US Election of 1876 - Term Paper Example

US election of 1876 Introduction The year 1876 marked the centennial for United s of America as an independent nation. With all the s engrossed in celebrations, it was evident that in its anniversary year the oldest democracy should hold its Presidential Election. However, few must have predicted the predicaments that the country will go through to select its 19th President. America had by then endured a civil war and an economic depression. USA had come a long way since. It was successful in establishing many reforms. Amendment 14 and 15, passed in 1866, were well incorporated in the constitution giving black citizens equal status as whites and abolishing slavery. The stage was all set to select a new president for the new United States of America. The panic created by the economic depression in 1873 had left the public with many bitter memories. The economic depression had also reduced the interest of northerners in Reconstruction of southern region. (Olson, 15-24) General Ulysses Grant, the 18th President of US was not able to handle the 1873 panic crisis aptly. Many key people in his government were directly accused of being involved in the railroad corruption charges. Hence, the entire population of US was hoping for a change and the election of 1876 was supposed to deliver it. (Brune, 124) Selection of the 19th US President The election of 1876 has a very special significance in US history. It is till date the closest Presidential election in the US history. On March 03, 1987, Rutherford Birchard Hayes was sworn in secretly in the Red Room as the 19th President of The United States. The entire saga dates back to the last Presidential term of General Ulysses Grant. Grant’s term as a President was tainted with many corruption charges. Both the Republicans and the Democrats were aware of the importance of winning public trust to clinch the 19th US Presidential Election. Hence, both the parties wanted their candidates to have a clean image. To serve this purpose the democrats opted for Samuel J. Tilden, who had an impeccable record. Tilden had established himself as the reform minded governor of New York. He also had strong support base .His stand on removing the remaining Federal occupation soldiers from south had won him many fans from his northern constituency. Due to the economic crisis, the northern region was no more interested in the Reconstruction of south. The Reconstruction was depleting the north and they wanted to end the reconstruction movement. (Cooper) The republicans on the other hand decided to nominate James G Blaine but due to his involvement in some questionable deals his nomination was revoked and Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated. Rutherford B. Hayes was the governor of Ohio. He also like Tilden had a clean public image and commanded respect from many. He was hailed as a war hero by many. Peter Cooper was nominated by the National Greenback Party. He was 85 years of age. The Republicans raised questions regarding the health issues of Tilden. Tilden’s ties with railroad projects were also an issue of objection for many. The democrats questioned the intentions of Hayes regarding reforms to assure equality to the black citizens of United States (Cooper). The Election Campaign As the election campaign began, the general view was that the Democrats would win by a huge margin. Grant’s term as a President was clouded by many corruption charges. The Republicans were afraid of a public backlash due to their last government’s performance. By the time the election was concluded, it appeared as though Tilden had won the election. It was only once the counting was over that it was realized that Tilden must win the southern state votes by huge margin to declare a win. The republicans became aware of the ground reality and fought southern state elections with a new leash of life. The Republicans and the Democrats both indulged in giving bribes and spread money around to buy votes. Florida, Louisiana, and Southern Carolina were the states in question. Both parties knew that if they could win in these states by huge margin they would be able to seal the win. (Woodward, 24-40) The Dispute When the total votes were counted, all in question were left stunned. Tilden was able to secure 184 votes and Hayes had won 165 votes. 20 votes were in dispute. It was clear at that time that Hayes must win those 20 votes to claim victory. The disputed vote from Oregon ultimately was awarded to Hayes. However, to settle the matter of the remaining 19 disputed votes an Electoral Commission was set up. The commission comprised of five senators, five representatives and five members of the Supreme Court. Seven Democrats, seven Republicans and one independent justice (Justice David Davis) were also made unofficial members of the electoral commission, after both parties agreed to it. Many were against the notion of choosing Justice David Davis as he was rumored to prefer Tilden. (Woodward, 24-40) The Mutual Agreement between the Southern Democrats and Republicans It was on March 02, 1877 that the final decision regarding the disputed votes was taken. The Southern democrats agreed to give their votes to Hayes, if their demand on ending the Reconstruction was delivered by the Republicans. The Republicans complied with the demands of the Southern Democrats. The Southern democrats gave a majority to the Republicans in the House of Representatives and Hayes was declared the 19th President of US. Many democrats were enraged by this decision and threatened to use force, but Samuel. J Tilden was able to pursue them to accept the decision. As time progressed the terms on which the compromise of 1877 was reached, was breached several times by the Republicans. (Woodward, 46-55) The Significance of the Agreement The most relevant significance of the compromise of 1877 between the Southern Democrats and the Republicans is the control that the Republicans were able to gain back after a long spell of speculation. End of reconstruction is also the aftermath of the election of 1876. End of reconstruction led to a lot of unrest in Southern region. Human rights violation against the blacks became more frequent after the removal of troops from Southern region. The whites in southern region tried using force to bring back slavery. The erosion of human rights for the blacks, which the Republicans had fought for by pushing the 14 and the 15th amendments, was the direct implication of the compromise of 1877. (Campbell, 147-149) Conclusion Finally, Hayes won the election by only one vote. Till date many historians believe that it was Tilden who had won two of the three states but the Electoral Commission assigned all the disputed votes to Hayes. Rutherford Hayes served one term and retired from politics. He is acknowledged as an honest and a good administrator. He was able to remove the last federal troops from southern states, hence bringing an end to Southern Reconstruction. He also worked hard for civil rights and fought to end corruption in government. In his term, he was successful in steering US to a better future. References Brune, H Lester , Chronological History of U.S. Foreign Relations: 1607-1932 Routledge ,2003 Campbell, C. Ballard , Disasters, Accidents And Crisis in American History, InfoBase, 2008 Cooper, John. “Rutherford Hayes and Samuel Tilden: The 1876 American Election Won by a Single Vote”, November 12, 2009 April 02, 2011 from: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/presidents_and_first_ladies/28316/2, Oakes, H. Elizabeth and Kia Mehrdad. Social Science Resources in the Electronic Age: U.S. history. Greenwood publishing, 2004. Olson, Ron. US history 1865-present career, 2007. Woodward, Vann Comer. Origins of the new south 1877-1913, LSU, 1971. Read More