What was the United States presidential election of 1876?

In the United States presidential election of 1876, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Democrat Samuel J. Tilden in a disputed election. Tilden won the popular vote by over 260,000 votes, but the electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were contested due to fraud. To resolve the deadlock, Congress formed an Electoral Commission. The commission ultimately awarded the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, resulting in a narrow 185-184 electoral college victory. In return for Hayes becoming president, the Republicans promised to withdraw federal troops from the South, end Northern interference in Southern politics, share Southern patronage with Democrats, appoint a Southern Democrat to the cabinet, and support congressional appropriations for railroad construction and other internal improvements to help the war-struck Southern economy. This marked the end of Reconstruction and the return of white rule in the South.

Who were the main candidates in the 1876 presidential election?

The main candidates in the United States presidential election of 1876 were Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, then the governor of Ohio, and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, the governor of New York. William A. Wheeler, a senator from New York, was selected as Hayes's running mate. Thomas A. Hendricks, the governor of Indiana, was Tilden's running mate. The Greenback Party also nominated Peter Cooper for president. The election was highly contested, and although Tilden won the popular vote by more than 260,000 votes, the electoral votes in several states were disputed. An Electoral Commission was created by Congress to resolve the deadlock, which ultimately awarded the election to Hayes by a narrow margin of 185-184 electoral votes.

Why was the 1876 election controversial?

The United States presidential election of 1876 was controversial because the results in several states were disputed, leading to a protracted political crisis. Democrat Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote but fell one electoral vote short of the majority needed to win the election. The election's outcome hinged on disputed returns from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Congress then created an Electoral Commission to resolve the contested electoral votes. The commission ultimately awarded the outstanding electoral votes to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, giving him the victory. A compromise was reached at the Wormley Conference where Democrats conceded the presidency to Hayes. In return, Republicans promised to withdraw federal troops from the South, end Northern interference in Southern politics, share Southern patronage with Democrats, and appoint a Southern Democrat to the cabinet. This led to the end of Reconstruction and the return of white rule in the South.

How was the winner of the 1876 election decided?

The 1876 presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden was highly contested. Tilden won the popular vote by over 260,000 votes and had 184 electoral votes, one short of the majority needed to win. Hayes had 165, with 19 votes from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and one from Oregon, still in doubt. To resolve the deadlock, Congress formed an Electoral Commission. The commission was to have 5 members from the House, 5 from the Senate, and 5 from the Supreme Court. After a controversial decision, the commission awarded all disputed electoral votes to Hayes, resulting in a narrow 185-184 victory. In return for the presidency, Hayes made pledges to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.

What was the Compromise of 1877?

The Compromise of 1877 resolved the contested presidential election of 1876 between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden won the popular vote, but the electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were disputed. To resolve this, Congress formed an Electoral Commission. Secret negotiations ensued, and Democrats relinquished their claim to the presidency. In return, Republicans pledged to withdraw federal troops from the South, end Northern interference in Southern politics, share Southern patronage with Democrats, appoint a Southern Democrat to the cabinet, and support congressional appropriations for Southern railroad construction. Hayes was declared the winner and, as president, removed federal troops, ending Reconstruction and ushering in an era of Democratic dominance in the South.

How did the 1876 election and Compromise of 1877 affect Reconstruction and the Southern states?

The 1876 election and the Compromise of 1877 significantly impacted Reconstruction and the Southern states. The election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden was highly contested, with disputed returns from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. To resolve the deadlock, a compromise was reached: Hayes would be declared president, and in return, federal troops would be withdrawn from the South, effectively ending Radical Reconstruction . This marked a return to white rule in the South and the beginning of the "Solid South," where Democrats dominated. The end of federal protection for African Americans led to the rise of disenfranchisement, segregation, and racial violence.

United States presidential election of 1876

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U.S. presidential election of 1876: Tilden/Hendricks campaign broadsheet

Map of the United States showing the results of the 1876 presidential election by state. States won by Hayes (Republican) are shaded in red, and states won by Tilden (Democratic) are shaded in blue. Each state displays its electoral vote count. Hayes won with 185 electoral votes, while Tilden received 184.

