"A Dead Radical Is Very Harmless" The Election of 1876

[PatYoung]

Today we begin a deep-dive into the most-disputed election in American history: The Election of 1876. You may think you know what happened, that a backroom deal gave the presidency to Union war hero Rutherford B. Hayes, but that is not even half the story. The tale of the 1876 Election is one of corruption, violence, murder, and fraud. Over the coming weeks it will unfold at the The Reconstruction Era through the words of its key players. The first installment looks at the secret communications among former Confederate generals on the best methods for keeping Blacks from voting in South Carolina. 1876 was not just a presidential election year, it was the year the state would vote for governor. Former Confederate cavalry commander Wade Hampton ran in opposition to the new multiracial Republican government. Hampton's supporters sought guidance from a friend in Mississippi on how the African American vote could be suppressed. Methods as radical as murder were suggested.

"A dead Radical is very harmless" How to Win the Election of 1876 - The Reconstruction Era

The Election of 1876 is most well-known for what happened after the polls were closed. Fraudulent and delayed vote counts, rival state tallies of votes,...

thereconstructionera.com

 

[Jim Klag]

This was a great story. I'm glad you're going to spread it out and tell the whole, sordid mess @PatYoung .

 

[PatYoung]

This was a great story. I'm glad you're going to spread it out and tell the whole, sordid mess @PatYoung .

Thanks. I am trying to tell it in the sequences that people experienced it in.