About this Item
Only a handful of letters of Hayes relating to this disputed election have ever reached the market??I am keeping myself wholly uncommitted as to persons and policies until after the declaration by the Senate?We are in the best health and spirits. ??Acquired from the descendants of the recipient and never before offered for sale.Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican governor of Ohio, became the 19th President of the United States after one of the most disputed elections in American history. His opponent was Democrat Samuel J. Tilden of New York, who won the popular vote by over a quarter million votes and appeared to have secured a majority of electoral votes. However, 20 electoral votes in three Southern states (Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina) and one vote in Oregon were fiercely disputed amidst widespread allegations of voter fraud, violence, and intimidation from both sides. Republican-controlled "returning" boards in the Southern states invalidated enough Democratic votes for Hayes to be declared the apparent winner of those states.To resolve the crisis, in December 1876 Congress discussed establishing a special, bipartisan Electoral Commission, and did so officially in January 1877. It was composed of fifteen members from the House, Senate, and Supreme Court. The commission voted strictly along party lines (eight Republicans to seven Democrats) to award all 20 disputed electoral votes to Hayes. The decision was accepted by Southern Democrats as part of an informal understanding known as the Compromise of 1877. In exchange for the Democrats' acquiescence in Hayes's victory, Republicans agreed to withdraw the last remaining federal troops from the South and effectively end the Reconstruction era.In December 1876, the result of the election was still up in the air, with Hayes not knowing for sure whether he would be president. Autograph letter signed, as potential president-elect, Columbus, Ohio, December 22, 1876, to future Congressman Jonathan Taylor Updegraff of Ohio. Updegraff was a surgeon in the Union Army during the Civil War. He served in the Ohio State senate in 1872 and 1873, and as a Presidential elector for Grant in 1872. He also served as delegate to the 1876 Republican National Convention. Updegraff was then elected to Congress in 1879. In the letter, Hayes explains that he is waiting for a definitive result before making decisions as to appointees and policies.?My Dear Doctor, I am greatly gratified by your hearty letter. I am keeping myself wholly uncommitted as to persons and policies until after the declaration by the Senate & V.P. etc. It is probable that I shall remain here, or in Ohio somewhere, until that time. The question of resignation [as governor] is still undecided. Possibly before the February count. We are in the best health and spirits. Our kind regards to Mrs. Updegraff. I am in an unusual hurry there, but ?you know how I feel about it.??A truly fascinating view of how Hayes looked upon his time waiting for the election result in 1876, his optimism, and the limitations he placed on himself while the outcome was unknown.Acquired from the descendants of the recipient and never before offered for sale.
Seller Inventory # 35052
Contact seller
Report this item
