Election of 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden

1. Summary of US Presidential Elections Election of 1876Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden

2. Table of Contents • Presidential Elections • ELECTION OF 1876 • Time for Change • Election of 1876: Issues • Controversy • Disputed Election • Aftermath • End of Presentation

3. Presidential Elections • Departing from the monarchical tradition of Britain, the founding fathers of the United States created a system in which the American people had the power and responsibility to select their leader. • Under this new order, George Washington, the first U.S. president, was elected in 1789. At the time, only white men who owned property could vote, but the 15th , 19th and 26th Amendments to the Constitution have since expanded the right to vote to all citizens over 18. • Taking place every 4 years, presidential campaigns and elections have evolved into a series of fiercely fought, and sometimes controversial, contests, now played out in the 24-hour news cycle. The stories behind each election—some ending in landslide victories, others decided by the narrowest of margins—provide a roadmap to the events of U.S. history.

4. ELECTION OF 1876 Rutherford B. Hayes vs. Samuel Tilden

5. Time for Change • In 1876 the Republican party nominated Rutherford B. Hayes of OH for president and William A. Wheeler of NY for vice president. • The Democratic candidates were Samuel J. Tilden of NY for president and Thomas A. Hendricks of IN for vice president. • Several minor parties, including the Prohibition party and the Greenback party, also ran candidates.

6. Election of 1876: Issues • The country was growing weary of Reconstruction policies, which kept federal troops stationed in several southern states. Moreover, the Grant administration was tainted by numerous scandals, which caused disaffection for the party among voters. • In 1874 the House of Representatives had gone Democratic; political change was in the air.

7. Controversy • Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, receiving 4,284,020 votes to 4,036,572 for Hayes. In the electoral college Tilden was also ahead 184 to 165; both parties claimed the remaining 20 votes. • The Democrats needed only 1 more vote to capture the presidency, but the Republicans needed all 20 contested electoral votes. 19 of them came from SC, LA and FL–states that the Republicans still controlled. • Protesting Democratic treatment of black voters, Republicans insisted that Hayes had carried those states but that Democratic electors had voted for Tilden.

8. Disputed Election • Two sets of election returns existed–one from the Democrats, one from the Republicans. Congress had to determine the authenticity of the disputed returns. • Unable to decide, legislators established a 15 member commission composed of 10 congressmen and 5 Supreme Court justices. The commission was supposed to be nonpartisan, but ultimately it consisted of 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats. The final decision was to be rendered by the commission unless both the Senate and the House rejected it.

9. Hayes Wins • The commission accepted the Republican vote in each state. The House disagreed, but the Senate concurred, and Hayes and Wheeler were declared president and vice president.

10. Aftermath • The question of who should have been awarded these electoral votes is the source of the continued controversy concerning the results of this election. • In the aftermath of the commission’s decision, the federal troops that remained in the South were withdrawn, and southern leaders made vague promises regarding the rights of the 4 million African-Americans living in the region. • It was one of the most contentious and controversial presidential elections in American history. The results of the election remain among the most disputed ever,

11. End of Presentation