The Election of 1876 was a wake up call for the recently freed Black population in America. The symbolism of the election also shed light on what was to come in the next century. When looking at the time period 1850-1950, the period of Reconstruction clearly wasn’t the norm for African Americans. Reconstruction had its ups and downs, but overall the opportunities allotted to these people were exponential when considering that they legally didn’t count as a full person in the years prior. Some new citizens of the United States even made it to government positions in the military occupied South. The tokenism fallacy was clearly in play as Southern whites figured out how to restore the old order. Their first true opportunity was through this vital election. 

 

The Southern Democrats tried to return to this order by suppressing the black vote through incredible measures of violence. It was obvious this was the case, and the tampering did not go unnoticed. Although it appeared Samuel Tilden won the electoral and popular vote, the contentions about the validity for the result were brought up by many of the state legislatures. Because of this, an unprecedented solution came in the form of the Electoral Commission. Rutherford B. Hayes ended up winning the election, but on the condition enforced by the Democrats that the military was to be removed from Southern States.  

The legacy of Rutherford B. Hayes will always be attached to this election and the end of Reconstruction. This might even be a little unfair, as he was partially ahead of his time before the Civil War. It wasn’t popular to be an abolitionist around the 1850’s, but Hayes was a strong defender of African American Rights. The fact that someone who’s morals were incredible at a time they didn’t need to be was impressive. Hayes didn’t even think that the removal of troops would have such an effect and that the Black population might even continue to thrive. At this time, Black rights in America needed to be actively fought for and this theme has repeated throughout the history of the country. This was impossible with the lame duck Senate at the time which stunted Hayes’ ability to create change. The change that did end up happening was the return of African Americans being sub-citizen. It seems as incrementally as more and more progress happens for African Americans in the United States, there are always reminders that their identity is one of the most vulnerable and needs to be fought for.