Quick Facts

Date:: November 7, 1876

Location:: United States

Context:: Greenback movement; Reconstruction

Major Events:: Electoral Commission

Key People:: James G. Blaine; Roscoe Conkling; Peter Cooper; Rutherford B. Hayes; Thomas A. Hendricks

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United States presidential election of 1876

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Oct. 31, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What was the United States presidential election of 1876?
In the United States presidential election of 1876, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Democrat Samuel J. Tilden in a disputed election. Tilden won the popular vote by over 260,000 votes, but the electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were contested due to fraud.

To resolve the deadlock, Congress formed an Electoral Commission. The commission ultimately awarded the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, resulting in a narrow 185-184 electoral college victory. In return for Hayes becoming president, the Republicans promised to withdraw federal troops from the South, end Northern interference in Southern politics, share Southern patronage with Democrats, appoint a Southern Democrat to the cabinet, and support congressional appropriations for railroad construction and other internal improvements to help the war-struck Southern economy. This marked the end of Reconstruction and the return of white rule in the South.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Who were the main candidates in the 1876 presidential election?
The main candidates in the United States presidential election of 1876 were Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, then the governor of Ohio, and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden, the governor of New York. William A. Wheeler, a senator from New York, was selected as Hayes's running mate. Thomas A. Hendricks, the governor of Indiana, was Tilden's running mate. The Greenback Party also nominated Peter Cooper for president.

The election was highly contested, and although Tilden won the popular vote by more than 260,000 votes, the electoral votes in several states were disputed. An Electoral Commission was created by Congress to resolve the deadlock, which ultimately awarded the election to Hayes by a narrow margin of 185-184 electoral votes.
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Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why was the 1876 election controversial?
The United States presidential election of 1876 was controversial because the results in several states were disputed, leading to a protracted political crisis. Democrat Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote but fell one electoral vote short of the majority needed to win the election.

The election's outcome hinged on disputed returns from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. Congress then created an Electoral Commission to resolve the contested electoral votes. The commission ultimately awarded the outstanding electoral votes to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, giving him the victory.

A compromise was reached at the Wormley Conference where Democrats conceded the presidency to Hayes. In return, Republicans promised to withdraw federal troops from the South, end Northern interference in Southern politics, share Southern patronage with Democrats, and appoint a Southern Democrat to the cabinet. This led to the end of Reconstruction and the return of white rule in the South.
6 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How was the winner of the 1876 election decided?
The 1876 presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden was highly contested. Tilden won the popular vote by over 260,000 votes and had 184 electoral votes, one short of the majority needed to win. Hayes had 165, with 19 votes from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, and one from Oregon, still in doubt.

To resolve the deadlock, Congress formed an Electoral Commission. The commission was to have 5 members from the House, 5 from the Senate, and 5 from the Supreme Court. After a controversial decision, the commission awarded all disputed electoral votes to Hayes, resulting in a narrow 185-184 victory. In return for the presidency, Hayes made pledges to withdraw federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What was the Compromise of 1877?
The Compromise of 1877 resolved the contested presidential election of 1876 between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden.

Tilden won the popular vote, but the electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were disputed. To resolve this, Congress formed an Electoral Commission. Secret negotiations ensued, and Democrats relinquished their claim to the presidency. In return, Republicans pledged to withdraw federal troops from the South, end Northern interference in Southern politics, share Southern patronage with Democrats, appoint a Southern Democrat to the cabinet, and support congressional appropriations for Southern railroad construction.

Hayes was declared the winner and, as president, removed federal troops, ending Reconstruction and ushering in an era of Democratic dominance in the South.
4 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How did the 1876 election and Compromise of 1877 affect Reconstruction and the Southern states?
The 1876 election and the Compromise of 1877 significantly impacted Reconstruction and the Southern states. The election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden was highly contested, with disputed returns from Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.

