Presidents and Crisis: Rutherford Hayes and the Disputed Election of 1876
Rutherford B. Hayes walked into the presidency under what was probably the most tense situation in presidential history, perhaps even more tense than that encountered by Abraham Lincoln. Days before his inauguration, no one knew for certain whether Hayes or Democrat Samuel Tilden would be the next president. When a bipartisan commission awarded all of the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, many speculated that the decision would lead to rioting in the streets by those who believed that Tilden was robbed of his rightful victory. But the peaceful transition of government occurred, though not without its consequences.
On November 11,1876, three days after election day, it looked as if Democratic Presidential candidate Samuel Tilden had won 184 electoral votes, just one shy of a majority. But Hayes only appeared to have won 166 votes, even fewer than Tilden. In dispute were the 19 electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Republicans and Democrats each claimed victory in those states, but the results in all of these states were uncertain because of accusations of voter fraud leveled by both parties. To further complicate matters, one of the three electors from Oregon (a state Hayes had won) was disqualified and this reduced Hayes's total to 165. If Tilden could receive just one of the disputed electoral votes, he would be elected president.
The first question that had to be resolved was about the process to decide who got the disputed electoral votes. The Senate was under Republican control, while Democrats controlled the House of Representatives. Each body claimed jurisdiction to decide the issue. It was a constitutional crisis of the highest magnitude.
By January 1877, the question was still unresolved. President Ulysses Grant and leaders in Congress reached an agreement to submit the matter to a bipartisan Electoral Commission, which would be given authority to determine the fate of the disputed electoral votes. The Commission was to be made up of five members of the House of Representatives, five senators, and five Supreme Court justices. To ensure partisan balance, there would be seven Democrats and seven Republicans. Justice David Davis, an independent who was respected by both parties was chosen as the fifteenth member, and the man who would have cast the deciding vote. Davis, who had been a friend of Abraham Lincoln, was considered a fair man and no one had any idea how he would vote on the issue.
Then the Democrats messed things up. Democrats in the Illinois legislature elected Davis to the Senate. They foolishly hoped that this would sway his vote. But Davis had too much integrity to be influenced in that manner. He accepted the senate seat, but then disqualified himself from serving on the Commission. This move backfired on the Democrats because all of the remaining Supreme Court Justices were Republicans. Justice Joseph P. Bradley was believed to be the most independent-minded of them, so he was selected to take Davis's place on the Commission. The Commission met in February and on March 2, 1877 (two days before inauguration day) the eight Republicans (including Bradley) voted to award all 20 electoral votes to Hayes.
Democrats were outraged by the result and attempted a filibuster to prevent Congress from accepting the Commission's findings. Tilden had won the popular vote and Democrats believed that the election had been stolen. There was fear of rioting and of mob action to prevent Hayes' inauguration. President Grant was worried that an insurrection by Tilden's supporters might try to disrupt the public inauguration ceremony, so he ordered extra troops on the scene.
As the March 4 inauguration day neared, Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders met at Wormley's Hotel in Washington to try to negotiate a compromise to bring about the orderly transition of power. Republicans leaders promised concessions if the Democrats would show public acceptance of the Committee's decision. The primary concession Hayes promised was 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.
This compromise spelled the end of Republican Reconstruction efforts and adversely affected the plight of African-Americans in the south for generations. On April 3, Hayes ordered his Secretary of War George W. McCrary to withdrawal federal troops that were stationed at the South Carolina State House to return to their barracks. On April 20, Hayes ordered the Secretary of War to have the federal troops stationed in New Orleans to return to their barracks as well.
March 4, 1877 fell on a Sunday, so Hayes took the oath of office privately on Saturday, March 3, in the Red Room of the White House. He was the first president to take the oath in the Executive Mansion. He took the oath publicly on the following Monday on the East Portico of the United States Capitol. In his inaugural address, Hayes tried to quell the passions of the past few months. He said, "he serves his party best who serves his country best". He pledged to support what he described as "wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government" in the South, as well as reform of the civil service and also promised a full return to the gold standard. He also pledged to serve only one term. Despite his conciliatory message, most Democrats never considered Hayes's election legitimate and referred to him by pejorative names such as "Rutherfraud" or "His Fraudulency" for the remainder of his term.
