Although some of the promises were not kept, particularly the railroad proposal, that was enough for the time being to avert a dangerous standoff. Meanwhile, in Oregon, the vote of a single elector was disputed. Why was the presidential election of 1860 a critical presidential election? Hayesdubbed His Fraudulency by a bitter Democratic presswould be publicly inaugurated just two days later. The Supreme Courts rulingthat the 14th Amendments promise of due process and equal protection covered violations of citizens rights by the states, but not by individualswould make prosecuting anti-Black violence increasingly difficult, even as the Klan and other white supremacist groups were helping to disenfranchise Black voters and reassert white control of the South. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Add an answer or comment Log in or sign up first. Immediately after the presidential election of 1876, it became clear that the outcome of the race hinged largely on disputed returns from Florida, Louisiana and South Carolinathe only three states in the South with Reconstruction-era Republican governments still in power. Heres a closer look at its events and legacy, On election night, Republican presidential candidate and Ohio governor Rutherford B. Hayes was losing so badly that he prepared his concession speech before turning in for the night. The 1876 election also has a fraught legacy: After months of bitter fighting, lawmakers made a fateful compromise that put Hayes in office by effectively ending Reconstruction, leading to a century of intensified racial segregation in the South. Why was the presidential election of 1800 considered a peaceful revolution? During the wars aftermath, approximately four million enslaved people were freed, and a Republican-controlled Congress moved swiftly to protect their rights and restore the Confederacy to the Union. A back-room deal. The Compromise of 1877 was an off-the-record deal, struck between Republicans and Democrats, that determined the victor of the 1876 presidential election. Why was the presidential election of 2000 controversial? As a bipartisan congressional commission debated over the outcome early in 1877, allies of the Republican Party candidate Rutherford Hayes met in secret with moderate southern Democrats in order to negotiate acceptance of Hayes election. Still, voter turnout on November 7, 1876, remains the highest ever for a presidential election 82% of eligible citizens cast a ballot. In response, white Southerners rebelled against African Americans newfound power and sought to intimate and disenfranchise black voters through violence, Ronald G. Shafer reported in November for the Washington Post. Colorado was admitted to the Union as the 38th state on August 1, 1876; this was the first presidential election in which the state sent electors. Here are five key things to know about the presidential election of 1876. The 1876 Democratic National Convention nominated Governor Tilden of New York on the second ballot. Hayes would also have to agree to name a leading southerner to his cabinet and to support federal aid for the Texas and Pacific Railroad, a planned transcontinental line via a southern route. Why was the presidential election of 1880 important? An informal, "back-room" deal was struck to resolve the votes: the Compromise of 1877[citation needed]. Articles with the HISTORY.com Editors byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including Amanda Onion, Missy Sullivan and Matt Mullen. Cookie Settings, one of the most bitterly contested presidential elections in history, removal of the last federal troops from Louisiana, Five Places Where You Can Still Find Gold in the United States, Scientists Taught Pet Parrots to Video Call Each Otherand the Birds Loved It, The True Story of the Koh-i-Noor Diamondand Why the British Won't Give It Back, Balto's DNA Provides a New Look at the Intrepid Sled Dog. Why was the presidential election of 1888 controversial? Why were the Republicans successful in the presidential election of 1860? Among . Results by county, shaded according to winning candidate's percentage of the vote, Map of presidential election results by county, Map of Democratic presidential election results by county, Map of Republican presidential election results by county, Map of "other" presidential election results by county, Cartogram of presidential election results by county, Cartogram of Democratic presidential election results by county, Cartogram of Republican presidential election results by county, Cartogram of "other" presidential election results by county, Source: Data from Walter Dean Burnham, Presidential ballots, 18361892 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1955) pp 24757.