Compromise of 1877

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The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election. Through it the Republican Rutherford Hayes was awarded the White House on the understanding he 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.

The 1876 election showed a one-vote electoral college majority for the Republicans, but the Democrats protested and two sets of official results were sent to Congress by South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. An official Electoral Commission selected by Congress awarded the election to Hayes. Southern Democrats planned to block the Commission's report via filibuster. The Southerners had a weak hand, and the Republicans made promises that kept them quiet. The compromise resolved the crisis through a series of secret negotiations involving Republican and Democratic politicians, and various interest groups, most notably the Texas and Pacific Railway company. The compromise was that the South would acknowledge Hayes as President if the Republicans acceded to various demands, including:

  • 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.) Hayes had already promised to do this.
  • The appointment of at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes' cabinet (David M. Key of Tennessee was appointed Postmaster General.) Hayes had already promised this.
  • The construction of another transcontinental railroad using the Texas and Pacific in the South
  • Legislation to help industrialize the South.

The last two issues were controversial; neither provision was kept.

The informal agreement satisfied southern Democrats and there was no filibuster. Hayes was inaugurated on schedule and removed the troops, but there was no serious effort made to fund a railroad or provide other federal aid. Since no one complained that Hayes had broken this part of the deal, some historians argue there really was no compromise. In any case, Reconstruction ended and the supremacy of the Democratic party – and white supremacy – in the South was cemented with the ascent of the "Redeemer" governments that displaced the Republican "carpetbagger" governments. After the Compromise of 1877, white supremacy generally caused the South to vote solidly Democratic (the "Solid South") until 1964.

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References

  • Alan Peskin, "Was There a Compromise of 1877?" Journal of American History (1973) v 60#1, pp 63-75 (Suggests there was no compromise.)
  • C. Vann Woodward. Reunion and Reaction (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.)
  • Hayes Presidential Library
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