I was doing my reading for my US History Class (I'm going back to college) and they said that the 1888 election between Cleveland and Harrison was one of the most corrupt elections in American History. Do you agree and if not which do you think was the most corrupt?
No, I definitely disagree. There were, of course. low-level dirty tricks in the 1888 campaign as there always are, and they were especially prevalent in the 19th Century, but the 1888 election was pretty tame. Cleveland and Harrison were personally honest almost to a fault, and while they certainly wanted to win the election, neither would have permitted a dirty campaign or anything unseemly on their behalf. In fact, longtime journalist Alexander K. McClure wrote of the 1888 election, "I cannot recall another Presidential contest that was conducted on both sides with greater dignity and decency than that between Cleveland and Harrison in 1888."
The most corrupt election was probably the 1876 contest between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden. I don't know where to begin with that election, but here's quick overview:
•There were widespread allegations of voting irregularities, fraud, votes for sale, intimidation, and a bunch of other bad things alleged against both sides. Most of those allegations are almost certainly true. •The results of the election were in dispute following Election Day, with three states still "counting" their votes: Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina.•Those three states were controlled by the Republican Party as Reconstruction was still in effect in the South and the GOP was similar to an occupying force, with loyal Republicans installed in nearly every influential state, city, and county position.•In what was either a major coincidence or an undoubtedly suspicious turn of events, the Republican-controlled states were having trouble counting their disputed votes at the exact moment when the Demcorat candidate, Samuel J. Tilden, not only led the Republican candidate (Hayes) in the popular vote, but also had a lead in the Electoral College.•Tilden's lead in the Electoral College was 184-166, and he was just one electoral vote away from clinching the Presidency.•Of the three (Republican-controlled) states that were still in dispute, Tilden was leading in two of them.•Again...Tilden just needed ONE more electoral vote to win the Presidency. Hayes needed to win every single electoral vote still in dispute.•Hayes caught a break in the two states where he was "trailing' Tilden -- Florida and Louisiana -- when the Republican officials in charge of the process disqualified a significant amount of Tilden ballots.•In the midst of the the confusion, as the election was being disputed, Tilden remained the favorite to pull off the victory. Rutherford B. Hayes was actually convinced that he had lost the election.
For those of us who remember the anxiety and frustration over the 2000 election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, that was nothing compared to the 1876 election. Election Day was on November 7, 1876, but the dispute dragged on so long that there were fears that the country might face violence or rebellion once a decision was finally made, especially since the country was only a dozen years removed from the Civil War. Reconstruction was still taking place and Union troops continued to occupy the South. Democratic candidates had been dominated by Republican candidates since the Civil War -- many of whom were carpetbaggers from the North that native Southerners heavily resented. The possibility of a Democrat seemingly being denied the Presidency easily could have sparked disturbances, especially since Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote and was denied an Electoral College majority through tactics which were questionable at best.
Not only was the election in dispute, but when the Electoral College met, there were disputes about which Presidential electors could be certified. On top of all that, the Constitution requires Electoral College results to be counted before a joint session of Congress. The Senate was controlled by Democrats and the House was controlled by Republicans, so, of course, they couldn't even come to an agreement about tallying the votes. Finally, Congress decided on an unprecedented alternative -- the formation of a 15-member "Electoral Commission". It was decided that there would be seven Democratic members, seven Republican members (including future President James Garfield), and one independent member -- David Davis, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court and close friend of Abraham Lincoln. Unsurprisingly, even that didn't go as planned -- Davis retired from the Court and his spot on the Electoral Commission was filled by another Supreme Court Justice, Joseph P. Bradley. Justice Bradley was a Republican appointed by the Republican President Grant and his presence on the Commission gave the GOP an 8-7 advantage.
The Electoral Commission began its work on February 1, 1877. Now, don't forget that the election had taken place on November 7, 1876, and the next President's inauguration was scheduled for March 4, 1877. Since March 4th was a Sunday, the public inauguration ceremony would take place on Monday, March 5th. As you might imagine, the Electoral Commission's decided the election strictly along party lines -- 8-7 in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes. Justice Bradley, the Republican replacement for the Commission's only independent appointee, was the swing vote.
The 2000 election was decided when the Supreme Court (voting along strict party lines just like in 1876) ended the recount of disputed votes in Florida. That happened on December 8, 2000 and the 43rd President's Inauguration Day was January 20, 2001, not an ideal amount of time for a transition, but still well over a month. The 1876 election was officially decided by the Electoral Commission on March 2, 1877 -- TWO DAYS before the 19th President's Inauguration Day. Many Americans didn't know who the new President was until after he was sworn in.
Although Tilden won the popular vote and probably won the Electoral vote, he did not dispute the election. It was said that Tilden recognized there was widespread voting fraud within his own organization and didn't figured it was best to move on a spare the country any further trouble, especially since there was a real possibility of rebellion by opponents of Hayes and the Republicans. Tilden took solace in the fact that he (and many other Americans) knew he actually won the election.
Threats of major disturbances on Inauguration Day resulted in precautions being taken -- on Saturday, March 3, 1877, President Grant invited Hayes to the White House and had the President-elect privately sworn into office in the Red Room, just in case anything prevented the actual ceremony. Because of how the election was decided (not to mention the fact that it had only been decided a couple of days earlier), the inauguration was low-key with no parades or inaugural balls. Once in office, President Hayes had to placate the Democrats who felt robbed of the election with what became known as the "Compromise of 1877". Hayes basically ended Reconstruction by withdrawing the Union troops that had occupied the South since the end of the Civil War, a move which resulted in the "black codes" and ensured that civil rights for African-Americans were denied for nearly another century.
