Which president won the disputed 1876 election?

Which president won the disputed 1876 election?

• A. Samuel J. Tilden
• B. James A. Garfield
• C. Ulysses S. Grant
• D. Rutherford B. Hayes

Answer: (D)

In 1876 the election was decided by disputed electoral votes rather than a clear nationwide win. Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote and appeared to lead in electoral votes, but results from several states were contested. To resolve the crisis, Congress created an Electoral Commission that awarded the disputed votes to Rutherford B. Hayes, giving him the narrow victory. This outcome helped trigger the Compromise of 1877, in which Democrats agreed to concede the presidency to Hayes in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction. So Rutherford B. Hayes became president that year. The other figures listed were not the winners in 1876—Garfield and Grant served as presidents in different years, and Tilden won the popular vote but not the final electoral tally.

In 1876 the election was decided by disputed electoral votes rather than a clear nationwide win. Samuel J. Tilden won the popular vote and appeared to lead in electoral votes, but results from several states were contested. To resolve the crisis, Congress created an Electoral Commission that awarded the disputed votes to Rutherford B. Hayes, giving him the narrow victory. This outcome helped trigger the Compromise of 1877, in which Democrats agreed to concede the presidency to Hayes in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction. So Rutherford B. Hayes became president that year. The other figures listed were not the winners in 1876—Garfield and Grant served as presidents in different years, and Tilden won the popular vote but not the final electoral tally.