If you're not sure, you are certainly not alone. Rutherford B. Hayes, who served only one term in office (from 1877-1881), is one of the country's largely forgotten commanders-in-chief.
Although Hayes studied law at Harvard University, he wasn't born into wealth. In fact, as a young lawyer, he lived in his office for a while to save money while building his practice.
Before becoming President, he saw action in the Civil War as a Union general. He later served as a congressman for two years and was elected the 29th and 32nd Governor of Ohio.
Because of his attention to manners and his teetotaling lifestyle (i.e., he didn't drink), he earned the nickname "Old Granny." Hayes' wife Lucy, for her part, was called "Lemonade Lucy" because it was assumed she insisted that he ban all liquor from the White House. However, it was originally Hayes' idea to push temperance upon visitors.
Supporters appreciated Hayes' sense of fairness and willingness to work across the aisle to get things done. Detractors and cynics jaded by the corruption that characterized the administrations of predecessors Andrew Johnson and Ulysses S. Grant, however, labeled him a fraud.
Hayes presided over the end of post-Civil War Reconstruction. In an effort to placate Southern Democrats, he agreed to pull the last federal troops out of the former Confederate states. He believed that, in doing so, Southern politicians would in turn enforce civil rights for African-Americans, but he was mistaken.
Moreover, he resisted legislation aimed at preventing Chinese immigration into the U.S., and despite campaigning on a pro-labor platform, he enraged workers when he called in federal troops to quash the Great Railroad Strike of 1877.
So there you have it. Although Hayes' presidency was largely unremarkable, you can at least tell your friends that one U.S. President was known as "Old Granny"!
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