Rutherford B. Hayes and His America

by Harry Barnard

Book by Harry Barnard

Genres: Presidents, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir, Politics, American History

606 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1994

Reviews

[Aaron Million · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books about Rutherford Hayes are few and far between. After reading one of them, I can understand why. If anyone does think of Hayes, it is for one thing: the disputed election of 1876 that resulted in Hayes being declared the winner in a partisan manner with only two days to spare before a true constitutional crisis occurred.

Written in the 1950s, Harry Barnard does a good job with what he had to work with. Hayes seemed to be quite milquetoast. He came across as bland to the point of boredom for most of the book. If one personality trait characterized him, it was ambivalence. He seemed unruffled by most anyone or anything that he encountered, and was not especially ambitious. He aimed always to strike some sort of compromise, a middle ground. While he was anti-slavery, for most of his younger years, he was not an abolitionist and in fact disliked those who were. Rising to the rank of major general by the end of the Civil War, he was quite accommodating to the South.

The book is easy to digest: Barnard writes in short chapters, with many breaks contained within each chapter. He also structures the book chronologically throughout, unlike many presidential biographies that switch to a topical format once the person enters the office. I prefer Barnard's avenue here as it provides a more realistic view of how Hayes faced his time as President. Barnard does spend an awfully long time though on Hayes' ancestors in Vermont, and then Ohio, and Hayes' childhood and youth. While I do appreciate this (many biographies, especially older ones, have a tendency to skip through these formative years), Barnard introduced so many distant relatives, and generations of relatives, that they all blended together and became too many to keep straight. This could have been cut down on without losing much of anything of Hayes' story.

The biggest section of the book, and the defining event of Hayes' life, is the election of 1876. This was an absolute mess. Unlike 2020, when there was no fraud despite one side repeatedly and falsely claiming to the contrary, there was a ton of it in 1876 - on all sides. Except for Hayes himself, pretty much everyone's hands were dirty to some extent. The electoral count was disputed in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. And if that was not enough, there was also a dispute over an elector in Oregon. Being that Hayes and the Democratic nominee Samuel Tilden were tied in the electoral college, even the one vote in Oregon would have made the difference had it went to Tilden. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats covered themselves in glory here. More like the opposite, with horse-trading, backroom dealing, broken promises, and eventually a partisan commission voting strictly along partisan lines to install Hayes as President. Who really won? Who knows? My guess is that, had blacks been allowed to vote in those southern states, Hayes probably would have won outright. But that is something that we will never know for sure.

Outside of that, Hayes had a one-term presidency (he declared when he was nominated that he would only serve one term) that was fairly hum-drum. Not much was going on. No wars. No huge foreign policy issues to solve. Hayes largely placated the South in an attempt to keep that section of the country and the Democratic Party happy by basically ending Reconstruction for the most part (in this he met with mixed success: he had more problems within his own party than he did from the Democrats, but the South hardly felt appeased). He had strained relations with his own party, and did not seem to relish much about being President. For most of his life, he struggled to make decisions, and seemed indecisive on many things (marriage, running for Governor of Ohio, running for Congress). He made no attempt to run for re-election, and happily left office when his term ended. On page 407 Barnard, refers to his presidency as one of a "caretaker".

Despite focusing so much early on about Hayes' personal life, later on that side pretty much disappears. I would have liked Barnard to have put some more of that aspect into the presidential years (he picked it back up after Hayes retired). Also, we always seem detached from Hayes. For instance, when his successor James Garfield is assassinated only a few months into office, there is no mention of what Hayes felt or thought about this tragedy, only that he attended Garfield's funeral. Overall Hayes just is not a particularly interesting character, and was not in office during a critical time, so any biographer of him is going to be somewhat limited by those things. Despite that, this is not a bad book to read, and Barnard tries to stay fairly neutral throughout.

