Preceden

Compromise of 1877 Timeline

(November 7, 1876–March 4, 1877)

The Compromise of 1877 resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election by awarding the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and effectively ending Reconstruction. Less

Build a timeline like this one in minutes, for free. Start Yours →

Go to: Event List | Key Facts | Directory

Election crisis

Tilden wins 184 uncontested electoral votes

Nov 1876

In the November 1876 presidential election, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden received 184 uncontested electoral votes, one vote short of the 185 needed for a majority.

Hayes wins 165 uncontested electoral votes

Nov 1876

Republican Rutherford B. Hayes received 165 uncontested electoral votes in the November 1876 election, leaving the presidency unresolved because neither candidate had a majority.

Image source: 1876 United States presidential election

Hayes wins 165 uncontested electoral votes

The 1876 election dispute begins

Nov 1876

The unresolved electoral count produced an intense dispute over the result of the presidential election and created a crisis over who would assume the presidency.

The filibuster threat is prevented

1877

The political resolution prevented a congressional filibuster that threatened to prolong the election dispute beyond Inauguration Day in 1877.

Image source: Compromise of 1877

The filibuster threat is prevented

Congress accepts the Electoral Commission recommendations

1877

In formal legal terms, the election was decided by Congress's official vote to accept the recommendations of the Electoral Commission rather than by a legally binding negotiated settlement.

Hayes is declared the winner

1877

Rutherford B. Hayes was declared the winner over Samuel Tilden, and the agreement became associated with securing Hayes's political authority.

The Compromise of 1877 settles the dispute

1877

The Compromise of 1877, also called the Wormley Agreement, Tilden-Hayes Compromise, Bargain of 1877, or Corrupt Bargain, was an informal political deal associated with the settlement of the disputed election.

Reconstruction and its aftermath

White supremacy strengthens the Solid South

1877 - 1900

After 1877, support for white supremacy generally led white voters to support Democrats, and the region became known as the Solid South.

Image source: Solid South

White supremacy strengthens the Solid South

The Republican Party continues regulating Southern race relations

1877 - 1890

The Republican Party did not abandon efforts to regulate race relations in the South until at least 1890, when the Lodge Bill failed.

Image source: Lodge Bill

The Republican Party continues regulating Southern race relations

Black Republicans retain some local offices

1877 - 1900

Until the end of the nineteenth century, Black Republicans continued to elect numerous candidates to local office, even as Democrats controlled most state legislative and statewide positions.

Fusion governments emerge in North Carolina

1877 - 1898

For a period after 1877, fusion governments and candidates supported by Republicans and Populists or other third parties were occasionally elected to state-level offices, particularly in North Carolina.

Image source: Electoral fusion in the United States

Fusion governments emerge in North Carolina

Black Republicans lose political legitimacy

1877 - 1905

Some Black Republicans felt betrayed as the federal military no longer defended their political legitimacy in the South. By 1905, most African Americans were effectively disenfranchised in every Southern state.

The Wilmington massacre ends a fusion-era exception

1898

The period of occasional fusion success in North Carolina continued until the Wilmington massacre of 1898, which marked a major defeat for the state's interracial political coalition.

Image source: Wilmington massacre

The Wilmington massacre ends a fusion-era exception

Historical interpretations

Contemporary accounts omit backroom negotiations

1877 - 1901

Contemporary accounts of the crisis did not discuss the alleged backroom negotiations. Abram Hewitt's papers and a 1901 history by committee secretary Milton H. Northrup also did not mention a deal to secure Hayes's presidency.

The story of the Bargain of 1877 gains acceptance

1877 - 1913

After the crisis, the story of a Bargain of 1877 gradually became a plausible explanation for why Southern Democrats, despite believing Tilden was the lawful president, recognized Hayes's authority.

The informal bargain enters American history

1877

The existence of an informal bargain to secure Hayes's political authority became widely accepted as part of the traditional account of the election crisis.

Northrup's history is published

1901

Milton H. Northrup published a history of the crisis that did not mention an agreement to secure Hayes's presidency. C. Vann Woodward later argued that Northrup may not have been privy to the alleged discussions.

Watterson recounts an alleged insider dinner

1913

In his 1913 inside history of the crisis, Henry Watterson described a White House dinner during the first Grover Cleveland administration at which four unnamed insiders tried to reveal secrets about the 1877 crisis. Watterson concluded that the whole truth would never be known.

Image source: Henry Watterson

Watterson recounts an alleged insider dinner

Woodward's theory becomes widely accepted

1951 - 1973

A variety of theories about the crisis emerged, but Woodward's 1951 interpretation became the most thorough and widely accepted account for nearly a quarter century.

The modern name is popularized

1951

Woodward's 1951 book coined the modern name Compromise of 1877, deliberately comparing the political resolution of the election to the Compromise of 1820, Compromise of 1850, and other sectional compromises.

Image source: Compromise of 1877

The modern name is popularized

Woodward publishes his interpretation

1951

C. Vann Woodward published Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction, attempting to reconstruct a complete version of the agreement.

Image source: C. Vann Woodward

Woodward publishes his interpretation

Peskin disputes Woodward's five conditions

1973

Peskin argued that three of Woodward's five conditions for a compromise were not met, while the conditions that were met were not undertaken to secure Hayes's legitimacy.

Peskin challenges the compromise interpretation

1973

In Was There a Compromise of 1877?, Allan Peskin argued that Hayes's election and the assurances offered to Southern Democrats to prevent a filibuster did not constitute a compromise.

Benedict distinguishes informal and legal compromises

1990

Michael Les Benedict accepted that an informal agreement existed but emphasized that it had no legal effect, unlike the legislative compromises of 1820, 1824, 1850, and 1861.

Downs places the crisis in a violence-focused context

2012

In The Mexicanization of American Politics, Greg Downs emphasized broad opposition to instability and political violence after the Civil War. He argued that fears of delegitimization or dual presidencies could have made the United States appear to be becoming 'Mexicanized.'

Civil rights legacy

Truman proposes a federal civil rights act

1948

In 1948, President Harry Truman, a Democrat and former senator from Missouri, made the first presidentially proposed civil rights act in the United States. It included anti-lynching measures, voting rights, and elimination of segregation.

Image source: Presidency of Harry S. Truman

Truman proposes a federal civil rights act

Build a timeline like this one in minutes, for free. Start Yours →

Key Facts

  1. The compromise followed the disputed 1876 election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden.
  2. Tilden won the popular vote, but 20 electoral votes from Florida, Louisiana, Oregon, and South Carolina were contested.
  3. An Electoral Commission awarded the disputed votes, and the presidency, to Hayes by an 8–7 party-line vote.
  4. Democrats agreed to accept Hayes's victory, while Republicans promised to withdraw remaining federal troops from the South.
  5. The agreement effectively ended Reconstruction and enabled the return of Democratic white rule and the expansion of Jim Crow policies in the South.

Source

This Compromise of 1877 timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

We work hard to keep these timelines accurate, but mistakes do get through. If you spot one, email us at [email protected] and we'll fix it for future visitors.

Want a timeline like this one?

Generate yours with AI or build it from scratch, for free.

Try It for Free