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Rutherford B. Hayes, 1822-1893
The presidential election of 1876 was among the closest in American history. Although Democratic candidate Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote by 250,000, his Electoral College total was one short of the majority needed for election. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes would not concede because of disputed results in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon. Both parties agreed to appoint an Electoral Commission, which awarded the Florida vote and presidency to Hayes. A prior secret agreement between Republicans and Democrats made Hayes president in return for his withdrawal of federal troops from the South. This effectively ended Reconstruction and black political participation in the South, and it restored the rule of the Democratic Party there. Even though he was not a strong president, Hayes did take initial steps toward curbing corrupted in the civil service.
Hayes's portraitist, Eliphalet Andrews, was the founding director of Washington DC's Corcoran School of Art.
Eliphalet Andrews, 1881 |