Things Republicans Have Done Right: Part Three

The following is a group of (mainly) decent men who guided the nation out of the ashes of reconstruction and helped set the stage for the Gilded era.

Rutherford B. Hayes:
The Good: Surprisingly a man of erudite liberalism for his day. Permitted female lawyers to serve as solicitors before the U.S. Supreme Court; vetoed legislation on numerous occasions which would have gutted post-Civil War civil rights enforcements; expanded trade throughout Central and South American treaties; attempted the first Panama Canal
The Bad: And, boy, was it ever. Set the tone for a disputed election that had to be settled through the "Compromise" of 1877, and, in retrospect really biffed it by only serving one term. By all accounts was a decent, good man and President. Famous for "He serves his Party best who serves his Nation best", if that's any indication of his moral fiber.

Chester A. Arthur:
The Good: The "father of civil service reform", he was staunchly anti-croney, which was odd considering his entire precedent career had been at the teat of special interests; staunchly independent-minded; kick-ass whiskers and a dye-hard Fenian.
The Bad: Let Standard Oil run abso-frickin-lutely rampant; despite his reputation as an independent, absolutely gutted the honest careerists installed in the executive by Grover Cleveland; elitist; Supreme Court picks were duds.

James A. Garfield:
The Good: Not much to report since he only was in office for four months before getting shot. But his is a Trival Pursuit answer, I'm sure...he was the only sitting member of the House of Representatives to be elected the Chief Executive.
The Bad: Ummm, getting shot after innauguration and lingering in a coma would qualify, I'd guess.

Benjamin Harrison:
The Good: Really did attempt to curb the Robber Baron era; passed some serious, heavy duty legislation- The Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the McKinley Tariff; spent serious money on the country (first time the budget hit $1 billion)
The Bad: Was the original waffler of his day; fierce ideologue; a true tax-and-spend-and-tax some more kinda' guy; depleted the nation's gold supply with the Silver initiatives urged by his treasury.