Rutherford B. Hayes: The American President Series: The
Nineteenth President 1877-1881 by Hans L. Trefousse
The American President Series of books definitely achieve
what they set out to do – give the reader a thorough, yet at the same time, a
concise, history of each U.S. President. Not surprisingly, the lesser known
presidents have few biographies devoted to them, so these volumes serve as a
valuable resource for someone who wants to learn about such individuals.
Based on my research, there IS a very good biography of
Rutherford Hayes out there by author Ari Hoogenboom, yet for some reason, even
a used volume costs about $40. I was on the fence, and eventually economics
won. The good news (for me) is that the author of this volume, Hans L
Trefousse, is already familiar to me, as he penned a ‘legitimate’ biography of
the 17th president, Andrew Johnson. Since I had just completed the
Johnson bio, this was a factor that aided in my decision. Not surprisingly,
Trefousse refers to the Hoogenboom account many times within his book, so at
some point I’ll probably break down and spend the exorbitant price for the
Hoogenboom book.
The presidency of Rutherford Hayes reminds me of the best
airline flight that I ever had – because I don’t remember it. We don’t remember
our great airline flights. Why? Because they’re smooth and uneventful. It’s the
bad ones we remember. Such is the Hayes administration. Unlike most
politicians, Rutherford Hayes is the type of man that you feel like you can be
in a room with for several hours, and not have to have bathe immediately
afterwards to remove the sleaze and slime that one recollects when they recall
images of ‘successful’ politicians. He
is a devout family man, an official eager to advance the rights of recently
emancipated freedman, a successful Civil War general, and a man who maintains
that he’ll only serve one term as president after not really wanting the job in
the first place. He even manages to
voluntary abstain from alcohol while serving in the White House.
In fact, the biggest controversy of his presidency is his
election. Like his 21st century counterparts Bush and Trump, Hayes
loses the popular vote, yet barely (by one vote) wins the electoral college.
Not surprisingly, the other side whines often and loud (just like 2000 and
2016) and the first half of Hayes’ administration is looked at dubiously by his
opponents as ‘someone who shouldn’t even be there’. Yep. Nothing has changed in the world of
politics, folks.
He makes some good progress in office. He manages to further
reconstruction efforts, enacts meaningful Civil service reform, and genuinely
comes across as breath of fresh air compared to many of his predecessors (his
immediate predecessor, Ulysses S. Grant, had a somewhat tarnished reputation
with scandalous activities by some in his cabinet. History has been much more
forgiving). One reflects that it must be nice to have a president in the office
who never seriously wanted to be there, dreaded the thought of serving a second
term, yet did a very favorable job overall, with many on the opposite side of
the political fence even praising his efforts after he left.
Mister, we could use a man like Rutherford B. Hayes again.
No comments:
Post a Comment