One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals. - Rutherford B. Hayes

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Engraved portrait of Rutherford B. Hayes, facing left

One of the tests of the civilization of people is the treatment of its criminals.

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About Rutherford B. Hayes

Rutherford Birchard Hayes (October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States (1877–1881). As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction, began the efforts that led to civil service reform, and attempted to reconcile the divisions left over from the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Biography information from Wikiquote · Portrait adapted from Wikimedia Commons, Mathew Benjamin Brady (Public domain / CC0)

Also Known As

Birth Name: Rutherford Birchard Hayes
Alternative Names: Rutherford Hayes R. B. Hayes President Hayes

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Additional quotes by Rutherford B. Hayes

Nobody ever left the presidency with less regret, less disappointment, fewer heart burnings, or any general content with the result of his term (in his own heart, I mean) than I do. Full of difficulty and trouble at first, I now find myself on smooth waters and under bright skies.

Disunion and civil war are at hand; and yet I fear disunion and war less than compromise. We can recover from them. The free States alone, if we must go on alone, will make a glorious nation.

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You use the phrase “brutal Rebels.” Don’t be cheated in that way. There are enough “brutal Rebels” no doubt, but we have brutal officers and men too. I have had men brutally treated by our own officers on this raid [to Lynchburg, Va.]. And there are plenty of humane Rebels. I have seen a good deal of it on this trip. War is a cruel business and there is brutality in it on all sides, but it is very idle to get up anxiety on account of any supposed peculiar cruelty on the part of Rebels. Keepers of prisons in Cincinnati, as well as in Danville, are hard-hearted and cruel.

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