Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican) defeated Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat) in the controversial presidential election of 1876. Although Tilden won the popular vote, he fell one vote shy of winning an Electoral College majority, with the electoral votes of Louisiana, Florida, and South Carolina still in dispute, as well as one electoral vote in Oregon. In order to resolve the conflict, Congress created an Electoral Commission that eventually decided the election in favor of Hayes in March 1877.

The digital collections of the Library of Congress contain a wide variety of material associated with the disputed presidential election of 1876, including manuscripts, broadsides, prints, political cartoons, sheet music, newspaper articles, and government documents. This guide compiles links to digital materials related to the presidential election of 1876 and the Electoral Commission of 1877 that are available throughout the Library of Congress website. In addition, it provides links to external websites focusing on the 1876 election and a selected bibliography.

1876 Presidential Election Results [1]

Notes

1. Presidential Elections, 1789-2008. (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2010), 138, 228.