Hayes Administration - Hayes and Congress

Hayes and Congress

Hayes was president during the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses. Throughout his single term of office, Democrats controlled the House of Representatives. Republicans controlled the Senate until 1879, but their majority was not large or solid. With his pledge not to run for a second term, Hayes had hoped to appear to be "above" politics and patronage, which had tarnished previous Republican administrations. Unfortunately for Hayes, his pledge proved to be politically unwise because politicians in both parties treated him as a lame duck, or interim president.

Hayes initiated little new or dramatic legislation fearing what the Democratic House might do with it. Where Hayes and Congress clashed was not on administration initiated legislation, but on legislation proposed by the Democratic House. In particular, Hayes consistently vetoed soft money measures passed by the Congress. Although soft money was...

[The entire page is 217 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass