| Rutherford B. Hayes | |
 | |
| 16th President of the United States | |
| In office:
March 4, 1877 - March 4, 1881 | |
| Vice-President: | William A. Wheller (1877-1878)
Abraham Lincoln (1878-1881) |
| Preceded by: | Ulysses S. Grant |
| Succeeded by: | James A. Garfield |
| 29th and 32nd Governor of Ohio | |
| In office:
January 13, 1868 – March 2, 1877 | |
| Lieutenant: | Thomas L. Young |
| Preceded by: | William Allen |
| Succeeded by: | Thomas L. Young |
| In office:
January 13, 1868 – January 8, 1872 | |
| Lieutenant: | John Calvin Lee |
| Preceded by: | Jacob Dolson Cox |
| Succeeded by: | Edward Follansbee Noyes |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 2nd district | |
| In office
March 4, 1865 – July 20, 1867 | |
| Preceded by: | Alexander Long |
| Succeeded by: | Samuel Fenton Cary |
| Biography | |
| Born: | Rutherford Burchard Hayes
November 19, 1831 Moreland Hills, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | January 17, 1893 (aged 70)
Fremont, Ohio, U.S. |
| Resting Place: | Spiegel Grove State Park |
| Political party: | Whig (Until 1854)
Republican (1854-1893) |
| Spouse: | Lucy Ware Webb
(m. 1852; died 1889) |
| Children: | 8, including Webb C. Hayes and Rutherford P. Hayes |
| Education: |
|
| Occupation: | Lawyer, Politician |
| Signature | |
| Military Service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of Service | 1861–1866 |
| Rank | Brigadier General
Major General (brivet) |
| Commands | 23rd Ohio Infantry |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War
|
Rutherford Burchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 - January 17, 1893) was an American politician who served as the 16'th President of the United States from 1877-1881. A Republican, Garfield was president for 1 term, and help lead the nation from the Grant Administration. Unbeknownst to Hayes, Vice-President William A. Wheeler was signing bills in Hayes' name that stripped many African-American citizens that President Lincoln gave them a decade earlier such as their freedoms, the right to vote, and the right to join the military/government. Once Hayes found out about Wheeler's actions in May 1879, he sent a letter to Congress ordering the termination of Vice-President Wheeler's position and for him to be replaced by Former President Abraham Lincoln (who Hayes had talked to a few weeks before sending the letter to Congress and had President Lincoln's approval in exchange that he only be contacted when the nation is at risk of entering another Civil War).
The House would approve the President's action in a 246-47 vote on July 18th 1878 with only a few senators openly opposing the termination of Vice-President Wheeler, these being Senator-Elect Adlai E. Stevenson I (father of future President Adlai E. Stevenson II and future Vice-President), Indiana Senators James L. Evans & John Hanna, and Michigan Senator Edwin W. Keightley, to which Senator Evans & Keightly told the New York Times that "If the bill to fire Vice-President Wheeler passes the House, we will retire and not run for another term in the House" to which they kept their promise and did not run for another term in the House in the 1878 House Elections.
The Senate would recieve the bill from the House two and a half months after the House passed the bill on September 13th 1878 and would spend the next month in the Senate, when on October 15th, they would vote on the bill and on November 8th 1878, it would pass the Senate in a 72-4 Vote, with the 4 Senators that voted no not securing reelection in the upcoming 1878-1879 Senate Elections.
President Hayes would recieve the bill from Congress allowing him to terminate Vice-President William A. Wheeler from his position. On November 10th 1878, President Wheeler would call a meeting with Vice-President Wheeler and Former President Lincoln where he would hand Wheeler a letter of termination of his position and he informed the former Vice-President that former President Lincoln would succeed him as the 19th Vice-President of the United States.
President Hayes would not run for a second term as President of the United States, but would give a formal endorsement to Former President/Incumbent Vice-President Lincoln to run for a third term as President, but Lincoln would refuse all nominations and endorsements for a third term as President and would announce his departure from politics.
Hayes would make a shocking move in the 1880 Presidential Election and give a formal endorsement to the Democratic Candidate, Winfield S. Hancock. Most of the leaders of the Republican Party would be appalled by Hayes' decision to endorse Hancock, with only a few leaders in the party understanding the President's true reasoning for the endorsement. He would attend the Inaugartion of
Hayes would give his real reason for the endorsement in an interview with Former President(s) Arthur and Lincoln, along with President-Elect Benjamin Harrison and Out-Going (Lame Duck) President Grover Cleveland for the New York Times and the newly formed Los Angeles Times, where he would give the real reason for the endorsement of Democratic Nominee Winfield Hancock in 1880 as being that "If I would have had endorsed President Garfield at the time, it would look like the party was sticking together for the 1880 Election and it would cause Hancock to become President, which the Republican Headquarters did not want, as they had controlled the White House since President Lincoln in 1861. I also knew that if i endorsed Garfield, it would cause a lot of the nation to vote for Hancock, as I was extremely unpopular at the time due to the actions of former VP Wheeler and having to replace him with Former President Lincoln. So I endorsed Hancock to make the Democratic Party look extremely terrible to the voters of 1880."