RUTHERFORD B. HAYES (R) - 1877-1881
The 19th president ran on a pledge to only serve one term, and it was his belief all presidents should only serve one term, albeit for six years. He wanted to clean up the corruption from Grant's administration, but he came into office after one of the most fraudulent elections in US history. Between that and the one-term pledge, the Democrats never accepted him and blocked his efforts on just about everything, biding their time for the next election.
He inherited a recession, and he wound up using federal troops to solve a labor dispute with the railroad strike in 1877. He tried passing civil rights bills, but all were shot down. He survived impeachment efforts after he vetoed an anti-Chinese immigration bill.
When I look at Hayes, I see on one hand a man who wasn't able to push his agenda, but on the other, a man who successfully stifled a Congress whose agenda would have been worse.
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