[32]. Finally, just after 4 a.m. on March 2, 1877, the Senate president declared Hayes the president-elect of the United States. Why did the presidential election of 1876 anger Democrats? Regardless of your opinion, Andrew Johnson and the Democratic party developed the idea of "common man democracy". It made Northern Republicans become more willing to make concessions. "[26] Just as the Electoral Commission Bill was passing Congress, the Illinois Legislature elected Davis to the Senate, and Democrats in the legislature believed that they had purchased Davis's support by voting for him. Tilden was also the last person to win a majority of the popular vote until William McKinley in 1896. The Constitution stipulates that the electoral votes be directed to the President of the Senate who was Republican Thomas W. Ferry. The convention then nominated Donald Kirkpatrick of New York unanimously for vice president. There were 5000 people jammed the auditorium in St. Louis and hopes for the Democratic Party's first presidential victory in 20 years. When the Sixth Republican National Convention assembled in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 14, 1876, James G. Blaine appeared to be the presidential nominee. Why was the presidential election of 1860 unusual? The U.S. Constitution provided no way of resolving the dispute, and now Congress would have to decide. Why did the Democrats win the presidential election of 1856? But after four months of fierce debate and negotiations, Hayes would be sworn into office as 19th president of the United States. Both sides mounted mudslinging campaigns, with Democratic attacks on Republican corruption being countered by Republicans raising the Civil War issue, a tactic that was ridiculed by Democrats, who called it "waving the bloody shirt." In Oregon, one elector was replaced after being declared illegal for having been an "elected or appointed official." Why is the presidential election of 1928 significant? Hayes had served in the Civil War with distinction as colonel of the 23rd Ohio Regiment and was wounded several times, which made him marketable to veterans. Part boulder, part myth, part treasure, one of Europes most enigmatic artifacts will return to the global stage May 6. Of the 369 votes, Samuel J. Tilden . Representatives: 1932 to 2010", "The Twice and Future President: Constitutional Interstices and the Twenty-Second Amendment", "Proceedings of the Republican national convention, held at Cincinnati, Ohio June 14, 15, and 16, 1876 . The most extreme case was in South Carolina, where an impossible 101 percent of all eligible voters in the state had their votes counted,[22] and an estimated 150 Black Republicans were murdered. Why was the 2000 presidential election controversial? The Campaign and Election of 1876 By 1875, the Republican Party was in trouble. Johnson's rocky relations with Congress resulted in an impeachment trial. [24] The Republican-dominated state electoral commissions subsequently rejected enough Democratic votes to award their electoral votes to Hayes. His party chairman went to bed with a bottle of whiskey. The Democrats claimed fraud, and suppressed excitement pervaded the country. After the Civil War ended in 1865, the Republicans held a stranglehold on the presidency, with Gen. Ulysses S. Grant winning easily in both 1868 and 1872. In addition, accusations of corruption within the administration of Ulysses S. Grant and an economic depression had heightened discontent with the Republican Party, which had been in the White House since 1861. Proponents of the Electoral College. They were the party most supportive of slavery before the Civil War but amended their official positions following reunification. It also marks the official end of the Reconstruction Era the 12-year period after the Civil War, designed to help reunify the country after the crisis of secession. Why was the presidential election of 1820 important? On March 2, the congressional commission voted 8-7 along party lines to award all the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, giving him 185 votes to Tildens 184. ", Hayes was a virtual unknown outside his home state of Ohio, where he had served two terms as a representative and then two terms as governor. Why was the presidential election of 1872 different? The two Republican electors dismissed Grover's action and reported three votes for Hayes. She can be reached through her website, noramcgreevy.com. Republican leaders in return agreed on a number of handouts and entitlements, including federal subsidies for a transcontinental railroad line through the South. Threats were even muttered that Hayes would never be inaugurated. Why did the Populists lose the presidential election of 1896? democrats thought the electoral commission voting system was unfair. On the seventh ballot, Hayes was nominated for president with 384 votes, compared to 351 for Blaine and 21 for Benjamin Bristow. The Democrats objected to that construction, since the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the Republican Thomas W. Ferry, could then count the votes of the disputed states for Hayes. What sets the election of 1876 apart from the election of 2020 the most is that lawmakers had ample evidence of widespread voter repression against newly enfranchised African Americans in the post-Confederacy Southand therefore good reason to doubt the veracity of election results. Since it was drawing perilously near to Inauguration Day, the commission met on January 31. It depends. This newfound behavior may offer a clue to how these reptiles will respond to a warming planet. Leaders of the reform Republicans met privately and considered alternatives. Why was the presidential election of 1872 controversial? 