1877 SHIELD 5C PR66 Deep Cameo

Once the Union Army had defeated the Confederates, there was still a long process of acclimation, compromise, and reconstruction- hence the term Reconstruction Period. During this time, Southern states slowly rejoined the Union, but to avoid any more domestic threats, federal troops were still stationed throughout the states. By 1876 only three states still had to have federal supervision: Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana due to their violent tendencies, intimidation tactics, and their yearning for the white supremacy that reigned in the antebellum period. As a result, these same states were the only three that returned several contested voting results from the 1876 election. Prior to their submittal the Democratic nominee, Samuel B. Tilden, was one vote away from winning the electoral vote and had a lead of 250,000 popular votes. It was quite apparent at this time that several citizens were tired of republican presidencies that had been reoccurring since 1861. However, because of the disputed votes, the matter had to be taken into a congressional joint session for ruling, which began in 1877. In the time before the session, and during 1877, speculations about secret negotiations between Republican allies and “moderate” Southern Democrats ran rampant. These speculations are likely due to the fact that the result of the joint session randomly handed the presidency over to the Republican nominee, Rutherford Hayes, as long as he committed to the removal of all federal troops from the south. Now referred to as the compromise of 1877, it ultimately eased a tense situation caused by one of the most controversial elections in U.S. history and ended Reconstruction.