The top two candidates were Republican Rutherford B.

Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden.

For weeks, Americans were unsure of the winner.

A special electoral commission carried out an investigation.

Tilden had won the popular vote, but the commission found Hayes to be the winner.

Two days later, he was sworn in as the 19th president.

Hayes was well respected, honest and dignified.

He banned alcoholic drinks from the White House, but on most other issues he took a moderate position, Observer said.

His presidency traveled a middle path, and historians say that among US presidents, Hayes is somewhere around the middle.