388 



HAYES, RUTHERFORD BIRCH ARD. 



Resolved, That it is the sense of the caucus that 

 the best if not the only mode of obtaining from the 

 States lately in rebellion guarantees which will be 

 irreversible is by amendments of the national Consti- 

 tution. 



Resolved, That such amendments to the national 

 Constitution as may be deemed necessary ought to be 

 submitted to the House for its action at as early a day 

 as possible, in order to propose them to the several 

 States during the present sessions of their legislatures. 



Resolved, That an amendment, basing representa- 

 tion on voters instead of population, ought to be 

 promptly acted upon, and the judiciary committee is 

 requested to prepare resolutions for that purpose, and 

 submit them to the house as soon -as practicable. 



In August, 1866, ho was renorninated by ac- 

 clamation, and he returned to take part in the 

 Fortieth Congress. While he was there the 

 soldiers in his old division found in him a most 

 sympathizing friend, and much of his time was 

 taken up with gratuitous work in behalf of 

 them and their families.. 



In 1867 Gen. Hayes was nominated for Gov- 

 ernor of Ohio, his opponent, on the Democratic 

 ticket, being Allen G. Thurman. In the course 

 of a speech delivered during his campaign, Gen. 

 Hayes said : 



Our Government has been called the white man's 

 Government. Not so. It is not the Government of 

 any class, or sect, or nationality, or race. It is a gov- 

 ernment founded on the consent of the governed, and 

 Mr. Broomall, of Pennsylvania, therefore properly 

 calls it " the government of the governed." It is not 

 the government of the native born or of the foreign 

 born, of the rich man or of the poor man, of the 

 white man or of the colored man ; it is the Govern- 

 ment of the freeman. And when colored men were 

 made citizens, soldiers, and freemen, by our consent 

 and votes, we were estopped from denying to them 

 the right of suffrage. . . . We want in the recon- 

 structed Union that there shall be the same freedom of 

 the press and freedom of speech in the States of the 

 South that there always has been in the States of the 

 North. Again, we want the reconstructed Union 

 upon such principles that the men of the South, who 

 during the war were loyal and true to the Govern- 

 ment, shall be protected in life, liberty, and property, 

 and in the exercise of their political rights. 



Gen. Hayes was elected Governor : but a pro- 

 posed negro suffrage amendment to the State 

 Constitution was defeated, and the Democrats 

 obtained a majority in the Legislature, which 

 elected Judge Thurman to the United States 

 Senate. 



In 1869 Gov. Hayes was renominated and re- 

 elected, his opponent on the Democratic ticket 

 being George H. Pendleton. The discussions of 

 the campaign were principally on the subject of 

 the currency and the national bonds. The no- 

 table events of his governorship have been thus 

 summarized : 



He recommended and had completed a compre- 

 hensive geological survey of Ohio. 



He secured the establishment of a soldiers' or- 

 phans' home. 



He had the powers of the Board of State Charities 

 restored and enlarged. 



He had provision made for the care by the State 

 of the chronic insane. 



Under his direction the graded system was adopted 

 in the State Prison, and prison reforms were intro- 

 duced. 



Minority representation on election boards was 

 secured. 



The Agricultural and Mechanical College was 

 founded and organized. 



The suffrage amendment to the Constitution of the 

 State was adopted. 



The fifteenth amendment to the Constitution of the 

 United States was ratified. 



The right of soldiers in the National Asylum to 

 vote was restored. 



The students' privilege of voting while attending 

 college was given back. 



The " visible admixture " law was repealed. 



The St. Clair papers were purchased, and letters 

 and manuscripts relating to pioneer history collected. 



A reform school for girls was established. 



The State debt was reduced, and all increase of 

 debt opposed. 



In 1872, as candidate for Congress in the Cin- 

 cinnati district, lie was defeated. In 1873 he 

 removed his residence to Fremont, intending 



HOME OF EX-PRESIDENT HAYES, FREMONT, OHIO. 



to retire permanently from public life ; but in 

 1875 he reluctantly accepted a third nomination 

 for the governorship, and was elected, his op- 

 ponent on the Democratic ticket being Gov. 

 William Allen, who had been elected in 1873. 

 The currency question was the main issue ; but 

 there was also much discussion of a proposition 

 to divide the school money between Catholics 

 and Protestants. In one of his speeches in this 

 canvass Gov. Hayes said : 



If it shall turn out that the party in power are op- 

 posed to a sound, safe, stable currency, I have no 

 doubt that in October the people will make a change. 

 If it shall turn out that the party in power were guilty 

 of gross corruption in the legislative department, and 

 that when that corruption was exposed the majority 

 shielded those who were implicated, I have no doubt 

 the people will make a change. If it shall turn out 

 that the party in power yielded to the dictation of an 

 ecclesiastical sect, and through fear of a threatened 

 loss of votes and power has suffered itself to be dom- 

 ineered over in its exercise of the law-making power, 

 there ought to be, as I doubt not there will be, a great 

 change. If it shall turn out that the party in power 

 is dangerously allied to any body of men who are op- 

 posed to our free schools, and have proclaimed undy- 

 ing hostility to our educational system, then I doubt 

 not the people will make a change in the Administra- 

 tion 



In the Republican National Convention of 

 1876, which was held in Cincinnati, the contest 

 was prominently between Elaine, Morton, Bris- 

 tow, and Conkling. Through the first four bal- 

 lots these leaders ran quite evenly, Blaine lead- 

 ing ; but the vote for Hayes had been steadily 

 gaining, until on the fifth he took the third 

 place. On the sixth he had passed to the sec- 

 ond, the vote standing Blaine, 308; Hayes, 

 113. On the seventh, enough States changed 

 their votes to reverse the order, and the decisive 



