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Compromise of 1877 (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the
disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election.
Through it, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House
over Democrat Samuel
J. Tilden on the understanding that Hayes would remove the federal troops
that were propping up Republican state governments in South
Carolina, Florida
and Louisiana.
Consequently, the incumbent President, Republican Ulysses
Grant, removed the soldiers from Florida before Hayes as his successor
removed the remaining troops in South Carolina and Louisiana. As soon as the
troops left, many Republicans also left (or became Democrats) and the "Redeemer"
Democrats took control. Compromise The compromise essentially stated that Southern Democrats would acknowledge
Hayes as President, but only if the Republicans acceded to various parts,
specifically: The removal of all Federal troops from the former Confederate States. (Troops only
remained in Louisiana,
South
Carolina, and Florida,
but the Compromise finalized the process.) The appointment of at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes' administration.
(David
M. Key of Tennessee
was Postmaster General). Hayes had
already promised this; The construction of another transcontinental railroad using the Texas and Pacific in the South (this had
been part of the "Scott Plan" which initiated the process which led
to the final compromise); Legislation to help industrialize the South. Points 1 and 2 took effect almost immediately; 3 and 4 never happened. The informal agreement satisfied southern Democrats, and there was no
filibuster. There was no serious effort made to fund a railroad or provide
other federal aid. An opposing interest group representing the Southern Pacific successfully thwarted
Scott's Texas and Pacific scheme and ultimately ran its own line to New Orleans. Historians argue that the agreement should not be called a compromise
(Peskin, 1973). Others emphasize that the Republican party abandoned the
Southern Blacks (DeSantis, 1982) to racist Democratic party rule. In any case, Reconstruction
ended, and the supremacy of the Democratic Party in the South was cemented with
the ascent of the "Redeemer" governments
that displaced the Republican governments. After the Compromise of 1877, white
supremacy generally caused the South to vote Democratic (the "Solid South")
until 1963. References Benedict, Michael L. "Southern Democrats in the Crisis of 1876-1877: A
Reconsideration of Reunion and Reaction". Journal of
Southern History 46 (November 1980): 489-524; Says the
Compromise was reached before the Wormley
Hotel meetings discussed by Woodward (1951) DeSantis, Vincent P. "Rutherford B. Hayes and the Removal of the
Troops and the End of Reconstruction". In Region, Race and
Reconstruction Ed. by Morgan Kousser and James McPherson. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982. 417-50.
Provides a more complex account of Hayes's decision. Allan Peskin, "Was There a Compromise of 1877?" Journal of American History (1973)
v 60#1, pp 63-75 (Admits that Woodward's interpretation is almost universally
accepted but since not all terms were met it should not be called a
compromise.) Polakoff, Keith Ian. The Politics of Inertia: The Election of 1876 and
the End of Reconstruction. Louisiana State University Press,
1973. Argues the Compromise reflected decentralized parties and weak national
leaders C. Vann Woodward. Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the
End of Reconstruction (1951), emphasizes the role of railroads. C. Vann Woodward. "Yes, There Was a Compromise of 1877" Journal
of American History (1973) v 60#2, pp 215-23. (Rebuts Peskin; the main
terms were indeed met.) External links Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compromise_of_1877" Categories: History of the Southern
United States | Reconstruction | 1877 in the United States |