Grade: B-

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was nervous about how the end of this book was looking: After the first 150 pages delved extensively into President Hayes's heritage, with less than 50 pages left I was still reading about his presidency--and he lived another 12 years after leaving office. But Barnard tied it up nicely, despite brief description of a post-presidency that kept Hayes busy in service to the people right up to the end. In doing so, Barnard circled back from Hayes as a lonely child to a lonely old man, being all but forgotten even while he was alive. But the man who is credited with officially ending Reconstruction had a lot more to be proud of, and the country would do well to remember him. Barnard masterfully presented the chaos before, during, and after the 1876 election, an event that still haunts America today.

[Brad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only president to be wounded in civil war
Helped found Ohio State University
First president to visit the West Coast
Oversaw building of Washington Monument
Championed equal rights for blacks and education for the poor
“Hayes point—that it was difficult for a demagogue to manipulate an educated electorate—was well taken. Demagogues routinely exploited poor southern whites by plaing the race card when there were issues in which poor blacks and poor whites shared common interests.”
He tried to enforce the 14th and 15th amendments but congress didn’t want to provide military support or monetary support for education to the souths
Served on two major educational boards
Mentored McKinley
Served 3 terms as governor of Ohio
Lost popular vote but won electoral vote
Championed civil service reform
Overlooked bc only served one term – by his own doing
Died in 1893 on trip to give a speech
First president to have a telephone and a typewriter in white house

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the greatest contribution to the presidency Rutherford B. Hayes made to the presidency was
simple honesty. Considering how he got there anything less might have been as damaging to the
presidency as we see what is happening to it as I write this review.

Hayes was born in 1822 in Ohio to a man who had died weeks before he was born. He was raised by
his mother and her brother who took charge. Hayes went to Kenyon College and then on to Harvard
Law School. He was the first president to graduate from a law school.

Hayes settled in Cincinnati to practice, but always maintained a residence in Fremont, Ohio on the Lake Erie shore his whole life. It was there he was from and there he felt his roots. Hayes married
a most proper churchgoing Methodist named Lucy Webb and had a lot of kids, all boys with one
exception. He was glad by the way that none of them sought a political career.

His practice was mostly criminal law and under that came defense of fugitive slaves. He was elected City Solicitor of Cincinnati for one term and then the Civil War came with Hayes enlisting
in the Ohio Volunteers and getting a commission.

Hayes saw action pretty much the whole war. One of those in his regiment was a kid who rose to
the rank of major by the war's end William McKinley. Hayes was a general at the end of the war and that propelled him into a jump started political career which saw him elected to the House of
Representatives and as Governor of Ohio three times.

Which brings us to 1876 and the scandal ridden Grant administration was coming to an end and a
lot of the GOP solons were concerned that they had better come up with a clean candidate without a
hint of scandal. The leading candidates were Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York and James G.
Blaine neither of whom were pillars of integrity. Grant's reform minded Secretary of the Treasury
Benjamin Bristow was also in the mix, but he was too radical for some tastes.

So after multiple ballots a military hero and a man who never had a breath of scandal was nominated. Hayes's Democratic opponent was Samuel Jay Tilden the Governor of New York who
had a reformist reputation due to his helping to destruct the infamous Tweed machine of Tammany
Hall.

Come November and Tilden won the popular vote. But the electoral returns of several southern
states was in dispute. Much more has been written about the election of 1876 and how Hayes got
to be president than was ever written about Hayes or Tilden themselves. As the machinations
went on Hayes and Tilden themselves stayed clear. The party organizations themselves fought on
their behalf. And the GOP came out on top.

Come March 4, 1877 and it's Hayes who is inaugurated. Hayes had made up his mind that he would only serve one term which freed him up to not having to kowtow to the various GOP bosses.
Both Conkling and Blaine hated him. But he was committed to honesty and to civil service. What
really angered Conkling was his firing of the Collector of the Port of New York future president
Chester A. Arthur. That was the biggest patronage cash cow out there and Conkling fumed. It
was that way for the other states too. Hayes started an investigation into mail contracts obtained
by bribery as well. He even fired his Secretary of the Navy one Richard Thompson for signing on
to head a company planning to build a Central American canal.

