William A. Wheeler (1819-1887) was a New York lawyer and Republican politician who served in state government and represented New York in Congress for much of the Civil War and Reconstruction era. He became Rutherford B. Hayes's vice-presidential running mate in 1876 and served from 1877 to 1881. After leaving office, Wheeler retired because of declining health and returned to his hometown of Malone, where he died in 1887.

Thomas A. Hendricks (1819-885) was an Indiana lawyer and Democratic politician who served in both houses of Congress and as governor of Indiana. He twice became a Democratic vice-presidential nominee before winning the office alongside Grover Cleveland in 1884. Hendricks died suddenly only eight months into his vice presidency, leaving the office vacant for the rest of Cleveland's term.

John C. Breckinridge (1821-1875) was a Kentucky lawyer and Democratic politician who became the youngest vice president in American history and later served as a U.S. senator. He ran for president in 1860 as the Southern Democratic candidate before joining the Confederacy, where he served as a general and eventually Confederate Secretary of War. Breckinridge returned to Kentucky after the Civil War and died in Lexington in 1875.

Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) was the 18th president of the United States and the commanding Union general during the end of the Civil War. As president, he supported Reconstruction and used federal power to defend the civil and political rights of formerly enslaved Americans, while his administration was weakened by corruption scandals involving. After leaving office, Grant faced financial ruin but completed his celebrated Personal Memoirs before dying of throat cancer in 1885.

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) was the 19th president of the United States, a Civil War Union general, lawyer, congressman, and governor of Ohio. His administration emphasized civil service reform, opposition to political patronage, sound currency, and the restoration of presidential authority, during the end of Reconstruction. After leaving office voluntarily after one term, Hayes devoted his retirement to education, prison reform, and other civic causes until his death in 1893.

Schuyler Colfax (1823-1885) rose from journalism in Indiana to become a Republican congressman and Speaker of the House during the Civil War. As Speaker, he presided over the House when Congress passed the Thirteenth Amendment, and he later served as Ulysses S. Grant's vice president. His political career ended amid the Credit Mobilier controversy, after which he became a lecturer before dying in 1885.