---
title: "Rutherford B. Hayes — APUSH Definition & Significance"
description: "Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president (1877-1881), won via the Compromise of 1877, ended Reconstruction, and pushed early civil service reform in APUSH Unit 6."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/apush/key-terms/president-rutherford-b-hayes"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP US History"
---

# Rutherford B. Hayes — APUSH Definition & Significance

## Definition

Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th U.S. president (1877-1881), who took office through the disputed election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877, withdrew federal troops from the South to end Reconstruction, and challenged the spoils system during the Gilded Age (APUSH Topic 6.13).

## What It Is

[Rutherford B. Hayes](/apush/key-terms/rutherford-b-hayes "fv-autolink") was the Republican who became the 19th president after the messiest election of the 19th century. In 1876, Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, but 20 electoral votes were disputed. The Compromise of 1877 settled it. Democrats let Hayes take the White House, and in exchange the last federal troops left the South, ending Reconstruction. Critics called him "Rutherfraud" and "His Fraudulency," which tells you how legitimate the deal felt at the time.

Once in office, Hayes picked fights with his own party over patronage. He went after the spoils system, most famously by removing Chester A. Arthur from his cushy job at the New York Customs House, an early shot in the civil service reform battle that ran through the whole Gilded Age. He also sent federal troops to break the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, setting the pattern of government siding with business against labor. In [APUSH](/apush "fv-autolink") terms, Hayes is your bridge figure. His election closes [Unit 5](/apush/unit-5 "fv-autolink") (Reconstruction) and his presidency opens the political world of Unit 6 (the Gilded Age).

## Why It Matters

Hayes lives in [Topic 6.13](/apush/unit-6/politics-gilded-age/study-guide/8nIh2AsuMR3xXcKSZRaq "fv-autolink"), Politics in the Gilded Age, and supports learning objective APUSH 6.13.A, comparing the political parties of the era. His presidency illustrates KC-6.3.II.A almost perfectly. The parties were nearly evenly matched, still campaigning on Civil War divisions (waving the "[bloody shirt](/apush/key-terms/bloody-shirt "fv-autolink")"), while reformers complained that greed and patronage had corrupted government at every level. The disputed 1876 election shows how razor-thin party balance was, and his civil service fights show the reform pressure building toward the Pendleton Act. Hayes also matters for periodization. The AP course treats 1877 as the end of Reconstruction, and Hayes is the reason that date exists.

## Connections

### [Compromise of 1877 (Units 5-6)](/apush/key-terms/compromise-of-1877)

This is the deal that made Hayes president. Democrats conceded the disputed election in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South. It's the hinge between Unit 5 and [Unit 6](/apush/unit-6 "fv-autolink"), and it's why African American civil rights collapsed into the Jim Crow era. You can't explain Hayes without it.

### [Civil Service Reform (Unit 6)](/apush/key-terms/civil-service-reform)

Hayes started the war on the [spoils system](/apush/key-terms/spoils-system "fv-autolink") before the Pendleton Act existed. By firing Chester Arthur from the New York Customs House, he attacked the patronage machine inside his own party. The reform energy he stirred up culminated in the Pendleton Act of 1883, signed (ironically) by President Arthur.

### [Bloody Shirt (Unit 6)](/apush/key-terms/bloody-shirt)

Hayes won partly because Republicans "waved the bloody shirt," reminding voters which party had fought the [Civil War](/apush/unit-5/comparison-period-5/study-guide/F4PJCNduTfAlJJKn5VEj "fv-autolink"). That's KC-6.3.II.A in action. Gilded Age parties leaned on old Civil War loyalties instead of new policy ideas, which kept elections close and substance thin.

### Gilded Age (Unit 6)

Hayes's presidency kicks off the Gilded Age political pattern you see for the next two decades: forgettable presidents, paper-thin election margins, patronage scandals, and federal power used against strikers, as when Hayes sent troops to crush the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

## On the AP Exam

No released FRQ has asked about Hayes by name, and that's the point. The exam doesn't quiz you on his biography. Instead, Hayes shows up as context. Multiple-choice stems might pair an excerpt about the 1876 election or patronage reform with questions about why Reconstruction ended or what Gilded Age parties fought over. For SAQs and essays, Hayes is evidence, not the question. Use him to support claims about the end of Reconstruction (causation, periodization at 1877), the weakness of Gilded Age presidents, or the roots of civil service reform. A DBQ on Gilded Age politics or African American civil rights gets stronger when you can name the Compromise of 1877 and the troop withdrawal under Hayes as a turning point.

## President Rutherford B Hayes vs Chester A. Arthur and the Pendleton Act

Hayes fought the spoils system, but he did not pass the Pendleton Act. Hayes fired Arthur from the New York Customs House to attack patronage in the late 1870s. The Pendleton Civil Service Act came in 1883, after Garfield's assassination, and was signed by President Arthur, the same machine politician Hayes had fired. Keep the sequence straight: Hayes starts the reform fight, Garfield's death creates the urgency, Arthur signs the law.

## Key Takeaways

- Hayes became president through the Compromise of 1877, in which Democrats accepted his disputed 1876 victory in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South.
- His presidency marks the official end of Reconstruction, which is why APUSH Period 5 ends in 1877.
- Hayes attacked the spoils system, including firing Chester Arthur from the New York Customs House, helping launch the civil service reform movement that led to the Pendleton Act of 1883.
- Hayes lost the popular vote to Samuel Tilden, which is why opponents nicknamed him 'Rutherfraud' and 'His Fraudulency.'
- His use of federal troops to break the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 shows the Gilded Age pattern of government siding with business over labor.
- On the exam, Hayes works best as evidence for the end of Reconstruction and for Gilded Age political dysfunction, not as a topic in his own right.

## FAQs

### What did Rutherford B. Hayes do as president?

Hayes (1877-1881) withdrew the last federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction, pushed early civil service reform against the spoils system, and used federal troops to break the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.

### Did Rutherford B. Hayes win the popular vote in 1876?

No. Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, but 20 electoral votes were disputed. The Compromise of 1877 awarded them to Hayes in exchange for ending federal occupation of the South, earning him the nickname 'Rutherfraud.'

### How is Hayes different from the Compromise of 1877?

Hayes is the person; the Compromise of 1877 is the deal that put him in office. On the exam, the Compromise is usually the more important term because it explains why Reconstruction ended, while Hayes is the president who carried it out.

### Did Hayes pass the Pendleton Civil Service Act?

No. Hayes fought the spoils system and fired Chester Arthur from the New York Customs House, but the Pendleton Act passed in 1883 under President Arthur, after Garfield's assassination.

### Why does APUSH say Reconstruction ended in 1877?

Because Hayes withdrew the final federal troops from the South as part of the Compromise of 1877, removing the military protection that had enforced Reconstruction. That's why Period 5 of the APUSH course ends at 1877.

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