Editing Samuel J. Tilden (section)

==Presidential election of 1876==
{{See also|Samuel Tilden 1876 presidential campaign}}

===Democratic nomination===
[[File:Tilden and Hendricks campaign poster.jpg|thumb|Campaign poster for the election of 1876]]

By the time of the June [[1876 Democratic National Convention]], Tilden had emerged as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in the [[1876 United States presidential election|1876 presidential election]].<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 106</ref> Tilden's appeal to the national party was based on his reputation for reform and his electoral success in the country's most populous state.<ref>Morris (2003), p. 106</ref> He was also a skilled organizer whose canvassing system and field knowledge were so thorough that, months before the 1874 election, he had predicted his own winning margin accurately to within 300 votes.<ref>Holt (2008), p. 100</ref> Tilden further bolstered his presidential candidacy through a nationwide newspaper advertising campaign.<ref>Morris (2003), p. 107</ref> As many Democrats expected that their party would win the presidency after four consecutive defeats, Tilden faced competition from some of the party's most prominent leaders, including [[Thomas F. Bayard]], [[Allen G. Thurman]], [[Thomas A. Hendricks]], and General [[Winfield Scott Hancock]].<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 106–107</ref>

During the difficult economic times of the [[Panic of 1873]], the major ideological divide in the Democratic Party concerned the issue of [[History of monetary policy in the United States|currency]].<ref name="Morris 2003, pp. 108-109">Morris (2003), pp. 108–109</ref> Many "soft money" Democrats wanted Congress to repeal the [[Specie Payment Resumption Act]] and authorize the printing of more [[greenback (money)|greenback]]s, [[banknotes]] that had first been printed during the Civil War.<ref name="Morris 2003, pp. 108-109"/> The printing of more greenbacks would result in [[inflation]] and potentially benefit farmers by raising prices and helping them pay down their debts.<ref name="Morris 2003, pp. 108-109"/> Like most Republicans and "hard money" members of the conservative business establishment, Tilden believed that the termination of greenback circulation (which would return the country to the [[gold standard]]) was the best way to solve the ongoing economic crisis.<ref name="Morris 2003, pp. 108-109"/> Tilden's lieutenants at the Democratic National Convention emphasized Tilden's reform credentials above all else, but they also ensured that the party platform endorsed Tilden's hard money views.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 108–109, 112–114</ref>

Tilden won a majority of the votes cast on the first presidential ballot of the convention (404.5), but fell short of the two-thirds majority (492) required to win the Democratic presidential nomination.<ref name="DNC1876">{{cite book |last=Democratic National Convention |date=1876 |title=Official Proceedings of the National Democratic Convention |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LY7aESi0quEC&pg=PA147 |location=St. Louis, MO |publisher=Woodward, Tiernan & Hale |pages=144, 146, 158–159 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> His closest rival was Hendricks, who had the support of New York party boss [[John Kelly (New York politician)|John Kelly]] and the soft money faction of Democrats.<ref name="DNC1876"/> Tilden won the necessary two-thirds on the second presidential ballot, and the convention then voted to make his nomination unanimous.<ref name="DNC1876"/> Delegates unanimously chose Hendricks as Tilden's running mate, providing a balance between the hard money and soft money factions.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 115–117</ref> Though the Republicans had nominated a ticket led by [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] of Ohio, another governor who had established a reputation for honest governance, Tilden was widely regarded as the favorite in the general election.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 80–83, 122</ref>

===General election===
[[File:1876 U.S. presidential election, contested states.png|thumb|left|upright=1.5|In the aftermath of the 1876 election, the electoral votes of four states were disputed.]]

Per tradition, both Tilden and Hayes avoided publicly campaigning for president, leaving that task to their supporters; Tilden appointed [[Abram Hewitt]] to lead his campaign.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 123, 131–132</ref> The Republican campaign established a major cash advantage, partly because Tilden refused to contribute much of his personal fortune to the campaign.<ref>Morris (2003), p. 121</ref> The Democrats campaigned on the theme of "retrenchment and reform" and attacked the "corrupt centralism" of the Grant administration.<ref name="morris118120"/> Tilden blamed high taxes and the Grant administration for the economic downturn, and, like Hayes, promised [[U.S. Civil Service Reform|civil service reform]] and hard money policies.<ref>White (2017), pp. 328–330</ref> Meanwhile, Republicans focused on their party's identification with Lincoln and the Union cause in the Civil War; many Republicans still associated the Democratic Party with slavery and disunion.<ref name="morris118120">Morris (2003), pp. 118–120</ref> Rebutting Republican charges, Tilden categorically denied that he had any intention of compensating the South for any slaves emancipated or losses suffered during the Civil War.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 161–162</ref> For their part, many Democrats cared little for Tilden's emphasis on reform, and were instead focused on ending sixteen years of Republican leadership. Southern Democrats especially hoped to end [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] and gain control of South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana, the last three "[[Redeemers|unredeemed]]" Southern states.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 125–126, 146</ref> Southern whites, who overwhelmingly favored Tilden, used violence and intimidation to suppress the turnout of Republican-leaning [[African-American]] voters.<ref>White (2017), pp. 330–331</ref> Tilden worked to distance himself from violent encounters like the [[Hamburg massacre]], in which disgruntled Southern whites clashed with the Republican-led government of South Carolina.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 129–131</ref>