In choosing the members of his cabinet, Hayes rejected the selection of Radical Republicans and instead opted for moderates. He also nixed selecting anyone he considered to be a potential presidential candidate. Among those selected were: William M. Evarts, the mam who had defended President Andrew Johnson against impeachment. As Secretary of State he chose George W. McCrary, someone who had helped establish the Electoral Commission of 1877. In an effort to reach out to Southern moderates, Hayes selected David M. Key, a former Confederate soldier, to serve as Postmaster General.
Hayes had been a firm supporter of Republican Reconstruction policies throughout his political career. In light of the deal that had been brokered to get his the presidency, he had to abandon those principles. The first major act of his presidency was an end to Reconstruction and the return of the South to "home rule". When Hayes assumed office, only two Reconstruction governments remained, in South Carolina and Louisiana. He obtained from South Carolina Governor Wade Hampton III a notional promise to respect the civil rights of African-Americans, before ending Reconstruction in South Carolina on April 10, 1877. In Louisiana, Hayes appointed a commission to mediate between the rival governments of Republican Stephen B. Packard and Democrat Francis T. Nicholls. The commission chose to support Nicholls's government, and this led to Hayes ending Reconstruction in Louisiana, and in the country as a whole, on April 20, 1877. Hayes said that it was his hope that by making Southerners promise to respect the three Reconstruction Amendments, he could ensure the protection of African-American Civil rights. But he surely knew that this was a fallacious hope. He justified his capitulation on the belief that the House of Representatives in the 45th Congress was controlled by a majority of Democrats who would refuse to appropriate enough funds for the army to continue to protect the freedmen of the South. Even among Republicans, support for continued military Reconstruction was fading because of its cost and its perceived futility.
Hayes tried to gain some support in the south by distributing patronage among southern Democrats. This was in vain. Hayes failed to convince the South to accept the idea of racial equality and failed to convince Congress to appropriate funds to enforce the civil rights laws. It also offended Republicans. Democrats would increase their control in the South as a result of the 1878 mid-term elections.
On November 11,1876, three days after election day, it looked as if Democratic Presidential candidate Samuel Tilden had won 184 electoral votes, just one shy of a majority. But Hayes only appeared to have won 166 votes, even fewer than Tilden. In dispute were the 19 electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Republicans and Democrats each claimed victory in those states, but the results in all of these states were uncertain because of accusations of voter fraud leveled by both parties. To further complicate matters, one of the three electors from Oregon (a state Hayes had won) was disqualified and this reduced Hayes's total to 165. If Tilden could receive just one of the disputed electoral votes, he would be elected president.
The first question that had to be resolved was about the process to decide who got the disputed electoral votes. The Senate was under Republican control, while Democrats controlled the House of Representatives. Each body claimed jurisdiction to decide the issue. It was a constitutional crisis of the highest magnitude.
By January 1877, the question was still unresolved. President Ulysses Grant and leaders in Congress reached an agreement to submit the matter to a bipartisan Electoral Commission, which would be given authority to determine the fate of the disputed electoral votes. The Commission was to be made up of five members of the House of Representatives, five senators, and five Supreme Court justices. To ensure partisan balance, there would be seven Democrats and seven Republicans. Justice David Davis, an independent who was respected by both parties was chosen as the fifteenth member, and the man who would have cast the deciding vote. Davis, who had been a friend of Abraham Lincoln, was considered a fair man and no one had any idea how he would vote on the issue.
Then the Democrats messed things up. Democrats in the Illinois legislature elected Davis to the Senate. They foolishly hoped that this would sway his vote. But Davis had too much integrity to be influenced in that manner. He accepted the senate seat, but then disqualified himself from serving on the Commission. This move backfired on the Democrats because all of the remaining Supreme Court Justices were Republicans. Justice Joseph P. Bradley was believed to be the most independent-minded of them, so he was selected to take Davis's place on the Commission. The Commission met in February and on March 2, 1877 (two days before inauguration day) the eight Republicans (including Bradley) voted to award all 20 electoral votes to Hayes.
