The U.S. Congress had appointed an Electoral…

The U.S. Congress had appointed an Electoral Commission (five Senators, five Representatives, and five justices of the U. S. Supreme Court) on January 29, 1877, after months of controversy, which, by straight party vote (eight to seven), awards the disputed electoral votes to Republican candidate Hayes, thus making him President.

The Republican victory in the Electoral Commission is due to promises made to Southern Democrats that the remaining federal troops will be withdrawn from the South, Southern patronage will be shared with Democrats, and appropriations will be made for Southern economic improvements, and at least one Southerner will be appointed to the cabinet.

A series of sectional bargains known collectively as the Compromise of 1877, brokered in part by Thomas Alexander Scott, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, ensures Hayes’s inauguration.

The compromise essentially states that Southern Democrats will acknowledge Hayes as president, but only on the understanding that Republicans will meet certain demands.

The following elements are generally said to be the points of the compromise:

1) The removal of all federal troops from the former Confederate States. (Troops remain in only Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida, but the Compromise finalizes the process.)

2) The appointment of at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes's cabinet. (David M. Key of Tennessee becomes Postmaster General.)

3) The construction of another transcontinental railroad using the Texas and Pacific in the South (this had been part of the "Scott Plan," proposed by Thomas A. Scott, which had initiated the process that led to the final compromise).

4) Legislation to help industrialize the South and get them back on their feet after the terrible loss during the Civil War.

In exchange, Democrats will:
• Peacefully accept Hayes's presidency.
• Respect blacks' rights.

Democrats complain loudly that Tilden had been cheated.

There is talk of forming armed units that will march on Washington.

President Grant beefs up military security in response.