To resolve the deadlock, a compromise was reached: Hayes would be declared president, and in return, federal troops would be withdrawn from the South, effectively ending Radical Reconstruction. This marked a return to white rule in the South and the beginning of the "Solid South," where Democrats dominated. The end of federal protection for African Americans led to the rise of disenfranchisement, segregation, and racial violence.
7 Britannica Sources
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

United States presidential election of 1876, disputed American presidential election held on November 7, 1876, in which Republican Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden led Hayes by more than 260,000 popular votes, and preliminary returns showed Tilden with 184 electoral votes (one shy of the majority needed to win the election) to Hayes’s 165, with the 19 electoral votes of three states (Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina) and one elector from Oregon (originally awarded to Tilden) still in doubt. The U.S. Congress subsequently created an Electoral Commission, which by early March 1877 had resolved all the disputed electoral votes in favor of Hayes, giving him a 185–184 electoral college victory.

At a glance: the election of 1876

The candidates

After the Civil War ended in 1865, the Republicans held a stranglehold on the presidency, with Gen. Ulysses S. Grant winning easily in both 1868 and 1872. But Grant’s administration and the Republicans generally had been beset by scandals and allegations of corruption, such as the Crédit Mobilier Scandal and the Whiskey Ring. The Democrats entered 1876 on an upswing, having won control of the House of Representatives in 1874, and from the outset the election was expected to be competitive.

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The Republicans held their convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, in mid-June, and the front-runner for their nomination was James G. Blaine of Maine, the speaker of the House of Representatives. Republican reformers, however, hoped to thwart his nomination. Blaine led after the first ballot but without enough votes to secure the nomination. Among the challengers to Blaine were Roscoe Conkling, a senator from New York and a prominent Republican leader in the post-Civil War period; Oliver H.P.T. Morton, a senator from Indiana and that state’s former governor; Benjamin Helm Bristow, the U.S. secretary of the Treasury (1874–76) and successful prosecutor of the Whiskey Ring; and Rutherford B. Hayes, the governor of Ohio. Eventually, with the withdrawal of Bristow, Conkling, and Morton in favor of Hayes, Hayes secured the nomination on the seventh ballot, and William A. Wheeler, a senator from New York, was selected as his running mate. Hayes’s unblemished public record and high moral tone (as well as his deep sympathy toward the South) offered a striking contrast to widely publicized accusations of corruption in the Grant administration.

Washington Monument. Washington Monument and fireworks, Washington DC. The Monument was built as an obelisk near the west end of the National Mall to commemorate the first U.S. president, General George Washington.

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Samuel TildenNew York Gov. Samuel J. Tilden, photograph by Mathew Brady.

The Democrats held their convention two weeks later in St. Louis, Missouri—the first time a national convention was held west of the Mississippi. Samuel J. Tilden, the governor of New York, strongly appealed to delegates from Southern states, and on the first ballot he led Thomas A. Hendricks, the governor of Indiana. After a second ballot Tilden secured the nomination, and Hendricks was chosen as his running mate.

The platforms

The 1876 election occurred in the midst of an economic depression in the United States and continuing sectional animosity, particularly in the South, where opposition to federal occupation and Reconstruction had grown. Many Republicans had grown weary of Reconstruction and had come to believe that the time for compromise with Southern whites was at hand. Still, the Republicans continued their strong commitment to the civil rights of formerly enslaved people, their party platform stating that “the permanent pacification of the Southern section of the Union and the complete protection of all its citizens in the free enjoyment of all their rights, are duties to which the Republican party is sacredly pledged.” It further criticized the Democratic Party for its lack of commitment to civil rights, arguing that the “party counts, as its chief hope of success, upon the electoral vote of a united South, secured through the efforts of those who were recently arrayed against the nation and we invoke the earnest attention of the country to the grave truth, that a success thus achieved would reopen sectional strife and imperil national honor and human rights.”

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Meanwhile, the Democratic platform called for “immediate reform” of the federal government and, to forestall Republican charges of sectionalism, committed itself to the “permanence of the Federal Union.” It also called for civil service reform and restrictions on Chinese immigration to the United States.

United States presidential election of 1876

At a glance: the election of 1876

The candidates

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The platforms