The Contested Election Of 1876

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) The Era of Reconstruction, 1865–1877 The Contested Election Of 1876 Most southern states had ended Reconstruction by the time of the 1876 presidential election. While some of the Radical Republicans persisted in working toward achieving the goal of racial equality, the group's influence in Congress had diminished. A last attempt at achieving this was the 1875 Civil Rights Act, which mandated equality on juries and in public spaces. After this statute was contested in court, the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1883, holding that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments did not forbid private discrimination. The Fourteenth Amendment's word and spirit were further undermined by the Supreme Court by the 1870s, when it was decided that emancipated individuals were only entitled to restricted government protection against the Klan and other terror organizations. The contentious election of 1876 demonstrated how deeply divided the nation still remained. Scandals and Democratic victories in the South crushed Grant's ambitions of seeking a third term. Rather, Republicans chose Ohio governor Rutherford B. Hayes, who had served three terms. Samuel Tilden, the New York reform governor who played a key role in bringing a stop to the Tweed Ring and Tammany Hall corruption in New York City, was put forward by Democrats. With a 300,000-vote lead in the popular vote, Tilden appeared to have won the election in November, giving the Democrats an apparent win. But the election was in doubt due to contested results from Louisiana, South Carolina, Florida, and Oregon, whose combined electoral votes were twenty. If Hayes was able to get the twenty electoral votes, he may still win. Congress, with Republicans in charge of the Senate and Democrats in the House of Representatives, was left to decide whether contested votes were legitimate because the Constitution did not specify a procedure for doing so. Congress attempted to resolve the impasse in late January 1877 by forming a special election committee made up of five senators, five representatives, and five Supreme Court judges. There were five Democrats and five Republicans in the congressional delegation, which fairly represented both parties. Two Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent made up the court delegation. David Davis resigned from both the commission and the Supreme Court after being elected to the Senate by the Illinois legislature. President Grant chose a Republican to succeed Davis when Davis resigned, which tipped the odds in Hayes' favor. After that, the panel decided on party lines and gave Hayes the disputed electoral votes and the presidency, 8 to 7. The Democrats objected and threatened to use the legal system to overturn the commission's ruling. Republican Senate leaders collaborated with Democratic leadership to secure support for Hayes and the commission's ruling in what became known as the Compromise of 1877. Both parties agreed that Democrats would control federal patronage (the awarding of government jobs) in their areas in the South, that there would be a commitment to generous internal improvements, including federal aid for the Texas and Pacific Railway, and that one Southern Democrat would be appointed to Hayes's cabinet. The removal of all remaining federal forces from the South would practically put an end to Reconstruction, which was perhaps the most significant development. Hayes had faith that Southern leaders would uphold and abide by the constitutional changes of Reconstruction, which safeguarded the liberated people's rights. To his dismay, his confidence was soon shown to be misplaced, and he spent a significant portion of his life fighting for the rights of freedmen. The Democrats, on the other hand, seized control of the remaining southern states, establishing what came to be known as the "Solid South"—a region that regularly supported the Democratic Party as a whole.