Hayes gets brickbats now for ending Reconstruction by removing the last federal troops occupying
the south. A policy agreed upon by the GOP for the Democrats not contesting Hayes's election.
Truth be told it was most unpopular with the GOP now as well as the Democrats. Sadly it ended
with former slaves in the south now in a system of virtual economic peonage.

William M. Evarts as Secretary of State really got Conkling's goat as he was part of a reform element in the New York GOP. In foreign policy Hayes dealt a lot with Latin American issues. The
ever present question of a Central American canal and border disputes with Mexico and Hayes
ordering a policy of hot pursuit in the southwest for those, white, Mexican, Apaches for those
who raided and then went back across the border. Didn't make for good relations with Mexico's
new president Porfirio Diaz.

Hayes also was the first president to use troops to end labor disputes which sadly is the biggest
black mark I see on his presidency. That was ended with another GOP president Theodore Roosevelt.

By 1881 the bosses had no use for Hayes, but historians don't rate him high, but have him as average and give high premium as do I on his honesty. In his retirement before his death in 1893,
Hayes interested himself in education of our black citizens and higher education at that. One of
those who got a scholarship to Harvard due to his efforts was one WEB DuBois. That may prove
to be Rutherford B. Hayes's most valuable contribution.

Not a great one, but a worthwhile president was Rutherford B. Hayes as Harry Barnard's book so
aptly demonstrates.

[Lloyd Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Barnard wrote a terrific biography on our 19th President, Rutherford B. Hayes. RBH was elected to the presidency while serving his third term as governor of Ohio. Although he spent most of his life in Ohio, he had deep and impressive roots in Vermont and New England. He was born shortly after his father’s untimely demise and was raised by his mother, older sister, and maternal uncle as if were a crown prince, not in lavish splendor, but atmosphere of high expectations and exhaustive pondering as to what boxes should be checked and experiences gained along the way. RBH was bright, polite, and upright in that humble mode that inspires trust and confidence. More of a conciliator than a hard-driving, willful charger like Andrew Jackson — a true Whig through and through — highly principled but not an ideologue. The Whigs of today we’re quite similar to the Rockefeller Republicans of the late 30th century.

In this 525 page biography we get a surprisingly balanced view of all aspects of RBH the man. We learn about his political life: successes and failures, brilliant wins and lucky ones too, statesman- and partisan-like moments.

My favorite part was the section discussing the election of 1876. Who won? both sides unabashedly abused their power, did whatever it took to achieve their ends. The machinations would have made Machiavelli proud. Fraud and abuse ran amok, it was impossible to determine which votes were valid. The Republicans were in power, the Democrats weren’t, the R’s won — somethings just refuse to change!

In short, the breadth and depth of this seemingly short book is impressive; the writing is crisp, clean, and concise.

I gave this rewarding read four stars, which means its recommended but not essential reading. There’s quite a bit to chew on. Bon appetite!!!

[George · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not a fan of this biography of Rutherford B. Hayes by Harry Barnard. I did learn some things so it wasn't the worst in the world. For instance, Hayes' election was the first where there was widespread belief on the other side that the election was "stolen" (it is funny how this continues to pop-up.) Which is really what he is most known for considering the largest portion of the book was given to that section. I think this taught me a lot about how to style biographies, or rather, how not to style biographies. Barnard did his research and it shows, but it wasn't communicated very well. He insisted on use of large block quotes of text that became very tiresome after a while. The strength of a biography is partly in telling someone's life like a story, and it came off as though I was reading a Rutherford B. Hayes Reader. Another thing about biographic style that it taught me was that just throwing out tons of names is not helpful. This is obvious, but good biographers are able to turn those endless list of names into individual characters in their own right. Barnard doesn't do that so I had no idea who was who or if that person was popping up for the first or second time. Lastly, the writing style itself left much to be desired. Barnard wasn't very clear or capable in articulating his ideas. For instance, he gave a very strong impression that Hayes was in an incestuous relationship with his sister which was never really addressed. I can only come to the conclusion that it most likely wasn't incestuous, but that Barnard did a poor job in communicating that so it appears that way.
Overall, I learned things, but there are most likely much better biographies of Hayes out there.

