The Election of 1876
Before there was Bush v. Gore, there was an even closer election, the election of 1876, which was the second time that the person elected president did not receive the most popular votes. (The first was in 1824 when John Quincy Adams won the big prize even though Andrew Jackson got more votes). In 1876, the runner-up finisher got over two hundred and eighty thousand more votes than the winner. After a bitter and hard fought campaign, Rutherford B. Hayes ended up receiving 185 electoral votes, beating his rival by one electoral vote. Democratic candidate Samuel Tilden received 184 electoral votes. Tilden won the popular vote however, receiving 4,288,546 votes, compared with 4,034,311 for Hayes.
The campaign began on a controversial note as incumbent President Ulysses Grant contemplated breaking what was then an unwritten rule (but not yet law) which held that a president should only sit for two terms and should not seek re-election to a third term. It was in keeping with what George Washington had done, and the practice was followed by Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson. Despite the poor economy and numerous political scandals, Grant wanted to run for a third term as President despite the long-standing tradition. Grant was considerably younger than any of the other two-term Presidents. Grant was 54 years old when his second term ended, whereas the second-youngest two-term President was Washington. who was 65 years old when his two terms in office were over. But Grant's advisers told him that while he still had enough support within the party, they doubted that he would win the election. Vice-President Henry Wilson died in November of 1875 and later in the month Grant announced that he would not seek re-nomination.
The Republican National Convention assembled in Cincinnati on June 14, 1876. It looked like Senator James G. Blaine of Maine would be the nominee. On the first ballot, Blaine was only 100 votes short of a majority, but his vote began to slide after the second ballot. When it looked like Blaine would not gain any more support, the party looked to Ohio's reform Governor, Rutherford B. Hayes. On the seventh ballot, Hayes was nominated and he received 384 votes, compared to 351 for Blaine and 21 for Benjamin Bristow. William A. Wheeler was nominated for vice-president by a much larger margin (366–89).
Later that month, the Democratic National Convention took place in St. Louis beginning on June 27, 1876. This was the first political convention held west of the Mississippi River. The air was filled with optimism as the party platform called for sweeping reforms in response to the scandal-plagued Grant administration. Tilden won more than 400 votes on the first ballot and the nomination by a landslide on the second. He defeated Thomas A. Hendricks, Winfield Scott Hancock, William Allen, Thomas F. Bayard, and Joel Parker for the presidential nomination. Thomas Hendricks was nominated for vice-president and he was the only person put forward for the position. The Democratic platform promised to replace the corruption of the Grant administration with honest, efficient government as well as for restrictions on Asian immigration, tariff reform, an end to "carpet-bagging" in the south, and opposition to land grants for railroads.
During the campaign, Tilden ran as a reform candidate in contrast with the corruption of the Grant administration. Both parties supported civil service reform and both called for an end to Reconstruction. The campaign was filled with harsh criticisms and attacks back and forth, with Democrats attacking Republican corruption, while Republicans reminded voters about the Civil War. Democrats called this "waving the bloody shirt". A Republicans slogan was "Not every Democrat was a rebel, but every rebel was a Democrat."
In the south, the Democratic party relied on groups such as the Red Shirts and the White League. These vigilante groups actively suppressed black and white Republican voter turnouts by disrupting meetings and rallies and by using violence and intimidation. Neither Tilden nor Hayes actively stumped as part of the campaign, leaving that job to surrogates.
When the votes were counted, just as in 2000, Florida was one of the states at the center of the controversy. In Florida (with 4 electoral votes), Louisiana (8), and South Carolina (7), each of these states reported returns which showed Tilden as leading. But election results in each state were challenged. Allegations of fraud and threats of violence against Republican voters were raised. One of the issues of contention was the design of ballots. At the time, parties would print ballots or "tickets" to enable voters to support them in the open ballots. To aid illiterate voters the parties would print symbols on the tickets. In this election, however, many Democratic ballots were printed with the likeness of Abraham Lincoln on them. The Republican-dominated state electoral commissions subsequently disallowed a sufficient number of Democratic votes to award their electoral votes to Hayes. A total of 20 electoral votes were in dispute as each party claimed its candidate had won the state.
Threats were made that Hayes would never be inaugurated. In Columbus, Ohio, someone fired a gunshot at Hayes's house as he sat down to dinner. President Ulysses Grant increased the military presence in and around Washington.