Both campaigns considered New York, Ohio, and Indiana to be the key [[swing states]], but the campaigns also focused on several smaller states, including the three unredeemed Southern states.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 155–156</ref> Ultimately, Hayes swept the West and won much of the North, but Tilden carried the closely contested Northern states of New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut, swept the [[border states (American Civil War)|border states]], and carried most of the South.<ref name="Robinson 2001, pp. 126-127">Robinson (2001), pp. 126–127</ref> He had won a majority of the popular vote and tallied clear victories in seventeen states, leaving him one [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral vote]] short of a majority.<ref name="Robinson 2001, pp. 126-127"/> On November 6, the day after election day, most major newspapers reported that Tilden had won the election; however, Hayes still had a narrow path to victory if he could sweep the electoral votes of Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 164–166</ref> Hayes refused to formally concede, but told members of the press that he was "of the opinion that the Democrats have carried the country and elected Tilden."<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 167–171</ref> Tilden, meanwhile, urged his alarmed followers, many of whom believed that the Republicans were attempting to steal the election, to remain calm and refrain from violence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vile |first=John |date=2002 |title=Presidential Winners and Losers: Words Of Victory and Concession |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZ0aAQAAIAAJ |location=Washington, DC |publisher=CQ Press |page=7 |isbn=978-1-5680-2755-5 |via=[[Google Books]] |quote=Tilden used private suasion rather than public speech to calm his supporters, some of whom were willing to use force on his behalf.}}</ref> Both parties feared the possibility that a dispute over the election would lead to armed conflict; Tilden discussed appointing General [[George B. McClellan]] as his military assistant, while President Grant ordered army and naval units to reinforce Washington.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 172–174</ref>

===Post-election controversy===
[[File:SJTilden of NY.jpg|thumb|Tilden]]

With the election in doubt, each party sent some of their most prominent leaders to monitor the election process in the three disputed Southern states.<ref>{{cite book |last=[[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary]] |date=1977 |title=Hearings Before the Electoral College and Direct Election, July 20, 22, 28, and August 2, 1977 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mENqG8QIyPgC&pg=PA458 |location=Washington, DC |publisher=US Government Printing Office |page=458 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Initial election returns showed that Hayes had carried South Carolina by several hundred votes,<ref>{{cite book |last=Coffey |first=Walter |date=2014 |title=The Reconstruction Years: The Tragic Aftermath of the War Between the States |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cBjHAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA302 |location=Bloomington, IN |publisher=AuthorHouse |page=302 |isbn=978-1-4918-5192-0 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> but that Tilden had won Florida by 91 votes<ref>{{cite book |date=1879 |title=Appletons' Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events of the Year 1878 |volume=New Series, Volume III |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gyhSAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA713 |location=New York, NY |publisher=D. Appleton and Company |pages=712–713 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> and Louisiana by over 6,000.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ellis |first=Richard J. |date=2015 |title=The Development of the American Presidency |edition=2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=csUBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT58 |location=New York, NY |publisher=Routledge |page=58 |isbn=978-1-3175-5295-6 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Republicans controlled the bodies charged with determining the validity of election results in all three states.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 174–178</ref> On November 22, the South Carolina canvassing board adjourned after declaring that Hayes had won the state's electoral votes.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 180–182</ref> On December 4, the Louisiana canvassing board announced that it had thrown out 15,623 votes due to "systemic intimidation," leaving Hayes as the winner of all of the state's electoral votes.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 191–192</ref> Early on the morning of December 6, the day the Electoral College was scheduled to convene, the Florida canvassing board announced that Hayes had won the state by a margin of 924 votes.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 193–197</ref> Democrats challenged the results in all three contested Southern states. Meanwhile, another controversy had arisen in Oregon, where a Hayes elector, John Watts, resigned because his simultaneous service as a presidential elector and as a low-ranking official in the [[United States Post Office Department|Post Office]] violated the [[United States Constitution]]. After Watts resigned, the state's Democratic governor appointed an elector to fill the vacancy, while, separately, the state's two remaining Hayes electors chose a third elector to fill the vacancy caused by Watts's resignation.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 183–185, 197–198</ref>

