Rutherford B. Hayes served after Grant as our 19th President.
Hayes saw the end of Reconstruction, and the return of the South voting and ruling themselves. With a Democratic-controlled House, Hayes lost funding to enforce civil rights laws in the racist south. In the land of dixie, rights were now more "on paper" than real.
One thing I like about Hayes is his advocating against the spoils system which gives jobs to political supporters. Even though he met harsh resistance, but a law was later passed and signed ironically by one of the men Hayes tried to get rid of. That man was the future President of the United States Chester A. Arthur.
During his tenure, Hayes saw the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. During the strike, many men protested peacefully and Federal troops didn't kill a single man during that time even when they rioted. However state militia did kill workers. The Railroads won in the short term, but the long-term result favored better wages from public support.
Another issue was the debate on currency. Gold vs Silver debates clashed hard, and Gold seem to be the victor. However they did also introduce "Greenbacks" which was similar to our currency now. I hope the U.S. government learned a lot about currency while playing around with different ideas during this time.
One of final notable acts in his presidency was the Chinese immigrants coming to America. At first Hayes allowed unrestricted flow of people coming to the West. However Americans in the West blamed them for low wages for themselves, and Hayes grew unpopular and led to racist laws and acts later on.
Was Hayes a bad president? I think not, but he is deeply flawed for failing to push an agenda.
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