Hayes and New Policies

Despite the Democratic trend, Grant was succeeded in the Presidency in 1877 by another Republican, Rutherford B. Hayes. Hayes's victory over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, however, rested on his being awarded 20 disputed electoral votes by an electoral commission, which was dominated by Republicans. Tilden had won a popular vote majority.

Federal troops still remained in South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana. White Democratic administrations had been elected in those states in 1876. After obtaining from them pledges that the rights of blacks would be respected, President Hayes in 1877 withdrew the troops. However, following the end of military occupation of the South, there was repression of blacks, eventually leading to the institutionalization of segregation.

Hayes moved toward federal civil service reforms by executive orders. He authorized introduction of a merit system in several departments, and forbade assessing federal employees for political funds. Hayes also ruled that federal employees should not manage political campaigns or be leaders in party conventions. By removing Chester A. Arthur as collector of the New York customhouse for violating this rule, Hayes antagonized powerful leaders of his party.

On monetary policy, Hayes was a conservative. A champion of "sound money," he favored redeeming greenbacks, the paper money issued during the Civil War, in gold. He opposed coinage of large amounts of silver dollars, the policy favored both by debtors, who wished to expand the quantity of money in circulation, and by owners of silver mines in the West.