--- title: '1876: Rutherford B. Hayes v. Samuel J. Tilden' url: https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1876/ description: the Republican ticket of Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler faced the Democratic ticket of Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks in the… section: US presidential elections --- ![Illustration: a pre-1914 imperial intelligence-dossier collage of colonial telegraph logs, sepia field photography and empire maps.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/detail/hero-pre1914.jpg) [US presidential elections](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/) # 1876: Rutherford B. Hayes v. Samuel J. Tilden At a glance The Republican ticket of Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler faced the Democratic ticket of Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks in the centennial year… - **When:** 1876 On this page - [Context](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1876/#context) - [Campaign literature](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1876/#campaign-literature) - [Techniques visible](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1876/#techniques-visible) - [Sources](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1876/#sources) On this page **In one line:** the Republican ticket of Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler faced the Democratic ticket of Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks in the centennial year; the electoral votes of four states were disputed, and Congress's Electoral Commission gave the presidency to Hayes by 185 electoral votes to 184. ## Context The 1876 election was held on 7 November, in the hundredth year of the Republic and in the last year of Ulysses S. Grant's second term. The Republicans met at Cincinnati on 14-16 June and named Hayes, governor of Ohio, with Wheeler of New York; the Democrats met at St. Louis on 27-29 June and named Tilden, governor of New York, with Hendricks of Indiana [3][4]. Both parties' platforms stressed reform, and the Library of Congress notes that one Currier & Ives banner for Tilden and Hendricks put "federal reform" at the centre of its design [5][6]. The result was disputed. The National Archives records 185 electoral votes for Hayes and 184 for Tilden (369 in all, 185 needed), and notes that the electoral votes of Florida, Louisiana, Oregon and South Carolina were disputed; Congress referred the matter to an Electoral Commission, "established for the sole purpose of determining the winner of the election", which gave the decision to Hayes [1]. The Library of Congress record for one of the prints below states that Tilden received about 250,000 more popular votes than Hayes, and that Congress declared Hayes and Wheeler elected in joint session on 2 March 1877 [2]. ![Illustration: a lithographic poster workshop with inked stones, colour-separation proofs and drying racks.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/graphics/lithography-workshop.jpg) Illustration, not an archive object ## Campaign literature Five objects are hosted for each ticket. The two sides' holdings are not equal in kind. The Republican set is made of portrait banners, charts and a song cover that praise the ticket; the Democratic set has three of the same kind and two prints that attack Republicans (one cartoon from the campaign and one broadside from the dispute after it). The Library of Congress catalogues Thomas Nast's 1876 Harper's Weekly cartoons against Tilden and the Democratic party, which are Republican-side objects, but holds no digital image of them, so they are not hosted here. Two of the firms, Currier & Ives and H. H. Lloyd & Co., sold nearly identical prints for both tickets. No Greenback Party object (the Cooper ticket) could be located and verified for hosting. ### Rutherford B. Hayes and William A. Wheeler (Republican) ![Centennial election. The Republican nominees, Krebs Lithographing Co., 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/centennial-republicans-1876.jpg) *[Centennial election. The Republican nominees](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/centennial-republicans-1876/). Krebs Lithographing Co., Cincinnati, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Oval portraits of Hayes and Wheeler sit inside flags, stars, fasces and a shield under a "Centennial Election 1876" banner. The candidates are set in national symbols; this is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/), borrowing the prestige of the flag and the anniversary for the ticket. The print makes no policy claim. ![Grand National Republican banner, Currier & Ives, 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/grand-national-republican-banner-1876.jpg) *[Grand National Republican banner](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/grand-national-republican-banner-1876/). Currier & Ives, New York, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Portraits of Hayes and Wheeler are framed by laurel under an eagle, four flags and the words "Liberty and Union". The flag and eagle are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); "Liberty and Union" is a virtue phrase standing in for a program, which is [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) [7]. ![National Republican chart 1876, H. H. Lloyd & Co., 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/national-republican-chart-1876.jpg) *[National Republican chart 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/national-republican-chart-1876/). H. H. Lloyd & Co., New York, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* The chart sets the ticket among portraits of the presidents from Washington to Grant, then prints the Republican platform, short biographies and election tables underneath. The presidential ring is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the choice of which facts and tables to print beside the platform is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/), as it is on the Democratic chart [8]. ![Our nation's choice, Haasis & Lubrecht, c1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/our-nations-choice-hayes-wheeler-1876.jpg) *[Our nation's choice, Rutherford B. Hayes, William A. Wheeler](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/our-nations-choice-hayes-wheeler-1876/). Haasis & Lubrecht, New York, c1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* A broadside with the platform adopted at Cincinnati, biographies and a table of past votes, flanked by the mottoes "Let us preserve our nation's honor" and "Let us strive for human rights". The mottoes are [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/); the allegorical female figures are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/). ![Roll along, roll along, shout the campaign battle song, Oliver Ditson & Co., 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/roll-along-campaign-song-hayes-1876.jpg) *[Roll along, roll along, shout the campaign battle song](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/roll-along-campaign-song-hayes-1876/). J. H. Bufford's Sons for Oliver Ditson & Co., Boston, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Uncle Sam rides a hay wain marked "Hayes" toward the Capitol behind