TIMELINE
1873: Slaughterhouse Cases (1873):
- The Supreme Court ruled that the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the 14th amendment applied only to rights granted by the federal government, not by states. The decision undermined the recently ratified 14th and 15th amendments, which both had been major accomplishments for Republicans [1].
1873: Panic of 1873
- A financial crisis triggered an economic depression in the United States and around the world in 1873 [2].
1874: Democrats take the House
- In the 1874 midterms, Democrats took a majority in the House for the first time since the Civil War, turning a 73 seat minority into a 103 seat majority. Their triumph was the result of the Panic of 1873, corruption in the Grant administration, and public weariness with the tensions of Reconstruction [3]. The midterms foretold the growing strength of the South and the fall of Reconstruction.
1875-76: United States vs. Cruikshank (1876)
- The Supreme Court overturned the convictions of three white men guilty of violating the Enforcement Act, which made prosecuting anti-Black political violence and intimidation more difficult. This decision helped enable voter suppression in 1876 and further demonstrated the decline of Reconstruction [4].
June 14 - 16: Rutherford B. Hayes Nominated
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June 27 - 29: Samuel J. Tilden Nominated
Nov. 7, 1876: Election Day
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Nov. 8: Tilden Declared the Winner
- On November 8, 1876, the day after the election, every major newspaper except for The New York Times, declared Tilden the winner [9]. The Stark County Democrat, a Democratic paper in Canton Ohio declared, "There is no question as to his election." Even the Portland Daily Press, a Republican paper in Portland, Maine conceded, "Tilden Probably Elected." The right-leaning Wheeling Daily Intelligencer in Wheeling, West Virginia reported, "The Election of Tilden and Hendricks Conceded."
Nov. 8: The New York Times Acts
- The New York Times received a message from the Democratic headquarters saying, “Please give your estimate of electoral votes secured for Tilden. Answer at once" [10]. The Times, a Republican paper, jumped into action and convinced Republicans not to concede.
November: Republicans head South
- President Grant sent federal troops and Republican politicos to oversee the count in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, where there were reports of voter intimidation by Democrats and fraud. Democratic politicos quickly followed them to oversee the count as well [11].
December 2: “Go South, Young Man”
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December: Election Disputed
- With no concession from either candidate and partisan politicos on both sides engaging in fraud, twenty electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Oregon were disputed. It was widely recognized that Tilden had 184 electoral votes, one shy of what was necessary. Hayes needed all twenty disputed electors to win, whereas Tilden needed just one.
December 9: Civil War II?
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December 30: Nast Waves the Bloody Shirt
January 18, 1877: Congress Proposes an Electoral Commission
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January 25: Justice Davis Elected U.S. Senator
- The Illinois state legislature, where five recently elected “Greenbackers” held the cards, elected Justice David Davis to be a U.S. Senator. Davis’ passion was for politics, not law, so he accepted the position and decided that he would withdraw from the electoral commission [17]
January 26: Electoral Commission Established
- Congress finally ended the stalemate and established the electoral commission, responding to public fear and popular sentiment. News of Davis’ election still had not reached the capital. Democrats certainly would have opposed ratifying the commission, since there were only Republicans left on the Supreme Court to replace Davis [18].
January 27: “Compromise - Indeed!”
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February 17: “A Truce - Not a Compromise”
- On February 17, Nast published “A Truce - Not a Compromise,” demonstrating how his outlook on the commission dramatically changed after Davis’ resignation. The caption celebrates the “chance for high-toned gentleman” to settle the dispute. The bullwhip is gone from the cartoon and the gun, previously cocked and aimed, now rests on the table, with Uncle Sam’s hand calming the situation [20]. The Republicans now held the better hand with an 8-7 majority on the commission.
February 10 - February 23: The Electoral Commission Decides
- In February, Justice Joseph P. Bradley, a Republican, replaced Davis on the commission and the commission began to evaluate the returning boards in the disputed states. The commission knew that there had been voter intimidation on election day and fraud and bribery since then, but decided not to challenge the states’ returning boards. The commission voted in each case to award the disputed electors to Hayes, by a party line vote of 8 to 7. Though the official electoral vote was 185 for Hayes and 184 for Tilden, it may be more accurate to say Hayes won by a vote of 8 to 7 [21].
February 23 - March 2: The Filibuster
- Democrats filibustered the House vote which would make the count conclusive under the Constitution and legitimize the presidency for Hayes. It seemed to many that there may be no president if Democrats continued to filibuster, once again sparking concern over a civil war [22].
March 2: House Ends the Filibuster
- Speaker of the House Samuel J. Randall (D-PA) managed to end the filibuster in the House, at Samuel Tilden’s urging, and called for the vote that declared Hayes the winner. Later that afternoon, Senator Ferry, performing his duty as pro tempore, completed the formality by declaring Rutherford B. Hayes the next President of the United States [23].
