Election of 1876: Honest or Dishonest

In 1876, the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden sought the office of the presidency of the United States. When the votes were counted, neither one had the majority. The nineteen electoral votes in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida were in dispute.

There were accusations and denials of dishonesty. Congress created a special commission to decide the issue. Commission members were three Republicans and two Democrats from the Senate, three Democrats and two Republicans from the House, and two Democrats, two Republicans, and one independent judge from the Supreme Court. The commission studied the votes from South Carolina and Louisiana. The electoral votes went to Hays.

The commission started looking at Florida.  

The Florida election officials contacted the Tilden people and offered the state's electoral votes to Tilden for two hundred thousand dollars.

Tilden rejected the offer, as he was positive he would win and be awarded Florida's electoral votes.

However, the commission awarded Florida's votes to Rutherford B. Hayes, who became the nineteenth president.

Tilden had won the popular vote by 247,000 over Hayes. But Hayes received 185 electoral votes to Tilden's 184.

                                         Elections in the 21st Century Are Still an Issue.

From Shocking Secrets of American History, written by Bill Coate