election for Rutherford Birchard Hayes and the
electoral vote as decided by the electoral commission, March 2, 1877, 185 for Hayes and Wheeler
and 184 for Tilden and Hendricks. The house of
representatives on March 3, 1877, voted declaring
that Mr. Tilden had been elected President, but
the senate did not concur. Rutherford B. Hayes
was sworn into office as the nineteenth President
of the United States, privately at 7 p.m., Saturday, March 3, 1877, and he was publicly inaugurated before the National capitol, Monday, March
THE WHITE HOUSEAn image should appear at this position in the text.
5, 1877, it having been rumored that Mr. Tilden
had taken the oath of office in New York city, on
Saturday. March 3. President Hayes appointed
as his cabinet, William M. Evarts of New York,
secretary of state; John Sherman of Ohio, secretary of the treasury; George W. McCrary of
Iowa, secretary of war; Carl Schurz of Missouri,
secretary of the interior; Richard W. Tiiompson
of Indiana, secretary of the navy; David McK.Key
of Tennessee, postmaster-general, and Cliarles
Devens of Massachusetts, attorney-general. He
at once proceeded to satisfy the intelligent, substantial and influential citizens of the southern
states by withdrawing the Federal troops from
the states and leaving the local government to
the voice of the people in the two disputed states
then under a dual government. The troops were
withdrawn from the state house at Columbia,
S.C, April 10, 1877, and Wade Hampton, Democrat, was acknowledged to be the duly elected
governor; and from the state house of Louisiana,
April 20, 1877, and Francis T. Nichols, Democrat,
was recognized as governor. This course while
heartily approved by the Democrats was severely
criticised by the Republicans, who thus lost the
votes of the southern states. In the appointment
to office, with the exception of his naming a few
members of the Louisiana returning-board, his
policy was to regard the views of the advocates
of civil service and his appointments were generally very acceptable. Competitive examinations
were instituted and applications were considered
irrespective of partisan control. On May 5, 1877,
he called an extra session of congress to meet
Oct. 15, 1877, to make necessary appropriations
for the support of the army. In July, 1877. he
suppressed the railroad riots caused by the strike
of 100,000 employees, on application for help from
the governors of West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Illinois, by sending U.S. troops to
the several points of disturbance, after issuing
his proclamation ordering the rioters to disperse.
In his message to congress, Dec. 3, 1877, he congratulated the country on the peaceable and prosperous condition of affairs in the Southern states;
recommended the payment of government bonds
in gold; favored the limited coinage of silver;
insisted that the constitution imposed upon the
executive the sole duty and responsibility of the
selection of Federal officers and recommended
that congress make a suitable appropriation for
the use of the civil service commission; and
recommended the passage of laws to protect the
forests on lands of the United States. His recommendations were all disregarded by congress.
He vetoed the "silver bill" passed by both
houses, on the ground that the commercial value
of the silver dollar was then eight or ten per cent
less than its nominal value and that its use in the
payment of debts already contracted would be
an act of bad faith. The bill was passed over his
veto by over a two-third majority. In his annual
message of Dec. 1, 1879, he congratulated the
country on the return to specie payment, the
great revival in business, and the refunding of
the public debt at a lower rate of interest. He
urged upon congress the suspension of silver coinage fearing that the cheaper coin would eventually become the sole standard of value. He
recommended the retirement of U.S. notes with
the capacity of legal tender in private contracts,
it being his firm conviction that the issue of
legal-tender paper money based wholly upon the
authority and credit of the government except in
extreme emergencies is without warrant in the
constitution and a violation of sound financial
principles " and again urged for an appropriation
for the civil service commission, pointing out the
advantages of the system. The changes in his
cabinet were: in the war department by the
resignation of Secretary McCrary in December,
1879, to accept an appointment as judge of the
U.S. circuit court, and the appointment of Alexander Ramsey of Minnesota, as secretary of
war to fill the vacancy; in the post-office department by the resignation of Postmaster-General
Kay in May, 1880, to accept the office of U.S.
judge for the eastern and middle districts of
Tennessee, and the appointment in August, 1880,
of Horace Maynard of Tennessee as postmaster-general in his stead; and in the navy department
by the resignation of Secretary Thompson in
1881, to become chairman of the American committee of the Panama canal company, and the
appointment of Nathan Goff , Jr. , of West Virginia
