Primary Source Spotlight: 1876 Contested Presidential Election

Primary Source Spotlight: 1876 Contested Presidential Election

From America’s Library On the night of the 1876 presidential election, Republican candidate Rutherford B. Hayes went to bed early. He assumed that he had lost the election to his opponent, Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden did win the popular vote that night, but the Republicans challenged the validity of the electoral votes from three…