On December 6, the members of the Electoral College met in Washington, D.C., but the disputes in four states prevented a conclusive vote for president.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 197–198</ref> With the Electoral College unable to select a president, the disputed election became an issue for Congress to settle; Republicans controlled the Senate, while Democrats controlled the House. The vague wording of the Constitution gave rise to further controversy, as Republicans held that [[Thomas W. Ferry]], a Republican senator from Michigan and the [[president pro tempore of the United States Senate]], could determine the validity of the disputed electoral votes. Democrats argued that Ferry could only count the votes that were not disputed; in such a scenario, neither candidate would have an electoral vote majority, necessitating a [[contingent election]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]]. Since Democrats controlled a majority of the state delegations in the House, they would be able to elect Tilden as president in a contingent election.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 200–201</ref> In response to the controversy, Tilden compiled his own study of electoral procedures in the previous 22 presidential elections. He delivered the study to every sitting member of Congress, but congressional Republicans were not swayed by Tilden's argument that history supported the Democratic position on the election returns.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 203–204</ref> He continued to call for calm, and rejected Abram Hewitt's suggestion that he ask his supporters to engage in mass public demonstrations.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 206–207, 214</ref>

===Electoral Commission===
On January 26, both houses of Congress agreed to establish the 15-member [[Electoral Commission (United States)|Electoral Commission]] to settle the dispute over the contested electoral votes. The commission consisted of five Democratic members of Congress, five Republican members of Congress, and five justices of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]]. Of the Supreme Court justices, two were to be Democrats, two were to be Republicans, and the fifth justice would be selected by the other four justices. Tilden opposed the creation of the Electoral Commission because he still hoped to force a contingent election in the House of Representatives, but he was unable to prevent Democratic congressmen from voting for the establishment of the commission. Most had expected that the fifth justice on the commission would be Associate Justice [[David Davis (Supreme Court justice)|David Davis]], a [[political independent]], but Davis refused to serve on the commission after he accepted election to the Senate. Another associate justice, Republican [[Joseph P. Bradley]], was instead chosen as the fifth justice on the Electoral Commission.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 216–219</ref> In a series of 8-to-7, party-line decisions, the Electoral Commission voted to award all of the contested electoral votes to Hayes.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 222–235</ref>

Even after the Electoral Commission delivered its rulings, the House of Representatives could have blocked the inauguration of Hayes by refusing to certify the results.<ref>White (2017), p. 332</ref> Though some House Democrats hoped to do so, they were unable, as many House Democrats joined with their Republican colleagues in voting to accept.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 235–236</ref> During the proceedings of the Electoral Commission, high-ranking members of both parties had discussed the possibility of declaring Hayes the winner in exchange for the removal of all federal troops from the South. The [[Compromise of 1877]], as it became known, may have played a role in preventing the House from challenging the Electoral Commission's rulings, although author Roy Morris Jr. argues that the compromise "was more a mutual concession of the obvious than a device for controlling larger events."<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 232–234</ref> Some other historians, including [[C. Vann Woodward]], have argued that the Compromise of 1877 played the decisive role in determining the outcome of the election.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kleinfeld |first1=N. R. |title=Counting the Vote: The History; President Tilden? No, but Almost, in Another Vote That Dragged On |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/11/12/us/counting-vote-history-president-tilden-no-but-almost-another-vote-that-dragged.html |access-date=November 6, 2018 |newspaper=New York Times |date=November 12, 2000}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Review: Not a Compromise |journal=The Review of Politics |date=2009 |volume=71 |issue=4 |pages=698–700 |jstor=25655882}}</ref> On March 2, two days before the end of Grant's term, Congress declared Hayes the victor of the 1876 presidential election.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 237–238</ref> Hayes took office on March 4, and withdrew the last federal soldiers from the South in April 1877, bringing an end to the Reconstruction Era.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 240, 244–245</ref>

Some Democrats urged Tilden to reject the results and take the presidential [[oath of office]], but Tilden declined to do so. On March 3, the House passed a resolution declaring Tilden the "duly elected President of the United States," but this had no legal effect.<ref>Morris (2003), pp. 241–242</ref> Tilden himself stated that, "I can retire to private life with the consciousness that I shall receive from posterity the credit of having been elected to the highest position in the gift of the people, without any of the cares and responsibilities of the office."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=King |first=Gilbert |date=September 7, 2012 |title=The Ugliest, Most Contentious Presidential Election Ever |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-ugliest-most-contentious-presidential-election-ever-28429530/ |magazine=Smithsonian Magazine |location=Washington, DC |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref> Tilden was the second individual, after [[Andrew Jackson]] in 1824, to lose a presidential election [[List of United States presidential elections in which the winner lost the popular vote|despite winning at least a plurality of the popular vote]].<ref name="Revesz">{{cite news |last1=Revesz |first1=Rachel |title=Five presidential nominees who won popular vote but lost the election |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/popular-vote-electoral-college-five-presidential-nominees-hillary-clinton-al-gore-a7420971.html |access-date=November 6, 2018 |newspaper=The Independent |date=November 16, 2016}}</ref> Tilden remains the only individual to lose a presidential election while winning an outright majority of the popular vote.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Law |first=Tara |date=May 15, 2019 |title=These Presidents Won the Electoral College — But Not the Popular Vote |url=https://time.com/5579161/presidents-elected-electoral-college/ |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |location=New York, NY |publisher=Time USA, LLC}}</ref>