Hayes-Tilden Deal

The Hayes-Tilden Deal of 1876 was an informal understanding to resolve the disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden. Tilden initially appeared to win, but electoral votes from several states were contested. To avoid a constitutional crisis, Democrats agreed to accept Hayes as president if he withdrew federal troops from Southern states, ending Reconstruction. This compromise effectively ended federal efforts to protect civil rights for Black Americans in the South, leading to the era of Jim Crow laws. It is viewed as a pivotal moment where political deal-making influenced national policies and racial justice.