The Election of 1876: Bargain or Betrayal?

Let me assure my countrymen of the Southern States that it is my earnest desire to regard and promote their truest interest--the interests of the white and of the colored people both and equally--and to put forth my best efforts in behalf of a civil policy which will forever wipe out in our political affairs the color line and the distinction between North and South, to the end that we may have not merely a united North or a united South, but a united country. - Rutherford B. Hayes, March 5th, 1877. 

Hey everyone. Welcome back. 

When considering the transition from Reconstruction to the Gilded Age, the election 1876 serves as a tentpole moment. Historians of the era remain in debate about the exact moment or event that signified the terminal end of Reconstruction with some arguing it ended as early as 1874 when Democrats retook the House of Representatives and others asserting its death was closer to the end of the nineteenth century. Yet most agree that the election of Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 was a critical tipping point - a moment that signified in bold terms that America’s commitment to the gains made during Reconstruction - and the effort and cost it required to enforce - was ending.

In one of the most tightly contested elections in American history, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became the 19th president of the United States under arguably dubious circumstances. A man who whole heartedly believed he would have won the presidency in a landslide had situations been different, Hayes entered the office under accusations of making a deal with the devil. Was Hayes a man who betrayed millions of Black Americans to secure victory? Or was he simply part of a no win political quagmire?

Let’s find out. This week, I am diving into the election of 1876. Who were the candidates? What was the national mood? And was this really the end of Reconstruction? 

Grab your cup of coffee, peeps. Let’s do this. 

Understanding the election of 1876 - and how it devolved to the point of a quote unquote corrupt bargain - requires getting a sense of what was happening in the country at the time. As I’ve dived into here, the United States was hit by a massive financial panic in 1873 when financier Jay Cooke stunned the markets when he refused to open his banking firm in September, all but admitting his inability to satisfy his debtors. Cooke’s failure helped set off a domino effect for the U.S. economy and triggered debates in Congress about monetary policy. The depression proved disastrous for the Republican party and in the 1874 midterms, Democrats took control of the House of Representative by flipping over 90 seats in their favor. 

President Grant was also suffering heavy hits to his reputation as a result of the numerous scandals plaguing his administration, which the opposition party used to their advantage. Thus, the presidential contest in 1876 was primed for a Democratic landslide. Or was it? 

Heading into the Republican National Convention in Cincinnati, Ohio then-Governor Rutherford B. Hayes was not a sure thing. The Republican field was crowded including Roscoe Conkling and James Blaine. While Blaine was the perceived favorite, Roscoe Conkling believed he would win the nomination easily, even presumptuously creating the campaign slogan quote: “Conkling & Hayes is the ticket that pays,” end quote. Hayes was presented as a veteran who exemplified bravery with an impressive legislative record against Democrats while Governor. The crowded field worked in Hayes’s favor and he earned the nomination on the 7th ballot - on June 17th, the second day of voting. The Republican platform promoted equal rights for all, pledged resumption of specie payments, and pacification of the South. After the convention the New York Times headline read quote “History repeats itself after all. In 1876 as in 1860 the Republican Party has found its Lincoln to lead it on to victory,” end quote. Even the opposition press characterized Hayes as honest. 

The Democrats opened their convention just over a week after the Republican convention ended in St. Louis - marking it the first time a national convention was held west of the Mississippi River. Six candidates were up for the nomination, but New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden commanded an early lead, securing 400 votes on the first ballot. Tilden was seen as a reformer thanks in part to his work in breaking up the Tweed Ring in New York City and his efforts to sideline Tammany Hall. And despite strong opposition from Tammany - including a stunt where several individuals hung a banner on the balcony of a local hotel claiming that Tilden had no chance of winning his home state of New York - Tilden secured the nomination on just the second vote. And although he won the nomination quickly, Samuel J. Tilden, described as cold and a hypochondriac, was not exactly a unifying figure. But for the Democrats, personality didn’t matter. What was critical in their eyes was retaking the White House for the first time in twenty years. The campaign focused mostly on cleaning up the corruption of the Grant administration and running as reformers.

Yet, despite the initial contrasts between the parties and their platforms, as the election grew closer, these differences seemed to fade. As historian Michael F. Holt explains quote “Reform" was the central theme of the Democrats’ 1876 campaign, but Grant’s decision in May 1875 not to seek a third term allowed those Republicans eager to appease Liberal Republicans to run a clean government man, Ohio’s Rutherford B. Hayes,” end quote. Holt also asserts that party platforms became blurred and that heading into election day, it was unclear as to whether either party held a commanding lead over the other. 

