After the disaster of President Johnson, the United States electedInteractive popup. Assistance may be required. General Grant the 18th President of the United States. Even with the military rulers in place, the South continued to resist. If begrudgingly, they gradually began to meet the conditions of Radical Reconstruction and the states were readmitted to the Union. Over time, white Southerners were able to elect state governments that reflected their old ways. They were aided by a new, anti-black terrorist group, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which sought to intimidate freedmen through terrible violence.

Grant responded forcefully to the KKK. However, by the early 1870s the country was growing tired of spending resources trying to defend the rights of freed slaves and ending Southern resistance.

This was made worse by the collapse of the economy in 1873. Amidst hard times, Northern voters cared more about their own well-being than trying to aid the South. To make matters even worse for President Grant, his administration was rocked by multiple scandals.

Election of 1876

Source: Rutherford B. Hayes
1870-1880 Restored

Grant remained personally popular, but between the poor economy and the scandals, he chose not to seek re-election to a third term in 1876. For the first time since the Civil War, a Democrat seemed to stand a chance in a national election.

• Why was the Republican party dominant after the Civil War? Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Click here to find out. The Republicans were the party of Lincoln, and therefore the party of winning the Civil War. Whenever there was a close election, a Republican would start talking about the sacrifices made during wartime and how his party stood firm, while Democrats wanted to negotiate with the South. This campaign tactic is known as "waving the bloody shirt." From 1860-1912, only one Democrat was elected President, Grover Cleveland.

The race was between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden. Tilden actually won the popular vote, but fell one electoral vote short of the Constitutional majority needed to win. There were 13 electoral votes in dispute, sending the election to the House of Representatives. The House of Representatives, controlled by Republicans, established a committee on how to assign the 13 votes. There were 13 members on the committee, seven Republicans and six Democrats. The committee would vote, 7-6, to award all 13 disputed votes to Hayes and give him the presidency.

The Compromise of 1877

Obviously, many Democrats thought the election of Hayes was unfair. The Democrats agreed to not object to the committee's ruling in exchange for the following:

• All military officials in the South would be withdrawn, ending Congressional Reconstruction.
• Hayes would appoint at least one Democrat to his Cabinet.
• Congress would appoint money to help build factories in the South and for both a second transcontinental railroad that ran through the South.

The Compromise of 1877 ended Reconstruction. After almost two decades of conflict, the North set its sights on making money and the great industrial expansion that was about to come. It left the South to conduct its own policies on race for almost the next century.

Scenario: Based on the Compromise of 1877, which of the three victor's choices from the first section of this resource did Northern voters ultimately choose?
Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Walk Away Correct! The North more or less walked away from the problem of race in Southern states.	Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Helping Hand TRY AGAIN	Interactive popup. Assistance may be required. Kick "Em While Down TRY AGAIN