The Constitution provides that "the President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the [electoral] certificates, and the votes shall then be counted." Some Republicans argued that the power to count the votes lay with the President of the Senate, the House and Senate being mere spectators. This meant that the Republican president of the Senate could decide count the votes of the disputed states for Hayes. The Democrats insisted that Congress should continue the practice followed since 1865, which was that no vote objected to should be counted except by the concurrence of both houses. The House was strongly Democratic. If the Democrats succeeded in throwing out the vote of just one state it could elect Tilden.
The nation faced an unprecedented constitutional crisis. On January 29, 1877, Congress passed a law creating a 15-member Electoral Commission to settle the result. Five members came from each house of Congress, and they were joined by five members of the Supreme Court.
The majority party in each house named three members and the minority party two. As the Republicans controlled the Senate and the Democrats the House of Representatives, this yielded five Democratic and five Republican members of the Commission. Of the Supreme Court justices, two Republicans and two Democrats were chosen, with the fifth to be selected by these four.
The justices first selected a political independent, Justice David Davis. But just as the Electoral Commission Bill was passing Congress, the Legislature of Illinois elected Davis to the Senate. Democrats in the Illinois Legislature believed that they had purchased Davis' support by voting for him. But instead of staying on the Supreme Court so that he could serve on the Commission, Davis promptly resigned as a Justice in order to take his Senate seat. All the remaining available justices were Republicans, so the four justices already selected chose Justice Joseph P. Bradley, who was considered the most impartial remaining member of the court. This selection proved decisive.
The commission met January 31, 1877. The cases of Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina were in succession submitted to it by Congress. Leading counsel appeared for each side. The commission first decided not to question any returns that were appeared lawful. Bradley joined the other seven Republican committee members in a series of 8-7 votes that gave all 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes, giving Hayes a 185-184 electoral vote victory. The commission adjourned on March 2. Two days later Hayes was inaugurated without disturbance
Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders met at Wormley's Hotel in Washington prior to the inauguration to negotiate a compromise. Republicans promised concessions in exchange for Democratic agreement with the Committee's decision. The primary concession Hayes promised would be the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and an acceptance of the election of Democratic governments in the remaining "unredeemed" states of the South. The Democrats agreed, and on March 2, the filibuster was ended. Hayes was elected, but Reconstruction was finished.
The returns accepted by the Commission placed Hayes' victory margin in South Carolina at 889 votes, making this the second-closest election in U.S. history, after the 2000 election, decided by 537 votes in Florida. Despite winning a majority of the popular vote, Samuel Tilden would not become president.
The campaign began on a controversial note as incumbent President Ulysses Grant contemplated breaking what was then an unwritten rule (but not yet law) which held that a president should only sit for two terms and should not seek re-election to a third term. It was in keeping with what George Washington had done, and the practice was followed by Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and Jackson. Despite the poor economy and numerous political scandals, Grant wanted to run for a third term as President despite the long-standing tradition. Grant was considerably younger than any of the other two-term Presidents. Grant was 54 years old when his second term ended, whereas the second-youngest two-term President was Washington. who was 65 years old when his two terms in office were over. But Grant's advisers told him that while he still had enough support within the party, they doubted that he would win the election. Vice-President Henry Wilson died in November of 1875 and later in the month Grant announced that he would not seek re-nomination.
The Republican National Convention assembled in Cincinnati on June 14, 1876. It looked like Senator James G. Blaine of Maine would be the nominee. On the first ballot, Blaine was only 100 votes short of a majority, but his vote began to slide after the second ballot. When it looked like Blaine would not gain any more support, the party looked to Ohio's reform Governor, Rutherford B. Hayes. On the seventh ballot, Hayes was nominated and he received 384 votes, compared to 351 for Blaine and 21 for Benjamin Bristow. William A. Wheeler was nominated for vice-president by a much larger margin (366–89).
Later that month, the Democratic National Convention took place in St. Louis beginning on June 27, 1876. This was the first political convention held west of the Mississippi River. The air was filled with optimism as the party platform called for sweeping reforms in response to the scandal-plagued Grant administration. Tilden won more than 400 votes on the first ballot and the nomination by a landslide on the second. He defeated Thomas A. Hendricks, Winfield Scott Hancock, William Allen, Thomas F. Bayard, and Joel Parker for the presidential nomination. Thomas Hendricks was nominated for vice-president and he was the only person put forward for the position. The Democratic platform promised to replace the corruption of the Grant administration with honest, efficient government as well as for restrictions on Asian immigration, tariff reform, an end to "carpet-bagging" in the south, and opposition to land grants for railroads.