Just over a decade out from the Civil War, there were a significant number of Republicans who were concerned over the idea of Democrats retaking the federal government - especially considering that Democrats throughout the south had already demonstrated a clear desire to blunt if not outright undo all of the work of Reconstruction to date. Future president James Garfield warned Americans of the need to be diligent, explaining that people living in the north quote: “could never relax their vigilance until the ideas for which they fought have become embodied in the enduring forms of individual life,” end quote. 

Regardless of the pleas of James Garfield, Americans were exhausted from such vigilance. Politically motivated violence continued throughout the South, which all but prevented thousands of Black men from exercising their right to vote. In 1875, white rifle clubs drilled in public in Mississippi - and terrorized anyone they suspected of being a Republican. In the winter of 1874 and 1875, Grant sought permission from Congress to again suspend habeas corpus in response to the pervasive violence in several areas in the South, Republicans killed the measure. Their fear was that any further meddling in southern affairs - even if in the protection of civil and voting rights - would only serve to further drive Americans to vote for the opposition. Thus, Grant was unable to through any more federal resources at the issue and the intimidation and violence went unchecked. In fact, several white supremacists groups like the Ku Klux Klan saw the federal government’s inaction as a green light to carry on their reign of violent terror. They harassed and intimidated voters - even in broad daylight - knowing they’d face zero consequences. This inability or unwillingness to act highlighted just how far the nation’s mood had shifted since the earliest moments of Reconstruction. 

With such widespread violence and intimidation throughout the south heading into voting day, it was unclear exactly who might come out the winner. The presidential contest in 1876 also represented the first time in U.S. history that the country tried to vote on the same day - the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. There were some state statutes that prevented this from being across the board, but a single consistent day of voting started in 1876. When election day came, Democrats committed blatant voter fraud and other illegal activities intended to guarantee their party’s victory including destroying ballot boxes and scaring off any voter they suspected wouldn’t vote their way. One democrat apparently admitted that the party intended on winning the election even if quote “we have to wade in blood knee-deep,” end quote. And despite the depression of the Black vote thanks to violence and intimidation, turnout among white voters was one of the highest in American history. But the Republican hands were not clean either. As historian Richard White illustrates, quote: “The Democrats relied on fraud, violence, and coercion to suppress the black vote, and the Republicans marshaled fraud of their own and their control of the returning boards to count out the Democrats,” end quote. 

As the returns came in, it looked as though Democrat Samuel Tilden would be declared the winner. As Hayes retired for the night, Tilden had already successfully won 184 or the required 185 electoral votes needed to become president. Yet Hayes’s associates refused to give up hope, believing there was still a path - however slim - to victory since the results in three key states - South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida - remained unclear. These states also happened to be the last three southern states still under Republican control. And since the Republicans ran the state - they also ran the returning boards that decided which votes were valid. It should come as little surprise that Republicans, using the widespread violence and intimidation tactics used by Democrats, invalidated a number of votes cast - enough to give Hayes the victory in each state. This outraged the Democratic party and thus - when each state met to cast their electors in December all three - South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana - held two separate votes - which led to two separate sets of electoral vote counts being sent to Congress. There was also a weird issue in Oregon where a Republican elector also held a federal position as a postmaster - something not allowed under the Constitution. Disagreement about the appropriate remedy created turmoil in Oregon causing them to also cast two sets of electoral votes and send both to Congress. 

This meant that when all was said and done, Tilden led Hayes with an electoral vote count of 184 to 165 - with 20 electoral votes under dispute. How, exactly, should the dispute be resolved? Looking at the Constitution provided no answers since it only required the votes be counted by the President of the Senate. It did not provide remedy or recourse for what to do in situations where the electoral votes themselves were under dispute. Congress was split - with the Senate falling under Republican control and the Democrats in control of the House. Unsurprisingly, both chambers had different opinions on how to solve the problem - with Republicans arguing that the President of the Senate - a Republican - should be given the authority to determine which votes to count and the Democrats arguing that the majority of Congress should decide. 

This fracture was cause for grave concern. Again, the country was not too far out from the Civil War and there was fear that prolonged disagreement and inability to come to a consensus could lead to a dangerous outcome. George McClellan, a former Commanding General for the Army and Democrat, openly talked about raising troops for a march on Washington. Tilden supporters pushed for the candidate to act decisively - he had won the popular vote by just shy of 300,000 votes - he needed to act as if he was the presumptive winner. Hayes, who believed that had violence not been permitted throughout the South that he would have won the presidency in a landslide, also expressed concerned about the stalemate but remained resolute that the returning boards be left to count their votes and that no one make any overtures that could be seen as interference. Of the potential loss Hayes said quote: “Let Mr. Tilden have the place by violence, intimidation, and fraud, rather than prevent it by means that will not bear the purest scrutiny,” end quote. 