oxen carrying state names, over bags labelled "Rag Money", with the wheel reading "Hard Money Wheeler Gold Basis" [9]. The farm scene is [Plain folks](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/plain-folks/), the flag and Uncle Sam are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/), and "Rag Money" is a loaded label for the paper-money side of the currency debate, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/). Two Black youths cheering from a fence are drawn in period caricature. ### Samuel J. Tilden and Thomas A. Hendricks (Democratic) ![Grand National Democratic banner, Currier & Ives, 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/grand-national-democratic-banner-1876.jpg) *[Grand National Democratic banner](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/grand-national-democratic-banner-1876/). Currier & Ives, New York, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* The layout is almost identical to the Republican banner, but a figure of Liberty holds a "Reform" flag before the "Ship of State", which puts the campaign theme in the picture [5]. The ship and Liberty are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); "Reform" is a one-word program, [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/). ![National Democratic chart, 1876, H. H. Lloyd & Co.](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/national-democratic-chart-1876.jpg) *[National Democratic chart, 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/national-democratic-chart-1876/). H. H. Lloyd & Co., New York, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* The same publisher's chart in the same layout: Tilden and Hendricks under an eagle and flags, a ring of presidents from Washington to Grant, the Democratic platform, biographies and tables of past elections. The presidential ring is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) and the selection of tables is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/), on the same definition applied to the Republican chart [8]. ![The champions of the people's rights, Haasis & Lubrecht, 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/champions-peoples-rights-tilden-1876.jpg) *[The champions of the people's right\[s\]](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/champions-peoples-rights-tilden-1876/). Haasis & Lubrecht, New York, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Portraits of Tilden and Hendricks flanked by figures of Fortitude and Wisdom, with the mottoes "Economy, Honesty and Reform" and "Prosperity and Happiness for Our People" and a "Temple of Liberty" vignette [10]. The mottoes are [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) and the classical figures and temple are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/). ![Grant to Hayes: "I guess that reform bait wont work this side. Better try an anti-Catholic worm", P. Jesse, 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/grant-to-hayes-anti-catholic-worm-1876.jpg) *[Grant to Hayes - I guess that reform bait wont work this side. Better try an anti-Catholic worm](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/grant-to-hayes-anti-catholic-worm-1876/). P. Jesse, New York, 1876. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Tilden fishes from a bank with a full basket while Grant tells Hayes, on the other bank, to try "an anti-Catholic worm". The print pins a sectarian appeal on the Republican campaign without evidence in the image, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), and shows the Democratic catch as overflowing, which is [Bandwagon](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/bandwagon/) [6]. ![The political farce of 1876, Joseph A. Stoll, 1877](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/political-farce-of-1876-1877.jpg) *[The political farce of 1876](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/political-farce-of-1876-1877/). Joseph A. Stoll, Newark, N.J., copyright 1877. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.* Issued after the vote, it shows eight Republican politicians and justices around the Louisiana Returning Board with the headline "The two negroes and ten whites who defeated the will of the American people", and boxed quotations including one from Grant [2]. The quotations are [Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/) and the selection of men and quotations is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/). The headline counts the named men by race. ## Techniques visible The same few techniques appear on both sides. Both tickets' portrait banners and charts rely on [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) (flags, eagles, the presidents from Washington to Grant) and [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) ("Liberty and Union", "Let us preserve our nation's honor", "Reform", "Economy, Honesty and Reform"), and both partisan charts print selected tables and platforms, which is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/). Each side has one object that treats the other side's argument with a label: the Republican song cover's "Rag Money" and the Democratic cartoon's "anti-Catholic worm" are both [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), and each carries an uncorroborated claim about the opponent. The Republican song uses [Plain folks](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/plain-folks/); the Democratic cartoon uses [Bandwagon](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/bandwagon/); the Democratic post-election broadside uses [Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/). The difference in the hosted record is one of kind and timing, not of technique: the Democratic set includes a broadside made after the disputed count, and the Republican set has no object from that period. ## Sources 1. National Archives, "1876 Electoral College Results", https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/1876 2. Library of Congress, "The political farce of 1876" (print record 2006677483), https://www.loc.gov/item/2006677483/ 3. Haasis & Lubrecht, "Our nation's choice" (printed platform adopted at Cincinnati, 14-16 June 1876), Library of Congress item 2018695402, https://www.loc.gov/item/2018695402/ 4. Haasis & Lubrecht, "The champions of the people's right" (printed platform adopted at St. Louis, 27-29 June 1876), Library of Congress item 2003690772, https://www.loc.gov/item/2003690772/ 5. Library of Congress, "Grand National Democratic banner" (Currier & Ives; catalogue note), https://www.loc.gov/item/2003656575/ 6. Library of Congress, "Grant to Hayes - I guess that reform bait wont work this side" (P. Jesse), https://www.loc.gov/item/2008661717/ 7. Library of Congress, "Grand National Republican banner" (Currier & Ives), https://www.loc.gov/item/2003656594/ 8. Library of Congress, "National Republican chart 1876" and "National Democratic chart, 1876" (H. H. Lloyd & Co.), https://www.loc.gov/item/2006676652/ and https://www.loc.gov/item/95510993/ 9. Library of Congress, "Roll along, roll along, shout the campaign battle song" (Oliver Ditson & Co.), https://www.loc.gov/item/2008661716/ 10. Library of Congress, "The champions of the people's right" (Haasis & Lubrecht), https://www.loc.gov/item/2003690772/