During the campaign, Tilden ran as a reform candidate in contrast with the corruption of the Grant administration. Both parties supported civil service reform and both called for an end to Reconstruction. The campaign was filled with harsh criticisms and attacks back and forth, with Democrats attacking Republican corruption, while Republicans reminded voters about the Civil War. Democrats called this "waving the bloody shirt". A Republicans slogan was "Not every Democrat was a rebel, but every rebel was a Democrat."
In the south, the Democratic party relied on groups such as the Red Shirts and the White League. These vigilante groups actively suppressed black and white Republican voter turnouts by disrupting meetings and rallies and by using violence and intimidation. Neither Tilden nor Hayes actively stumped as part of the campaign, leaving that job to surrogates.
When the votes were counted, just as in 2000, Florida was one of the states at the center of the controversy. In Florida (with 4 electoral votes), Louisiana (8), and South Carolina (7), each of these states reported returns which showed Tilden as leading. But election results in each state were challenged. Allegations of fraud and threats of violence against Republican voters were raised. One of the issues of contention was the design of ballots. At the time, parties would print ballots or "tickets" to enable voters to support them in the open ballots. To aid illiterate voters the parties would print symbols on the tickets. In this election, however, many Democratic ballots were printed with the likeness of Abraham Lincoln on them. The Republican-dominated state electoral commissions subsequently disallowed a sufficient number of Democratic votes to award their electoral votes to Hayes. A total of 20 electoral votes were in dispute as each party claimed its candidate had won the state.
Threats were made that Hayes would never be inaugurated. In Columbus, Ohio, someone fired a gunshot at Hayes's house as he sat down to dinner. President Ulysses Grant increased the military presence in and around Washington.
The Constitution provides that "the President of the Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the [electoral] certificates, and the votes shall then be counted." Some Republicans argued that the power to count the votes lay with the President of the Senate, the House and Senate being mere spectators. This meant that the Republican president of the Senate could decide count the votes of the disputed states for Hayes. The Democrats insisted that Congress should continue the practice followed since 1865, which was that no vote objected to should be counted except by the concurrence of both houses. The House was strongly Democratic. If the Democrats succeeded in throwing out the vote of just one state it could elect Tilden.
The nation faced an unprecedented constitutional crisis. On January 29, 1877, Congress passed a law creating a 15-member Electoral Commission to settle the result. Five members came from each house of Congress, and they were joined by five members of the Supreme Court.
The majority party in each house named three members and the minority party two. As the Republicans controlled the Senate and the Democrats the House of Representatives, this yielded five Democratic and five Republican members of the Commission. Of the Supreme Court justices, two Republicans and two Democrats were chosen, with the fifth to be selected by these four.
The justices first selected a political independent, Justice David Davis. But just as the Electoral Commission Bill was passing Congress, the Legislature of Illinois elected Davis to the Senate. Democrats in the Illinois Legislature believed that they had purchased Davis' support by voting for him. But instead of staying on the Supreme Court so that he could serve on the Commission, Davis promptly resigned as a Justice in order to take his Senate seat. All the remaining available justices were Republicans, so the four justices already selected chose Justice Joseph P. Bradley, who was considered the most impartial remaining member of the court. This selection proved decisive.
The commission met January 31, 1877. The cases of Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina were in succession submitted to it by Congress. Leading counsel appeared for each side. The commission first decided not to question any returns that were appeared lawful. Bradley joined the other seven Republican committee members in a series of 8-7 votes that gave all 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes, giving Hayes a 185-184 electoral vote victory. The commission adjourned on March 2. Two days later Hayes was inaugurated without disturbance
Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders met at Wormley's Hotel in Washington prior to the inauguration to negotiate a compromise. Republicans promised concessions in exchange for Democratic agreement with the Committee's decision. The primary concession Hayes promised would be the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and an acceptance of the election of Democratic governments in the remaining "unredeemed" states of the South. The Democrats agreed, and on March 2, the filibuster was ended. Hayes was elected, but Reconstruction was finished.
The returns accepted by the Commission placed Hayes' victory margin in South Carolina at 889 votes, making this the second-closest election in U.S. history, after the 2000 election, decided by 537 votes in Florida. Despite winning a majority of the popular vote, Samuel Tilden would not become president.