Unable to come to an agreement in Congress, the two sides brokered a compromise and decided to create the Federal Electoral Commission who would be vested with the authority on how to resolve the dispute. The commission was to be bipartisan - with five senators, five representatives, and five Supreme Court justices. The idea was to split representation evenly between the two parties and include one independent. Unfortunately, circumstances led to the final independent seat going to a Republican justice, Joseph P. Bradley of New Jersey, giving the Republicans a slight edge on the commission. 

At the same time, leaders from both political parties were meeting to see if they couldn’t come up with some sort of compromise that was amenable to both sides. As Hayes biographer Hans Trefousse explained quote: “even before the commission reported, various Hayes friends had already been negotiating with Southern representatives,” end quote. According Trefousse, there were several members from the south who had expressed a willingness to permit a Republican presidency - but only if they received certain guarantees. Despite the creation of a special commission, there were many who feared that the Democrats - who desperately wanted to retake the White House - would filibuster or otherwise delay and derail any outcome that didn’t have Tilden as the winner. Some were desperate to ensure that didn’t happen and thus, on February 26, 1877, a final meeting between a collection of southern representatives and Hayes supporters met at Washington DC’s Wormley’s hotel to broker a deal. 

In exchange for allowing the disputed electoral votes to go to Rutherford B. Hayes, Southern representatives demanded that federal troops be withdrawn from the South, that Hayes give a cabinet level position to a southerner, and that he supported the Texas and Pacific Railroad - in the form of land grants to aid in their development of a transcontinental line along the south. Included in this deal was the agreement that southern Democrats would respect the civil and voting rights of Black Americans. This is what became known as the Bargain or Compromise of 1877. 

Finally, on March 2nd at 4 o’clock in the morning, Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the president with 185 electoral votes to Samuel Tilden’s 184. Reaction to the news depended on the press with the Republican supporting New York Evening Post declaring quote: “President Hayes is about to take possession of his office. Let it be understood once and for all that he takes it without a cloud on his title,” end quote. While another New York paper, the Sun taking a different position with a headline stating quote: “The Fraud Consummated,” end quote. 

In the end, Hayes did appoint a prominent southerner to his cabinet and within just weeks of assuming office, ordered federal troops guarding state houses in the south to vacate the area. But he did not fully keep his side of the bargain - the Texas and Pacific Railroad never got their federal land grants. And while the Democrats did not put up a fight and further delay Hayes’s elevation to the presidency, they failed to honor and respect the civil and voting rights of Black Americans. Historian Jill Lepore argues that the presidency was a quote “minor and petty political win” that exacted too steep of a price. 

The election of Rutherford B. Hayes may not have been the penultimate moment causing Reconstruction’s downfall, but it triggered a series of events that helped ensure Reconstruction would ultimately retreat from the American consciousness. In the South, men calling themselves redeemers completed their mission of retaking state governments and passing a new series of black codes. Known as Jim Crow, these laws created a racially segregated society and put Black Americans in a separate, lower class. Black Americans were relegated to separate barstools, train cars, and water fountains. In 1881, Tennessee became the first state to pass such laws, mandating racial separation in railroad cars. Georgia followed suit in 1891, requiring separate white and black street cars. This of course culminated in the United States Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson that established the separate equal legal doctrine that would drive race relations in the United States until the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s. 

The 1876 Presidential election is, in my opinion, a good bridge to our next era in American history: the Gilded Age. I hope you all have enjoyed my exploration of Reconstruction - I learned more than I thought possible and have a newfound respect for the time period. I should also prepare you, listeners, that we’re about to head into one of my favorite periods in American history - the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. I have a nice long list of topics, but you know I always like fielding your requests - the inbox is open so please do not hesitate to share your questions, ideas, or topic must haves. 

And before I sign off today, one quick programming note. I mentioned this on the patreon earlier this month but I am taking a semi-break in December. I call it a semi-break because while I won’t be releasing narrative episodes, I will be sharing some of the fantastic conversations I’ve had with authors and historians about their work. Thus, you all still get an episode each week while I get some respite and start building the episodes for the Gilded Age in the new year. I have some fantastic guests coming up and I am so excited to share their work with you. And with that, peeps, I wish you a happy holiday season. Make sure to take it easy when you can and soak up the joy whenever possible. Thank you for another great year of history content - here is to a fantastic 2026. 

Thanks, peeps. I’ll see you next time.