Hayes declared winner over Tilden in the disputed 1876 US presidential election

Background. Rutherford B. Hayes won the Republican nomination as a compromise candidate after James Blaine failed to secure a majority at the 1876 Republican National Convention. Samuel J. Tilden emerged as the Democratic front-runner by the time of the June 1876 Democratic National Convention, his candidacy resting on his battle against public corruption, his personal fortune, and his electoral success in New York. Democratic gains in the 1874 mid-term elections had given the party control of the House of Representatives for the first time in sixteen years.

Electoral Disputes. Facing an unprecedented constitutional crisis, Congress passed a law on January 29, 1877, to form a 15-member Electoral Commission to settle the result. The commission was authorized to determine the fate of disputed electoral votes. Historians debate whether the Compromise of 1877, involving the end of Reconstruction, played a decisive role in determining the outcome.

Resolution. Congress declared Hayes the victor on March 2, 1877, two days before the end of Grant's term. Hayes took office on March 4 and was publicly sworn in on March 5. The resolution involved the withdrawal of federal soldiers from the South, bringing an end to the Reconstruction Era, which had sought to protect African American rights.