The Controversial Election of 1876

On November 7, 1876, the United States consisted of 38 states with a population of 50 million. Voter turnout was the highest in our history with 82% of eligible voters going to the polls. It was the first year American exports exceeded imports. ​

The country had just celebrated its 100th Anniversary of American Independence with a World’s Fair in Philadelphia, near Independence Hall, where both the Declaration of Independence and U.S. Constitution were adopted. Two hundred buildings were constructed at Fairmount Park to house the United States and International participants. A total of 34 Nations attended exhibiting their cultures and accomplishments. 
 
The Fair, visited by more than nine million people, provided a platform to display to the world America’s innovations in manufacturing, science, literature and advancements in organized sports. The recently invented telephone, typewriter, and electric lights were introduced. Johns Hopkins, the first research university in the United States, and the American Chemical Society were established to advance medical science. American literature, which had not been appreciated by the rest of the World, was now taken seriously with the publications of Mark Twain’s "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and Henry James’s"Roderick Hudson". Sporting activities were becoming more structured and competitive starting with the formation of baseball’s National League.

​During this jubilant time, the country was in a perpetual state of dichotomy. The nation was still experiencing a severe depression that had begun with the Panic of 1873. The unemployment rate was at 14% and the gap between rich and poor had expanded with few in the middle. Reconstruction, the decade following the Civil War that attempted to bring the Southern States back into the Union and redress the slavery issue, had taken its toll and agitated everyone. 

Birds eye view of the Centennial Exposition.