Marie E. answered • 09/10/20
Marketing MBA + English BA for Stand-Out College Essays, Writing Help
Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became the 19th president of the United States in 1877, defeating Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The victory was a contentious one: Tilden won the popular vote and early returns also suggested that he had clinched an electoral college victory. While winning the electoral college would have awarded Tilden the presidency, Hayes's campaign team launched a challenge of 19 electoral votes that had been received from Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana.
This challenge and charges of widespread voter fraud compelled Congress to create a special bipartisan electoral commission to decide which of these electoral votes should be tallied. The electoral commission was designed to feature seven Democrats, seven Republicans, and one independent member-- the Justice of the Supreme Court. In a dramatic twist, Justice David Davis resigned and refused to serve because he had recently elected to the Senate; he was replaced by Republican Joseph Bradley.
As the commission began its deliberation, Hayes's Republican allies negotiated in secret with moderate Southern Democrats. Their negotiations resulted in the Compromise of 1877, in which the Southern Democrats allowed Hayes to become President upon his promise to end Reconstruction by withdrawing all US troops protecting Republican politicians in the South. This secret "back room" deal led to a commission vote that narrowly awarded the electoral college vote, and therefore the presidency, to Rutherford B. Hayes.
Did the Republican Hayes steal the presidency from the Democrat Tilden? Tilden's fate was sealed when an electoral deal was made between the Republicans and Southern Democrats that ultimately resulted in a loss of the presidency for the Democrats. If the presidency was "stolen" from Tilden, members of his own party were willing and active accomplices.
