vote ended up being 185-184 in favor of Rutherford. Hayes advocated for the rights of African Americans in the South. He believed that they deserved the same rights as everyone else. His goal was to restore a "wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government ("Rutherford B. Hayes" par. 12). He wanted to build the Republican Party in the South. …show more content…

He established the Civil Service Commission in 1877, which was tasked with implementing a merit-based system for hiring and promoting government employees. This helped to reduce corruption and improve efficiency in the government. Many of the Republicans in the office thought that this was a terrible idea and would ruin the government. One person named Chester A. Arthur, who ran the New York Customhouse, was removed from office because his order was not being followed adequately. Another man in office was Senator Rosco Conkling. Conckling was also not following Hayes' order. He then replaced Conkling with Theodore Roosevelt Sr. Another significant event during Hayes' presidency was the end of Reconstruction in the South. Hayes withdrew federal troops from the region, effectively ending the military occupation that had been in place since the end of the Civil War. This allowed the South to regain some measure of control over their own affairs, but it also resulted in increased discrimination and violence against African