Democrats were outraged by the result and attempted a filibuster to prevent Congress from accepting the Commission's findings. Tilden had won the popular vote and Democrats believed that the election had been stolen. There was fear of rioting and of mob action to prevent Hayes' inauguration. President Grant was worried that an insurrection by Tilden's supporters might try to disrupt the public inauguration ceremony, so he ordered extra troops on the scene.
As the March 4 inauguration day neared, Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders met at Wormley's Hotel in Washington to try to negotiate a compromise to bring about the orderly transition of power. Republicans leaders promised concessions if the Democrats would show public acceptance of the Committee's decision. The primary concession Hayes promised was 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.
This compromise spelled the end of Republican Reconstruction efforts and adversely affected the plight of African-Americans in the south for generations. On April 3, Hayes ordered his Secretary of War George W. McCrary to withdrawal federal troops that were stationed at the South Carolina State House to return to their barracks. On April 20, Hayes ordered the Secretary of War to have the federal troops stationed in New Orleans to return to their barracks as well.
March 4, 1877 fell on a Sunday, so Hayes took the oath of office privately on Saturday, March 3, in the Red Room of the White House. He was the first president to take the oath in the Executive Mansion. He took the oath publicly on the following Monday on the East Portico of the United States Capitol. In his inaugural address, Hayes tried to quell the passions of the past few months. He said, "he serves his party best who serves his country best". He pledged to support what he described as "wise, honest, and peaceful local self-government" in the South, as well as reform of the civil service and also promised a full return to the gold standard. He also pledged to serve only one term. Despite his conciliatory message, most Democrats never considered Hayes's election legitimate and referred to him by pejorative names such as "Rutherfraud" or "His Fraudulency" for the remainder of his term.
In choosing the members of his cabinet, Hayes rejected the selection of Radical Republicans and instead opted for moderates. He also nixed selecting anyone he considered to be a potential presidential candidate. Among those selected were: William M. Evarts, the mam who had defended President Andrew Johnson against impeachment. As Secretary of State he chose George W. McCrary, someone who had helped establish the Electoral Commission of 1877. In an effort to reach out to Southern moderates, Hayes selected David M. Key, a former Confederate soldier, to serve as Postmaster General.
Hayes had been a firm supporter of Republican Reconstruction policies throughout his political career. In light of the deal that had been brokered to get his the presidency, he had to abandon those principles. The first major act of his presidency was an end to Reconstruction and the return of the South to "home rule". When Hayes assumed office, only two Reconstruction governments remained, in South Carolina and Louisiana. He obtained from South Carolina Governor Wade Hampton III a notional promise to respect the civil rights of African-Americans, before ending Reconstruction in South Carolina on April 10, 1877. In Louisiana, Hayes appointed a commission to mediate between the rival governments of Republican Stephen B. Packard and Democrat Francis T. Nicholls. The commission chose to support Nicholls's government, and this led to Hayes ending Reconstruction in Louisiana, and in the country as a whole, on April 20, 1877. Hayes said that it was his hope that by making Southerners promise to respect the three Reconstruction Amendments, he could ensure the protection of African-American Civil rights. But he surely knew that this was a fallacious hope. He justified his capitulation on the belief that the House of Representatives in the 45th Congress was controlled by a majority of Democrats who would refuse to appropriate enough funds for the army to continue to protect the freedmen of the South. Even among Republicans, support for continued military Reconstruction was fading because of its cost and its perceived futility.
Hayes tried to gain some support in the south by distributing patronage among southern Democrats. This was in vain. Hayes failed to convince the South to accept the idea of racial equality and failed to convince Congress to appropriate funds to enforce the civil rights laws. It also offended Republicans. Democrats would increase their control in the South as a result of the 1878 mid-term elections.