Deja Vu Revisiting The 1876 Election

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DÉJÀ VU: REVISITING THE 1876 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

The United States Presidential election of 1876 was an enormously complex event that would take hundreds of pages to analyze properly. Both of the major parties engaged in crooked practices in Washington and in the Southern Capitals. Similarly, the United States Presidential election of 2000 was mired in controversy. In Article 5, “Déjà vu: Revisiting the 1876 Presidential Election” the two elections are explored.

Americans were still recovering from the shock of General George Armstrong Custer’s defeat at Little Bighorn. The only Civil War in the country’s history was just 10 years ago and it’s greatest living hero, General Ulysses S. Grant, was about to leave the White House. His presidency had been a bitter disappointment to himself and the American public.

The Democratic candidate was Samuel Tilden. He would pursue a policy of cooperation with the South, even though he had supported the war. The Republican candidate, was Rutherford B. Hayes. His party would not exist as a major party in the South if he lost the election. In many ways the two candidates for the presidency were similar. Both were well-educated lawyers and from small towns.


Both candidates were chosen to represent their party because of their honesty and integrity. The American people were optimistic of the candidates’ ability to restore faith in the government. They wished for recovery from the economic strains and racial division of the previous administrative years. Yet, for all this hopeful celebration, the electoral outcome was fraught with suspicious activity and accusation.

On election night both parties were claiming victory. Both parties were disputing South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida results. The majority of the Southern states voted for Tilden. However, the electoral votes supported Hayes.

Republicans argued that Democrats elected Hayes as a result ...