2 hours of sleep? Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes' 165, with 20 votes uncounted. HISTORY.com works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. But. United States presidential election of 1896, American presidential election held on November 3, 1896, in which Republican William McKinley defeated Democrat - Populist William Jennings Bryan. The Compromise of 1877 effectively ended the Reconstruction era. Tilden needed just one more vote in the electoral college to reach the 185 electoral votes necessary for the presidency. Grant nonetheless sent a letter to the convention imploring them to nominate Fish, but the letter was misplaced and never read to the convention. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! "You had two political parties competing throughout the . Hayes agreed to cede control of the South to Democratic governments and back away from attempts at federal intervention in the region, as well as place a Southerner in his cabinet. In February, at a meeting held in Washingtons Wormley Hotel, the Democrats agreed to accept a Hayes victory and to respect the civil and political rights of African Americans, on the condition that Republicans withdraw all federal troops from the South, thus consolidating Democratic control in the region. In the decades to come, disenfranchisement of Black voters throughout the South, often through intimidation and violence, helped ensure the racial segregation imposed by the Jim Crow lawsa system that endured for more than a half-century, until the advances of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. Why was the presidential election of 1884 important? answer choices It caused many people to vote against the incumbent Republican party. Artists and scholars like Leonardo Da Vinci had to depend on wealthy and powerful people for support. United States presidential election of 1876, disputed American presidential election held on November 7, 1876, in which Republican Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The men had been convicted of violating the 1870 Enforcement Act, which banned conspiracies to deny citizens constitutional rights and had been intended to combat violence by the Ku Klux Klan against Black people in the South. Grant's inner circle advised him to go for a third term and he almost did so, but on December 15, 1875, the House, by a sweeping 233-18 vote, passed a resolution declaring that the two-term tradition was to prevent a dictatorship. 5 Remarkably Close U.S. Presidential Elections, A History of U.S. Presidential Elections in Maps, https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1876, Social Studies for Kids - The Election of 1876, Maps of World - U.S. Presidential Election 1876, U.S. presidential election of 1876: Tilden/Hendricks campaign broadsheet. Why were there four candidates in the presidential election of 1860? The little-known history of the Florida panther. Why did the presidential election of 1824 cause controversy? In 1876, "the elections in three statesFlorida, Louisiana, and South Carolinawere alleged to have been conducted illegally," the senators write in a statement. . Answer: The presidential election of 1876 angered Democrats because they thought the voting system was unfair. All rights reserved, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. As Floridas Supreme Court had earlier declared a Democratic victory in the 1876 gubernatorial election, Democrats had been restored to power all across the South. Your Privacy Rights Falling crop prices and rising unemployment also worried the Republicans. Each of the disputed state election cases (Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina) was respectively submitted to the commission by Congress. In Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, both parties reported their candidate to have won the state. A presidential election had been held in November, and the result was contested. To date, it remains the election that yielded the highest voter turnout of the eligible voting-age population in American history, at 82.6%. Become a Study.com member to unlock this answer! The Democrats agreed not to block Hayes victory on the condition that Republicans withdraw all federal troops from the South, thus consolidating Democratic control over the region. After a first count of votes, Tilden had won 184 electoral votes to Hayes's 165, with 20 votes from four states unresolved. Henry Adams called Hayes "a third-rate nonentity whose only recommendations are that he is obnoxious to