Rutherford B. Hayes was a president during a very crucial time in American history. His election for president occurred not long after the civil war, and although some historians view him as an interim president, he was able to have substantial influence. The views of President Hayes were not common at the time; however, his thoughts helped shape the country to become the way it is today. After the Emancipation Proclamation by Abraham Lincoln, there were still Federal troops in the southern states to make sure that the rights of everyone were protected, even though inequality was still an extremely large problem. Hayes believed that everyone deserved, and should have, equal rights and that the color of their skin didn’t matter. Hayes impacted …show more content…
Hayes was unique because Hayes didn’t win the popular vote, he won by electoral college. This was the first time this happened in the country, and so congress had to choose who would be president. He lobbied with and agreed with the current congress to remove the federal troops from the south, even though that wasn’t his opinion, so that he could become the nineteenth president of the United States of America. “Hayes agreed to recall the federal troops… These troops had been placed in the South to ensure that white Southerners would uphold the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to the U.S. Constitution which had abolished slavery and granted full citizenship rights” (The Nineteenth-Century United States...). Hayes’s use of his legislative powers when making this compromise, shows that he is flexible, but not always willing to stick with what he thinks is right. This agreement was very important. ¨Hayes’s first important measure was to carry out ‘the bargain’ by withdrawing the Federal troops from the south¨ (U.S. History in Context). Because he didn’t stick with what he thought was right, and cared more about conceding his opinion to become president, his removal of the troops meant that he might be likely to do things against his opinions if it meant he got something in return. The way he used his legislative powers when bargaining with congress shows that his skills in negotiation could also help when using his military …show more content…
Hayes had different opinions than many previous presidents. Hayes wanted to end the “Spoils System”. Past presidents had appointed people that had contributed to their campaign, or were friends with the president. Hayes chose people for his cabinet based on their qualifications, even if he didn’t agree with their opinions. “As president, Hayes sent an important example by appointing candidates who were well qualified for the jobs” (Otfinoski 58). This showed in his choice of David Key as postmaster general even though he was a southerner,at a time the north and the south still didn’t get along. Hayes also removed people who “he believed to be corrupt” to make sure that only qualified people were running the country (Otfinoski 60). The removal of people that Hayes didn’t see fit for the jobs helped make sure that the people in charge were people that were qualified and capable to effectively do their jobs. The way he used his executive powers to choose the people he thought were best fit for the jobs shows how he truly cared about the people that were in charge of making important decisions, and that their contributions to his campaigns were not important to him when it came to federal positions. Additionally, Hayes wanted to make sure that other important people in the country couldn’t choose people based on campaign
Hayes did however make Southern state leaders promise to protect the rights of the African Americans population. Hayes would also have social reforms during his time in congress. Hayes aimed at appointing men with the qualifications to government positions, instead of having positions given. Hayes also signed a bill that allowed women attorneys to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court. Hayes only wanted to be president for one term and declined the requests for his second term.
The Nation was greatly changed by one President that will always be remembered: Richard Nixon. He was a respected President but made some bad decisions during his presidency. He is not the only President that made bad decisions. Every President did, but his decisions changed the way people view the next future ruler and the way people look at politics. Richard Nixon established connections with China and the Soviet Union, but he will always be known for his mistakes during the Vietnam War and the Watergate Scandal.
The concept of the Reconstruction was a “second founding” of the nation is based on the results of the Reconstruction. David Blight states in his lecture that the Reconstruction represented “… great change, great experimentation, change…” and the leadership “… rewrote the country you live in.” What evidence is there to support Blight’s argument? Foner’s A Short History of the Reconstruction provides some evidence.
For his election in 1824 and 1828, common people were allowed to vote. Not only did he allow them to vote, but he trusted that they would make the right judgement, even though they had a limited education. Furthermore, they had views from other parts of America and different situations that would give the government an alternative view about struggles in other states. On the other hand, he may have done this to appeal to the common people and acquire more votes. Despite this, he granted them the freedom to have a say in what would arise in their country.
He likewise excluded landowners with over twenty thousand dollars in assets to participate. While he was a known racist, Johnson also harbored great disdain for the southern aristocracy. His plan was to put the government into the hands of the southern middle class. This one move may have placated the Republican radicals, but his next actions would bring their wrath. Johnson used executive power to install military governors into southern states while Congress was out of session during the summer of 1865.
To answer the the question if the promises were fulfilled by the campaign promises by 17th Amendment of U.S. Constitution, John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address, George Washington’s Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. We first need to look at each of them. The 17th Amendment is an essential amendment that was added into the Constitution. As there are many amendments in the Constitution ,the 17th amendment is an amendment that alters the process for occupying vacancies in the senate and it allows the state legislatures to permit their governors to easily make temporary appointments until proper election is held.
The Civil War was a national devastation that had a deep impact on American society. In 1863, Lincoln proposed the Emancipation Proclamation declaring the slaves would be free, though it was limited only to the rebellious states. By careful preparation of the document, Lincoln ensured that it would offer a positive impact on the Union efforts and to redefine the purpose of the civil war. The results of the emancipation continued to have an abrupt and profound effect of equality and social justice (Roark, 402).
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves and reigniting anger within the South and white supremacists. This, arguably, led to the serious debate over the whites’ allowance of African Americans to use their rights, and was more prominent in the South than North. While the American Civil War was occurring, this debate grew larger in size and more prominent in society and politics. Thus, the Reconstruction Era began, in which the U.S. government chose to protect African Americans and support them in using their rights. However, white hate groups did not want African Americans to have a voice in the matters of society, as they continued to see them as slaves and of lower class due to their skin tone.
The reconstruction era is the years that came after the civil war ended. It was made to help build the nation after the terrible tragedy. Southerners thought that the northerners just wanted to help themselves and get revenge on them but the northerners said they just wanted to make the southern society like it was before. To African Americans and other races they didn't think the reconstruction was for what the others thought, they thought it was a way to help them get civil rights and power in the economy for all the slaves. They did not get what they wanted because most black people still had the same amount of power that they had before.
What he did was aid to the process, already under way, of emancipation, by transforming the meaning of the war of "preserving the Union" to the war of liberation. African Americans were critical agents of change both as combatants in the war and as citizens during the Reconstruction that followed. African Americans supported the Republican Party through Union Leagues whose "Radical" members, abolitionists who believed in political equality
As I reflect over the past presidents of the United States, I realize that there have been many triumphs, as well as many trials. These successes and failures have influenced the nation to be the way it is in the present time today. President Taft and President Wilson had many accomplishments and failures that I have recently learned about that caused me to reflect on the history of the United States presidents. Through their accomplishments, as well as failures, there is much to be learned and remembered.
To steer away from this, an agreement was made. This agreement was called the Compromise of 1877. This compromise permitted Hayes the presidency, but there was a catch in it. In order for Hayes to have the presidency he would have to remove the Federal soldiers from the south, Hayes agreed (Background Essay paragraphs 4-5). This was a big mistake.
He also wanted to keep slavery but also keep the union together. Andrew Johnson was a man that tried to persuade things to go his way for the benefit for himself. It was hard for him to pick a side because he was a democrat in a nation of republicans. Johnson was also chief diplomat.
After we had fought the brutal, decimating Civil War, white supremacy in the caused our nation to take two steps further than we were even before the War. Obviously, hearing this, sounds like extreme conflict. Ironically enough though, this major step back in history was called, “The Compromise of 1877.” Unfortunately, this “compromise” did way more harm than good for African Americans.
Abraham Lincoln’s vs Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites. When Lincoln first acted after the civil war, he offered policies that would allow the confederate slaves to become part of the union again and would allow a pardon for those states.