The disputed
election of 1876 between
Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel
Tilden, in which Congress set up a special electoral commission, handing the disputed electoral votes to Hayes, brings recent events into sharp focus.Historian Hans L. Trefousse explores Hayess new relevance and reconsiders what many have seen as the pitfalls of his presidency. While Hayes did officially terminate the Reconstruction, Trefousse points out that this process was already well under way by the start of his term and there was little he could do to stop it. A great intellectual and one of our best-educated presidents, Hayes did much more in the way of healing the nation and elevating the presidency.
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Background Information
The election of 1876 was controversial and corrupt, ending in a commission that declared Rutheford B. Hayes to be elected President. Samuel J. Tilden was governor of New York and lost the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes in the hotly disputed election of 1876.