16. The Election Commission of 1877
The four contested states each decided that despite the results of the popular vote, there was evidence of vote manipulation, particularly in the southern states, sufficient to award all of the disputed electoral votes to Hayes. The Democrats disagreed fiercely, particularly in the House of Representatives, where they held a majority. The threat of filibustering the official counting of the votes and delaying the inauguration of the president presented a constitutional crisis, as the term of the sitting president, Ulysses Grant, expired as mandated by the Constitution.
The Election commission was comprised of five members each from the House, Senate and Supreme Court. There were 8 Republicans and 7 Democrats. Each of the disputed electoral votes were examined and voted upon by the commission, which voted 8-7 in every case, along party lines, to award the votes to Hayes. It found each of them to be legitimate, despite evidence Tilden had carried the states in at least two (South Carolina and Louisiana). The results of the Election Commission did little to quell the anger of the Democrats over the fraudulent selection of Hayes, and filibuster still loomed.
