Rutherford B. Hayes (A Life) Lyrics

At a Delaware, Ohio home

October 4th, it was

Rutherford B. Hayes was born

The fourth child of Sophia's

After school, he attended Kenyon College in '38

And finished as valedictorian, then, out of state

He moved, to study law at Harvard, bar in '45

Then, opened his own practice, was slow, in spite of his drive

In '52, he married Lucy at her mother's place

They had eight children, three died young

All to often, the case

Rutherford was in the Civil War, an officer who led

Was wounded and became a general, then war ended

He entered politics in '65, as a U.S. Rep

In '67, became Ohio governor, one more step

President Rutherford Birchard Hayes, number 19

General, Rep, Governor, Prez, and father in-between

The contentious '76 election was one of note

Hayes won over Tilden by one single electoral vote

As Prez, he ended Reconstruction of the southern states

And pressed to protect black voters, but Congress hesitates

He settled a railroad strike and fought rampant corruption

Hayes supported a gold standard, but the silver lobby won

He refused to run a second term, retiring to his home

He supported education and desired prison reform

In '93, on the 17th of January

Hayes passed away, three-and-a-half years after his Lucy

His legacy was his common sense and how it ruled his soul

That power should rest with the people, not with elite control