THE ELECTION OF 1876 AND THE COMPROMISE OF 1877: 1876/1877
Sabina Haque
After the Grant administration had finished its second term, the election of 1876 was between Rutherford B. Hayes for the Republican party and Samuel J. Tilden from the Democratic party. The decision of the election, however, remained undecided for months because, although Tilden won the popular vote, his standing in the electoral college relied on the votes of three Southern states. These Southern states were controlled by Republicans, and Tilden's winning those states would make him win the electoral college by one vote. Congress commissioned a committee of fifteen people that would decide how the disputed states' electoral college votes would be used, and they voted 8 to 7 in Hayes's favor. To ratify this decision, it had to go through the House of Representatives, which had a strong number of Democrats that threatened the two-thirds majority to pass. To ensure that Hayes's election did pass, Republicans tried to bribe more conservative Democrats into abandoning their opposition. Eventually, the Compromise of 1877 was formed, and the exact terms and proposer of the agreement remains ambiguous to this day. The basic terms were that Hayes would become president only if they ended Southern Reconstruction.
The division during the election of 1876 showed how intense the influence of the Radical Republicans was in the South. While it were only the the votes from three states that threw the election into disaster, the Republican influence in the South did have the potential to make such a thing happen. To further elaborate, the Republicans' Reconstruction efforts were mainly driven by political aspirations rather than actually doing what was best for the South. In doing so, they actually further complicated things politically and further divided the North and the South. The Compromise of 1877, however, marked the end of the Radical Reconstruction. The Compromise of 1877 was the South's way of telling the Republicans that their harsh efforts were fruitless. By trying to force black suffrage and loyalty onto the South, the Radical Republicans only further angered the South and caused them to act out more. The formation of the Black Codes are an example of this, seeing as the South wanted to retaliate against the Radical Republicans and show them that they had no true control over the South. By getting rid of Radial Republicanism in the South, the Union was also finally trusting the South to figure out what they needed to on their own and rebuild themselves. The harsh and brutal school of forgiving the South that Radical Republicans tried to use had failed to make the South feel a part of the Union again, and the Compromise of 1877 was another opportunity to start fresh.
THE ELECTION OF 1876 AND THE COMPROMISE OF 1877: 1876/1877
Sabina Haque
After the Grant administration had finished its second term, the election of 1876 was between Rutherford B. Hayes for the Republican party and Samuel J. Tilden from the Democratic party. The decision of the election, however, remained undecided for months because, although Tilden won the popular vote, his standing in the electoral college relied on the votes of three Southern states. These Southern states were controlled by Republicans, and Tilden's winning those states would make him win the electoral college by one vote. Congress commissioned a committee of fifteen people that would decide how the disputed states' electoral college votes would be used, and they voted 8 to 7 in Hayes's favor. To ratify this decision, it had to go through the House of Representatives, which had a strong number of Democrats that threatened the two-thirds majority to pass. To ensure that Hayes's election did pass, Republicans tried to bribe more conservative Democrats into abandoning their opposition. Eventually, the Compromise of 1877 was formed, and the exact terms and proposer of the agreement remains ambiguous to this day. The basic terms were that Hayes would become president only if they ended Southern Reconstruction.
The division during the election of 1876 showed how intense the influence of the Radical Republicans was in the South. While it were only the the votes from three states that threw the election into disaster, the Republican influence in the South did have the potential to make such a thing happen. To further elaborate, the Republicans' Reconstruction efforts were mainly driven by political aspirations rather than actually doing what was best for the South. In doing so, they actually further complicated things politically and further divided the North and the South. The Compromise of 1877, however, marked the end of the Radical Reconstruction. The Compromise of 1877 was the South's way of telling the Republicans that their harsh efforts were fruitless. By trying to force black suffrage and loyalty onto the South, the Radical Republicans only further angered the South and caused them to act out more. The formation of the Black Codes are an example of this, seeing as the South wanted to retaliate against the Radical Republicans and show them that they had no true control over the South. By getting rid of Radial Republicanism in the South, the Union was also finally trusting the South to figure out what they needed to on their own and rebuild themselves. The harsh and brutal school of forgiving the South that Radical Republicans tried to use had failed to make the South feel a part of the Union again, and the Compromise of 1877 was another opportunity to start fresh.
The Disputed Election of 1876 (Secondary Source)
"A Truce -- Not a Compromise" (Primary Source)