AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS FORGETTABLE PRESIDENTBY: NELSON LEWIS

RUTHERFORD B. HAYES

• Rutherford B. Hayes isn’t a terribly memorable President

• Really, the most interesting thing about this one-termer was that he was one of the four Presidents in US history to lose the popular vote, but still win the electoral

• The other three times being John Quincy Adams in 1824, Benjamin Harrison in 1888 and, most recently, George W. Bush in 2000)

THE BEGINNING

• From the beginning, his Presidency was ill-fated

• As part of the compromise that allowed him to take office, Hayes was only allowed to serve one term

• During that time, he didn’t do a whole lot in the US, being reduced to nothing more than a footnote in the history books

SOUTH AMERICA’S VIEW

• In another part of the world, however, Rutherford B. Hayes is a very big deal

• The tiny South American nation of Paraguay

• They revere Hayes as a national hero, with cities, regions, postage stamps and even soccer teams being named in the former President’s honor

• I recently came across an article discussing this bizarre phenomenon, where a forgettable President received almost godlike adoration from a country most Americans rarely think about

WAR OF THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE

• Back in 1864, the dangerously ambitious (and arguably insane) President of Paraguay, Francisco Solano López, led his country into a massive war

• This war pitted the small country against Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina in a “War of the Triple Alliance”

• The war ended in 1870, with the death of López and the victorious Triple Alliance claiming massive chunks of the defeated country

• Paraguay was devastated by the conflict; an estimated ⅔ of the country’s male population was killed in the fighting, and it took decades for the country to recover from the war’s chaos and demographic imbalance

PARAGUAY RECOVERING

• In 1877, when Hayes took office, the country was still reeling from its losses

• Argentina tried to claim the Chaco, a vast wilderness region in northern Paraguay.

• Since there was no United Nations or World Court at this time, the two sides asked Rutherford B Hayes to mediate the dispute.

HAYES TO THE RESCUE

• When asked to mediate the dispute, Hayes sided with Paraguay, giving the country 60% of its current territory

• In the eyes of many Paraguayans, Hayes helped to guarantee this tiny South American nation’s survival

• Amongst Paraguayans, Hayes is now regarded as an immortal figure

VILLA HAYES

• In the city of Villa Hayes, named in the President’s honor, there is a museum where his portrait hangs,

• There is also a copy of his handwritten decision favoring Paraguay

• The day the decision was signed, November 12, 1878, is now a holiday in the city of Villa Hayes

• Many Paraguayans are astounded that in the US, so few people know (or care) about President Hayes