The annual Friendsgiving episode is now available!
Dec. 31, 2020

S008 – Transition Gone Wrong

S008 – Transition Gone Wrong

Year(s) Discussed: 1875-1877

Though the US takes pride in the regular practice of peaceful transitions of power from one presidency to the next, sometimes the transition is not quite so peaceful, especially when the results are in dispute. Such was the case in the aftermath of the presidential election of 1876 where, for months, allegations flew back and forth, political leaders across the nation exerted their influence in favor of their chosen candidate, members of both parties prepared for armed confrontation, and no one could predict whether Samuel J Tilden or Rutherford B Hayes would end up being the nineteenth president of the United States.

Special thanks to Andrew Pfannkuche for this audio editing assistance and to Dave Broker of the Industrial Revolutions Podcast, Kenny Ryan of the [Abridged] Presidential Histories podcast, and my husband Alex for providing the intro quotes for this episode!

  • Chernow, Ron. Grant. New York: Penguin Press, 2017.
  • CQ Press. Guide to U.S. Elections, Fifth Edition, Volume II. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2005.
  • Flick, Alexander Clarence. Samuel Jones Tilden: A Study in Political Sagacity. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1963 [1939].
  • Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006 [2005].
  • Hancock, Almira R. Reminiscences of Winfield Scott Hancock. New York: Charles L Webster & Co, 1887.
  • Holt, Michael F. By One Vote: The Disputed Presidential Election of 1876. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2008.
  • Hoogenboom, Ari. Rutherford B. Hayes: Warrior & President. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1995.
  • Jordan, David M. Winfield Scott Hancock: A Soldier’s Life. Bloomington, IN and Indianapolis, IN: Indiana University Press, 1996 [1988].
  • McFeely, William S. Grant: A Biography. New York and London: WW Norton & Co, 1982 [1981].
  • McGuiness, Colleen, ed. American Leaders 1789-1994: A Biographical Summary. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1994.
  • McPherson, James M. Ordeal by Fire: The Civil War and Reconstruction, Third Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2001 [1982].
  • Morris, Roy, Jr. Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes, Samuel Tilden, and the Stolen Election of 1876. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2003.
  • Muzzey, David Saville. James G. Blaine: A Political Idol of Other Days. Port Washington, NY: Kennikat Press, 1963 [1934].
  • Nevins, Allan. Hamilton Fish: The Inner History of the Grant Administration. New York: Dodd, Mead & Co, 1936.
  • Office of the Historian, United States House of Representatives. “Party Divisions of the House of Representatives, 1789 to Present.” United States House of Representatives. https://history.house.gov/Institution/Party-Divisions/Party-Divisions/. [Last Accessed: 24 Nov 2020]
  • Smith, Jean Edward. Grant. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.
  • Tarr, David R, et al. Guide to U.S. Elections, Sixth Edition, Volume I. Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2010.
  • Urofsky, Melvin I. A March of Liberty: A Constitutional History of the United States, Volume I: To 1877. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988.
  • Van Deusen, Glyndon G. Horace Greeley: Nineteenth-Century Crusader. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1953.
  • Williams, T Harry, ed. Hayes: The Diary of a President, 1875-1881. New York: David McKay Co Inc, 1964.
  • Witcover, Jules. Party of the People: A History of the Democrats. New York: Random House, 2003.

Featured Image: “The Florida Case before the Electoral Commission” by Cornelia Adèle Strong Fassett, courtesy of Wikipedia


Featured Images: “Rutherford B Hayes” [c. 1865-1880], courtesy of Wikipedia and “Samuel Jones Tilden” [c. 1860-1886], courtesy of Wikipedia