[Jeff Jamba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look, this is a book written in the 1950s about a not super interesting president - outside of the scandal of the 1876 presidential election.

It’s not as dry as other history books from this era, and does have some narrative flow. But it is one that feels like a bit of a slog. Especially the first 100+ pages focused on his childhood and family history seemed definitely unnecessary.

But in my quest to read at least one presidential bio in chronological order, it is a balanced treatment of RBH’s life and contributions as a politician and president.

And often an author will try and be “pro” or “against” the president rather than try and paint an honest, reasonable assessment of the president. And this book does that, even though it’s a bit dry. That’s why it earns a 4 star review - there just aren’t a lot of options for bios on good old Ruddy Hayes, and this one does the job.

[William Whalen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written. It kept my attention. At 523 pages (not including index), some parts of Haye's life seemed to not get as much attention as needed. In particular, his days as a Civil War General could have easily been delved into more. You could also tell the publication in the 50's with some of the political attitudes.

[Michael Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sterling biography of our 19th U.S. President, from his family background to his days in the Oval Office, as the successor to U.S. Grant and Andrew Johnson following the Civil War.

[Tom Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a more interesting biography than I was expecting. Here is a breakdown:

20% Genealogy and Childhood - well explored

20% Adulthood to the Civil War - well explored

4% Civil War - Much too short and most of it covering letters back home and people worrying about him. C'mon, he was a brevet Maj. General and a war hero of sorts, but I'm not sure what he did.

14% Post War Political Career (Representative and Governor) and Business - well explored

20% The Election of 1876 - This may seem like a lot, but every word was needed. It was a complicated election.

20% Presidency - I can't tell how well explored this is. A lot of this section was spent discussing the repercussions of how the election was handled and the results. I'm not sure he did much.

2% Post-Presidency - More of a summary of his last 13 years. He seemed to do more here than during his presidency, but it came across more as a list of things he did more than anything else. The most interesting part here was he growing interest in nihilism.

The book really lacked a final commentary on his life and presidency. After his death, there is only a half page discussing how Grover Cleveland came to his funeral. There was not real talk of his legacy other than people were still mad about the election but decided he wasn't a terrible president.

Also, like most presidential biographies, it seems that the president's personal life goes out the window once he becomes president and is never talked of until he comes out on the other side.

The title is a bit misleading. Rutherford B. Hayes and His America is really just about Hayes. There is not much insight into "his America" that does not involve him directly.

Overall, I recommend this biography. I think I would like to read another to get a different perspective. Maybe one that explores his Civil War record and his Presidency.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This biography of an average U.S. President was above average. The style of writing was very enjoyable and the biography covered his life from birth to death. In the early portion of the book, the author spent a great deal of time analyzing Hayes' relationship to his mother and how the early death of his father impacted him psychologically. He also made strong suggestions that Hayes' relationship with his sister bordered on being incestuous. In both of these areas, Barnard seemed to assume thoughts and motives that may not belong to Hayes. Nonetheless, I did get a sense of Hayes' family life and his socioeconomic, as well as political, heritage.

The strength of the book rests in its explanation of the controversial presidential election of 1876. Frequently people will say that our country has never been as divided as it is today, but several events like the 1876 election only prove that individuals who say such things are poor students of history.

The book does not cover the presidency of RBH with great detail, but he only served one term and somehow managed to keep his nose out of scandal. So if you are reading this book to understand his presidency, you may been disappointed.

Overall, this was a an enjoyable book about the man and his times.

[David Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a whole-life biography of Hayes. It begins with quite a bit of family history and goes to the day of his death, without any denouement. It's a bit light on his presidency, concentrating more on the contested election. I thoroughly enjoyed the early part of the book; Barnard gives us a real sense of who Hayes was.

[Ted · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was very detailed for his life up to the election of 1876. It was a little light on what he did a President and the post Presidential life was barely touched. His actions in the Civil War also were not given much space. The events of the election of 1876 we thoroughly examined and that portion was fascinating.

[Mr. V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting life history. Could have gone into more detail