The episode in history known as "The Compromise of 1877" is one of the more interesting stories in the history of the United States. Not only did this compromise bring an end to a disagreement that was keeping us from selecting a president, but it also brought about sweeping changes in the social, political, and economic climates of the South. This paper will look at the historical significance of "The Compromise of 1877."
             By 1876, the reconstruction in the South was winding down. The efforts to rebuild the states who had seceded during the Civil War had brought about mixed results. Some improvements had come, and the plight of blacks in the South had gotten better for the most part. But as the "Radical Republicans" of the North began to be replaced with more business-minded conservative members, personal interests overtook "reconstructing" the South. All but three of the Southern states had been granted "home rule" meaning power had been restored to Southern Democrats by the Reconstruction Republicans. Reconstruction would officially come to an end the next year after the most contentious, bitter, and protracted presidential election in American history. Those three states would play a big part in deciding that election.
             Both the Democrats and Republicans chose candidates in 1876 that was proven reformers. Democrats selected popular New York Governor Samuel J. Tilden while Republicans chose Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes. Both candidates promised to restore home rule to Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida implying that Southern whites could now take care of problems of rights for blacks. No one expected such a close race, but when the votes were counted, Tilden had won the popular vote by nearly two hundred fifty thousand votes but was one electoral vote short of the majority needed. Tilden had 184 electoral votes, and Hayes had 165. But twenty electoral votes were in dispute and nineteen of those were in Louisiana, South ...