The Compromise of 1877 settled the disputed 1876 US presidential election by allowing Republican Rutherford B. Hayes to become president if federal troops were removed from the Southern states. Democrats agreed to this compromise, leading to an end of Reconstruction efforts and an era of poverty and segregation for black people in the region.
The Compromise of 1877 was an unwritten agreement between Republicans and Democrats in the United States Congress to settle the disputed 1876 presidential election. In the election, the results showed Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes separated by 20 contested electoral votes from the southern states.
A bipartisan commission was formed to decide the dispute and they handed over all contested votes to Hayed to make him the winner, a decision the Democrats refused to acknowledge. Congress settled the dispute, allowing Hayes to become president if a few key concessions were made, the most crucial of which was the removal of all federal troops from the Southern states for the first time since the conclusion of the American Civil War.
Tensions remained high between Northern and Southern states in the decade following the conclusion of the Civil War, with the South resentful of the North’s insistence on pushing ahead with its reconstruction agenda and improving rights of freed slaves. This tension came to a head in the 1876 presidential election, in which Republican Hayes was supported by Northern states, and Democrat Samuel Tilden was the Southern favorite. The election results showed that Tilden won the popular vote, but the overall result was left open due to these 20 contested electoral votes.
To determine the outcome, Congress formed the Election Commission, which was expected to consist of seven Republicans, seven Democrats, and one independent. When the lone independent, David Davis, refused to cast the casting vote, an eighth Republican joined him. Possessing the majority, the eight Republicans awarded all contested votes to Hayes, a decision the Democrats refused to accept. A battle ensued between the Senate and the House of Representatives over the validity of the committee’s decision.
Out of that battle, the two sides finally agreed to the Compromise of 1877. Democrats agreed to allow Hayes to assume the presidency, but asked for several concessions. In addition to the departure of federal troops from the South, these included adding at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes’ administration, building a transcontinental railroad in the South, and forming legislation to help spur industrial growth in the South.
With the departure of federal troops, the Democrats quickly gained control throughout the Southern states. Instead of continuing Reconstruction efforts to improve civil rights for freed black slaves, the South ended many of these advances and brought about an era of poverty and segregation for blacks in the region that would last for nearly a year. century. For this reason, black people often referred to the compromise as the Great Betrayal.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
