THE MAKING OF A NATION - Rutherford Hayes Wins Disputed 1876

THE MAKING OF A NATION - Rutherford Hayes Wins Disputed 1876 Presidential Election
By David Jarmul

Broadcast: Thursday, August 18, 2005

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a program in Special English.

(MUSIC)

In early eighteen seventy-seven, Rutherford Hayes was sworn-in as the nineteenth president of the United States. He became president after a disputed election.

I'm Richard Rael. Today, Steve Ember and I tell the story of this American president.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

 
 

Rutherford Hayes was born in Ohio in eighteen twenty-two. He was a good student at Kenyon College and at Harvard Law School. He opened a law office in Cincinnati. When he was thirty years old, he married Lucy Webb. Later, he served as an officer in the Union army during America's Civil War. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives. He also served as governor of Ohio. In this job, he helped establish the college that

became Ohio State University.

VOICE ONE:

Hayes was a Republican. In eighteen seventy-six, he was the party's compromise candidate for president. His opponent in the national election was Democrat¹ Samuel Tilden. Tilden won more popular votes than Hayes. In the American political system, whoever wins the most popular votes in a state usually gets all the electoral votes of that state.

In eighteen seventy-six, both the Republicans and Democrats² claimed the electoral votes of three southern states: Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. So it was not clear at first who had won the presidential election.

VOICE TWO:

Congress appointed a committee to decide the issue. The committee had a Republican majority. It gave the disputed electoral votes to Hayes. He won the election by just one electoral vote. The results came just a few days before the inauguration³.

Democrats protested that the Republicans had stolen the election. Yet they agreed to accept Hayes as president. In exchange, Hayes and the Republicans agreed to accept Democratic Party policies on several issues. Hayes's administration would deal mainly with national -- not international -- problems.

VOICE ONE:

At first, people wondered: would President Hayes keep the promises that were made to help him win the election. Most thought he would not. Hayes surprised everyone. In his inaugural⁴ speech, he promised to put the country ahead of the party. He said, "he serves his party best who serves his country best."

Party leaders told Hayes which men to appoint to his cabinet. He refused and made his own choices. He ordered federal troops to withdraw from South Carolina and Louisiana. The troops had been there since the end of the Civil War. He also helped southern Democrats establish new governments in their states.

VOICE TWO:

Republican Party leaders criticized President Hayes. Anti-slavery groups also criticized him. They said former black slaves in the south had gained a lot under Republican rule. Now, they said, these black Americans would lose everything.

Hayes did not agree. He had received promises that the new democratic state governments would protect the rights of black Americans. It was not to be. White Democrats kept political control in some southern states for many years. They often denied civil rights to black citizens. Only with the rise of the civil rights movement in the nineteen fifties would the situation begin to change.

VOICE ONE:

After becoming president, Rutherford Hayes announced that he would serve just one term. He wanted to make serious reforms in the federal government. This would be easier to do if he did not have to worry about getting re-elected. Hayes started by changing the system that employed people in government jobs.

Party leaders usually had great power to fill government jobs. They used the jobs to reward loyal party workers and to increase their own political strength. President Hayes demanded that federal jobs be given to people because of their abilities, not because they supported a politician.

VOICE TWO:

At that time, the best jobs were with the customs service of the Treasury⁵ Department. The people who collected customs -- taxes on imports -- could keep part of the money they collected.

President Hayes took action against the customs service office in New York City. One of the men removed from the job there was James Garfield. Garfield would later become president of the United States.

Hayes also banned all federal workers from taking part in political organizations, conventions, and campaigns. And he said politicians no longer could demand campaign money from federal workers.

VOICE ONE:

Rutherford Hayes showed more political strength during a nationwide railroad strike. The strike began during his first summer as president.

For several years, the nation had suffered from a serious economic depression. Three million people were out of work. Factories and businesses reduced the pay of those who still had jobs. Workers with the Baltimore and Ohio railroad protested. They took control of many areas along the railroad. They refused to let the trains move. The strike spread to other railroads. In some places, the strikes turned into riots, and the riots became violent.

Some governors ordered their state armed forces to intervene. The state forces were not strong enough, however. So the governors asked President Hayes for help. He immediately sent federal troops to troubled cities. The troops stopped the riots and ended the strikes.

VOICE TWO:

Another issue during Hayes's administration involved a railroad in the western United States. It was both a labor⁶ problem and an immigration problem thousands of Chinese workers had been brought to America to help build the Central Pacific Railroad. After the railroad was built, many of them remained. Most settled in California. Others came from China to join them. These immigrants competed with white workers for jobs. Whites protested, because the Chinese agreed to work for less money. They said this kept wages down for all workers.

VOICE ONE:

The white workers asked Congress for a law to stop Chinese workers from coming to the United States. Members of Congress from both parties wanted the support of these voters. So they quickly passed a bill that made it much more difficult for Chinese citizens to come to live in the United States.

The bill said the president must cancel part of a treaty between the United States and China. That part of the treaty permitted citizens of each country to settle in the other country.

VOICE TWO:

President Hayes vetoed the bill. He said the United States had proposed the treaty. So, he said, the United States could not change it without agreement from China. Hayes did agree, however, that some action was necessary. So he opened negotiations⁷ with the Chinese government. He won an agreement to limit the number of Chinese who could enter the United States.

VOICE ONE:

During the administrations of Andrew Johnson and Ulysses Grant, Congress had weakened many powers of the president. Congress had become the strongest of the three branches of the American government. Throughout his administration, Rutherford Hayes worked hard to strengthen presidential powers.

For example, the United States Constitution gives the president power to veto bills passed by Congress. In the eighteen hundreds, Congress tried to prevent presidential vetoes. It used a method of attaching "riders" to legislative⁸ proposals. This is how the method works:

VOICE TWO:

Congress considers a bill the president believes is necessary. Then it joins that bill to a measure the president would veto if passed separately. The extra measure is called a "rider" to the first bill. To get the bill he wants, the president must accept the "rider," too.

President Hayes refused to sign any bills with riders. So the Congress during his administration stopped using the method. Congresses since then have used it successfully.

VOICE ONE:

Rutherford Hayes kept his promise to serve only four years. He did not regret his decision. After leaving office in eighteen eighty-one, he said he was satisfied with what he had done. He looked back on his administration and wrote:

"I left this great country prosperous and happy. I left the party of my choice strong, victorious⁹, and united. In serving the country, I served my party. " He died in eighteen ninety-three.

VOICE TWO:

Hayes was right in saying that the United States was strong and prosperous. The late eighteen-hundreds were a time of growth for the nation. They also were a time of expansion into new territory.

That will be our story next week.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

You have been listening to the Special English program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Your narrators were Richard Rael and Steve Ember. Our program was written by David Jarmul.

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 inauguration   

n.开幕、就职典礼

参考例句：

• The inauguration of a President of the United States takes place on January 20.美国总统的就职典礼于一月二十日举行。
• Three celebrated tenors sang at the president's inauguration.3位著名的男高音歌手在总统就职仪式上演唱。

4 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

7 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

8 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

9 victorious   

adj.胜利的，得胜的

参考例句：

• We are certain to be victorious.我们定会胜利。
• The victorious army returned in triumph.获胜的部队凯旋而归。