Electoral Commission

Rehnquist notes that during the campaign, Hayes released a statement “recognizing the need for Southerners to control their own affairs but calling for respect for the constitutional rights of all citizens,” a promise made by Southerners that they never intended to keep. Hayes tried waving the bloody shirt during the campaign, but not only was Tilden a New York Democrat, he was over the mandatory draft age, as he was in his mid-forties during the Civil War. Everyone expected that the vote would be close in this Presidential election. […]