no one." Why did Winfield Scott lose the presidential election of 1852? It was widely assumed during the year 1875 that incumbent President Ulysses S. Grant would run for a third term as president despite the poor economic conditions, the numerous political scandals that had developed since he assumed office in 1869, and a longstanding tradition set by George Washington not to stay in office for more than two terms. A severe economic depression followed the Panic of 1873, and scandals in the Grant administration had tarnished the party's reputation. Why was the presidential election of 1968 a turning point? Why was the election of 1800 a turning point in American history? copyright 2003-2023 Homework.Study.com. The basic outline of events after Election Day, November 7, 1876, is familiar. In the 1876 election, accusations of corruption stemmed from officials involved in counting the necessary and hotly contested electoral votes of both sides, in which Rutherford B. Hayes was elected by a congressional commission . Why did the presidential election of 1876 anger Democrats? A clash between black militia and armed whites in Hamburg in July ended in the death of five militiamen after their surrender, while at Camboy (near Charleston), six white men were killed when armed blacks opened fire in a political meeting. In return, Democrats would not dispute Hayess election, and agreed to respect the civil rights of Black citizens. A Democratic candidate had emerged with the lead in the popular vote, but 19 electoral votes from four states were in dispute. Find History on Facebook (Opens in a new window), Find History on Twitter (Opens in a new window), Find History on YouTube (Opens in a new window), Find History on Instagram (Opens in a new window), Find History on TikTok (Opens in a new window), Compromise of 1877: The End of Reconstruction, https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/compromise-of-1877. | Get access to this video and our entire Q&A library, Presidential Election of 1876: Significance, Issues & Summary. [I]f you had a fair election in the south, a peaceful election, theres no question that the Republican Hayes would have won a totally legitimate and indisputable victory, Eric Foner, a preeminent historian of the Civil War and Reconstruction, told the Guardians Martin Pengelly in August. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The Compromise of 1877 was an informal agreement between southern Democrats and allies of the Republican Rutherford Hayes to settle the result of the 1876 presidential election and marked the end of the Reconstruction era. Lawmakers are citing the 19th-century crisis as precedent to dispute the 2020 election. Why were there four candidates in the presidential election of 1912? The results of the election remain among the most disputed ever. Why is the presidential election of 1824 considered controversial? The 1876 election took place at a remarkable time in American history. Tilden overcame strong opposition from "Honest John" Kelly, the leader of New York's Tammany Hall, to obtain the presidential nomination. Philanthropist Peter Cooper from New York, The Greenback Party had been organized by agricultural interests in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1874 to urge the federal government to inflate the economy through the mass issuance of paper money called greenbacks. There were 369 electoral votes, of which 185 were necessary to a choice. Peter Cooper was nominated for president with 352 votes to 119 for three other contenders. Why did the presidential election of 1800 lead to the Twelfth Amendment. To approach a question 400 million years in the making, researchers turned to mudskippers, blinking fish that live partially out of water. [25], The commission first decided not to question any returns that were prima facie lawful. Why was the presidential election of 1888 unusual? The convention was held from June 8 to 10, 1875 in Liberty Hall, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 12th Democratic National Convention assembled in St. Louis, Missouri, in June 1876, which was the first political convention ever held by one of the major American parties west of the Mississippi River. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. rebecca is likely exp When Adams declined to run, the party did not contest the 1872 election. In an unprecedented move, Congress decided to create an extralegal Election Commission composed of five senators, five House members and five Supreme Court justices. The Hayes-Tilden election was so controversial it spawned todays vote counting process. When Blanchard declined to run, Walker was unanimously nominated for president. The results of the U.S. presidential election of 1876 were a mess. The platform opposed secret societies and monopolies. It also called for treaty protection for naturalized United States citizens visiting their homelands, restrictions on Asian immigration, tariff reform, and opposition to land grants for railroads.