March 3: Hayes Inaugurated
April 24: Reconstruction Ends
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[1] Sarah Pruitt, “How the 1876 Election Tested the Constitution and Effectively Ended Reconstruction,” History, January 21, 2020, https://www.history.com/news/reconstruction-1876-election-rutherford-hayes.
[2] Thomas J. Culbertson, “Did Rutherford B. Hayes End Reconstruction?,” Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, February 17, 2013. [LECTURE]
[3] Ibid.
[4] Sarah Pruitt, “How the 1876 Election Tested the Constitution and Effectively Ended Reconstruction."
[5] Walker Lewis, “The Hayes-Tilden Election Contest,” American Bar Association Journal, 47:1 (Janaury 1961), p. 36. [JSTOR]
[6] Rutherford B. Hayes to the Committee of the Republican National Convention, July 8, 1876, Hayes accepts the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, https://www.rbhayes.org/hayes/1876-acceptance-speech/.
[7] Walker Lewis, “The Hayes-Tilden Election Contest," 36.
[8] Sarah Pruitt, “How the 1876 Election Tested the Constitution and Effectively Ended Reconstruction."
[9] Walker Lewis, “The Hayes-Tilden Election Contest," 37.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Ibid.
[12] Thomas Nast. “Go South, Young Man.” Illustration. Harper’s Weekly, December 2, 1876. https://elections.harpweek.com/09Ver2Controversy/Cartoon-Medium.asp?UniqueID=8&Year=1876.
[13] Walker Lewis, “The Hayes-Tilden Election Contest," 38.
[14] Thomas Nast. “4-00,000 More.” Illustration. Harper’s Weekly, December 9, 1876. https://elections.harpweek.com/09ver2controversy/cartoon-Medium.asp?UniqueID=4&Year=.
[15] Thomas Nast. “The Same Snap - ‘Reform’ Slavery.” Illustration. Harper’s Weekly, December 30, 1876, https://elections.harpweek.com/09ver2controversy/cartoon-Medium.asp?UniqueID=5&Year=.
[16] Karen Guenther, “Potter Committee Investigation of the Disputed Election of 1876,” The Florida Historical Quarterly, 61:3 (January 1983) p. 282. [JSTOR]
[17] Walker Lewis, “The Hayes-Tilden Election Contest," 39.
[18] Ibid.
[19] Thomas Nast. “Compromise - Indeed!” Illustration. Harper’s Weekly, January 27, 1877. https://elections.harpweek.com/09Ver2Controversy/Cartoon-Medium.asp?UniqueID=11&Year=1876.
[20] Thomas Nast. “A Truce - Not a Compromise.” Illustration. Harper’s Weekly, February 17, 1877. https://elections.harpweek.com/09Ver2Controversy/Cartoon-Medium.asp?UniqueID=14.
[21] Walker Lewis, “The Hayes-Tilden Election Contest," 165.
[22] Ibid, 166.
[23] Ibid, 167.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Thomas J. Culbertson, “Did Rutherford B. Hayes End Reconstruction?"
[26] “Federal Troops Leave South, Ending Reconstruction,” A History of Racial Injustice, https://calendar.eji.org/racial-injustice/apr/24.
Images:
[27] Stephen Raher. “When is a Postmaster Like the Man in the Moon? The Tumultuous Presidential Election of 1876,” Oregon U.S. District Court Historical Society, November 1, 2017, https://usdchs.org/2017/11/01/when-is-a-postmaster-like-the-man-in-the-moon-the-tumultuous-presidential-election-of-1876/.
[28] Ibid.
[29] “Tilden’s Triumph,” The Stark County Democrat, (Canton, Ohio), Nov. 9, 1876. [Library of Congress]
[30] “The Battle Fought and The Result Doubtful, But Tilden Probably Elected,” The Portland Daily Press, (Portland, Maine), Nov. 8, 1876. [Library of Congress]
[31] “Election Returns,” The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, (Wheeling, West Virginia), Nov. 8, 1876. [Library of Congress]
[32] Thomas Nast. “Go South, Young Man.”
[33] Thomas Nast. “4-00,000 More.”
[34] Thomas Nast. “The Same Snap - ‘Reform’ Slavery.”
[35] Thomas Nast. “Compromise - Indeed!”
[36] Thomas Nast. “A Truce - Not a Compromise.”
[37] Paige Lavender, "On President's Day 2014, Take A Look At U.S. Leaders Taking Office Through the Years," Huffpost, February 17, 2014, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/presidents-day-2014_n_4803332.
[38] “Federal Troops Leave South, Ending Reconstruction,” A History of Racial Injustice.