| [273] | Though President Grant’s public career ended with his second administration, which had been greatly discredited, the last years of his life made a deep impression on the people at large. Soon after the close of his second term he made a journey around the world, and, wherever he went, honors were showered upon him. In China, in Germany, and in Great Britain it was especially evident that the greatness of his military career had made a profound impression. After his return, two events deeply moved the public sympathy. In the first place, he had intrusted nearly all of his moderate fortune to a banking house in New York, in whose managers he had shown an unjustifiable confidence. The bank failed so disastrously that Grant felt compelled to offer for sale the various swords that had been presented to him, as well as other important memorials of the war. These were purchased by William H. Vanderbilt for one hundred thousand dollars, and given to the nation for preservation in the Smithsonian Institution. In the second place, it became evident, in 1884 that his life was in immediate peril from an incurable disease. Fully realizing that his death was approaching, he set about the preparation of his Memoirs, in the hope that the sale of the work would aid in furnishing support for the dependent members of his family. Though tortured by excruciating pain, he pushed on the work in the most heroic manner and was able to complete it just before his death, in July, 1885. The great merits of these two volumes secured for them an instant public reception, and the heroism and the pathos of the great soldier’s last days very deeply touched the popular heart. |
| [274] | Born in Ohio, 1822; died, 1893. Graduated at Kenyon College, 1842; practiced law at Fremont, Ohio; volunteered at the outbreak of the war, and rose to be brigadier general; was wounded at South Mountain, and distinguished himself in the Shenandoah campaign of 1864; congressman, 1865–1866; governor of Ohio, 1868–1872; was elected governor on “honest money” issue, after a campaign of remarkable spirit,—a fact which brought him forward as candidate for President in 1876; was nominated over Blaine and Bristow on the seventh ballot, by the Republican Convention, and was declared elected after decision of the Electoral Commission, March 2, 1876. |
| [275] | Born in New York, 1814; died, 1886. Graduated at University of New York; became a prominent politician and corporation lawyer in New York City; leader of New York Democrats, 1868; successfully opposed the Tweed “ring”; elected governor, 1874; unsuccessful candidate for Presidency, 1876; left large sum to endow public library of New York City. |
CHAPTER XXXIV.
the administrations of hayes and of garfield and arthur, 1877–1885.
INDUSTRIAL PROBLEMS.
600. General Character of the Administration of Hayes.—The administration of Hayes was one of adjustment to new conditions rather than one of great political innovations. During the first half of his term, the Democrats had a majority in the House, the Republicans in the Senate; during the second half, the Democrats controlled both branches of Congress. By reason of these facts, and of the more or less general feeling that the President’s title to his position was not perfect, radical legislation was impossible, and industrial questions occupied in the main the attention of the country. Hayes himself, although much harassed by difficulties with Congress, wielded his power, especially that of the veto,[[276]] in a most creditable manner, and surrounded himself with a Cabinet of good advisers.
601. Withdrawal of Troops from the South.—One of the first acts of President Hayes’s administration was to order the withdrawal of the United States troops from the South, where they had been stationed for the protection of the reconstructed governments. The way for this movement had been prepared during the last days of Grant’s administration; for it had come to be seen that good order could not be reëstablished by force. Democrats replaced Republicans in state offices, and everywhere the supremacy of the white people of the South was at once established. It was a practical confession that the methods of reconstruction adopted by Congress had not been successful. From this time forward the South was able to give attention to industrial recuperation.
602. Disorders and Riots.—During 1877, the first year of Hayes’s administration, railroad strikes were common. Freight charges were being reduced, and the roads, finding it impossible to maintain the old rate of wages, attempted to lower the price of labor. Thousands refused to work at the new rates, and some of the workmen would not allow trains to run. At Chicago, St. Louis, and Baltimore there were riots, in which several persons were killed; but the most serious outbreak occurred at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where nearly a hundred lives were lost and the destruction of property amounted to about three million dollars. Pennsylvania had several years before suffered from the outrages of a secret society of miners known as the “Molly McGuires,” which was not finally put down until 1875.
603. Chinese Immigration.—For the construction of the Pacific railroads, large numbers of Chinese laborers had been induced to come to the Pacific coast. These immigrants did not become citizens, and consequently did not vote. The fact that they could live more cheaply, and therefore work for less wages, than the white laborers, aroused great opposition to their presence, and riots became common. In response to this outcry, in 1880 a treaty was negotiated with China, by which it was agreed that Chinese immigration might be stopped by the United States government. This was followed, in 1882, by an Act of Congress forbidding such immigration for ten years. The law was imperfectly drawn, however, and its principal effect was to prevent the Chinese from coming in large masses. More stringent measures were enacted later (§ [624]).