1876 & 2024: When Society Ruled the White House

1870s America was a unique point in time in the nation’s young history. Not unlike the other decades that preceded it, the 1870s saw a changing of the guard at the Presidential and Congressional levels, Supreme Court cases that reached the level of “landmark” for their decisions, and a nation divided along the color lines of an unresolved (or is the word “encouraged”?) racial problem. However, one specific event occurring in 1876 would change the face of a nation and serve as a sort of blueprint for an election a century and a half later.

By 1876, the United States had not only begun implementing, but were enforcing policies and practices that ensured equal access to social, political, and civil rights were guaranteed for Black American citizens. Among these rights were the ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, otherwise known as the ‘Reconstruction Amendments.’ After Andrew Johnson, the 17th President, sought to undermine African American relief efforts and statutes spearheaded by Abraham Lincoln upon his assassination, Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President, continued to support the then-Republican principle of equality and justice (sounds silly when I write it) by supporting efforts of his own. Along with his support for the 15th Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1875, perhaps the most significant tangible action Grant took to support Black liberation was his decision to keep federal troops in the South as a way to ensure the safety, security, and equal treatment of the recently naturalized Black population; an effort that was a part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, aka the Ku Klux Klan Act. Despite making few arrests and garnering even fewer convictions, the increase in federal troop presence in the South helped to suppress Klan activities and ensured a greater degree of fairness in the former confederate states.

Preserving an American Culture

As one may assume, this was a problem for Southerners in 1876 and despite the Courts doing all they could to delegitimize the equal protection clause of the14th Amendment, Southerners knew that the real problem was the presence of federal troops in their states who served at the pleasure of the President. This meant that the priority for the Southern oligarchy was to remove these troops as soon as possible, and that could only be done by electing the right President.

The 1876 election saw Ohio governor, Rutherford B. Hayes (R), square off against New York governor, Samuel J. Tildon (D), in a tightly contested race. The race remained incredibly close throughout but as vote-counting came near an end, Samuel Tildon began to pull away, securing a clear lead in the popular vote (51%-48%) and the electoral college (184-164), respectively. Despite having the lead, there were still states unaccounted for whose votes would have either secured the Presidency for, or swung the pendulum away from Tildon; Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina being amongst them; the only states left in the South with Reconstruction-era Republican governments still in power. This meant that their electoral votes were sure to go to Hayes, a Republican, whose Party mission and commitment would have been to inevitably continue Grant’s Ku Klux Klan Act which kept federal troops firmly planted in the South. Losing hope in the possibility of their Southern dixie boy’s chances at claiming the White House, Democratic lawmakers set to establish a bipartisan congressional commission to meet with Republicans to discuss the possibility of a Hayes victory; this discussion later became known as the Compromise of 1877 (or 1876), and it would go on to change the course of Black history and alter the potential of Black future forever.

Connections

Why does this matter? What does the Compromise of 1876 have to do with the election of 2024? Well, ultimately, the Democrats agreed not to block Hayes’ victory by refusing to certify the election results, and resigned to giving Hayes the White House, instead. However, this agreement was contingent upon a series promises that Hayes was to keep throughout the entirety of his tenure as President, including appointing a Democrat to his cabinet and providing a federal subsidy for railroads. But the most important element was the removal of federal troops which would, as a result, return complete control and governance of the South back to the Southern states. In her 2011 book, Rethinking the Judicial Settlement of Reconstruction, Pamela Brandwein quotes the work of C. Vann Woodward, who stated:

“The Democrats got a free hand to implement of policy of reaction in the South… with scarcely a shrug, Republicans abandoned the freedpeople of the South to their fate, freeing themselves to pursue a policy of economic development unencumbered by moral baggage.” (p.5)

You see, the election of Rutherford B. Hayes was never about policy. It had nothing to do with the economy or the weight of the American dollar, no. The election of 1876 had everything to do with white people, specifically those in power, having the access and the freedom to treat Black people and Black bodies in any way they saw fit. Which reminds us of… I mean, brings us to the election of 2024.

Now, I know what you might be asking… how exactly does a twice impeached former president, 34-count convicted felon wind up in the white house again? The answer actually lies not in the absence of policies or concepts of a plan, but in the fabric of the 49.8% of Americans who voted for him. You see, the United States is at a crossroads where it is believed that the division among party and ideological lines is greater today than any time before the pandemic of 2020. Black rights, trans rights, women’s rights, woke rights, all of these calls to action suggest a request for power and privilege that simply doesn’t sit well with those who have to share it – and those people come in all shapes and sizes. don trump speaks to an American population who oftentimes floats between two spaces - the misinformed and the bigoted. don’s supporters envision a United States where they are in full and complete control over not just power and privileges, but the ways in which they are applied and to whom.

For the powerful, this vision is easy to support as capitalism requires a wealthy class and a working/poor class, meaning those who have access to the money also have access to the power. But for the poor and underprivileged, the task of convincing them that you, the ultra rich, are in their best interest is a but more difficult. (Un)Fortunately for many, there’s an easy solution – make someone else the enemy. Point the finger and place the blame on someone else - the Blacks, the immigrants, the Democrats - and tell your bigoted and misinformed constituents that the only reason their lives are hard is because these other groups are taking opportunities away from them; opportunities that are “rightfully theirs.” That “DEI” is the business plan that had been adopted from state-to-state that allows for people of color and folks of other marginalized identities to not only take your place in the hiring line but be responsible for your safety and livelihood as mayors and firefighters, as well. This was (and remains) the formula used by don and company throughout the 2024 presidential campaign. And once don and co. had successfully identified “an enemy from within,” the boogieman in your closet, it was easy to convince at least roughly half of the population and the powerful players in congress to trust him. Again, why? Why elect don trump after all that? Well we already covered this. don’s election wasn’t about his policies, there weren’t any. It wasn’t about the weight of the American dollar, either – a World Economic Forum found that half of U.S. adults lacked financial literacy anyway. It was about the chance for a vast swathe of white people, specifically those in power, acquiring the access and freedom to treat minoritized people in any way they saw fit.

Almost 150 years later, and the United States is right back where we once were… and this is only just the beginning.

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