Rutherford B. Hayes concluded within days of Election Day on November 7, 1876 that he had been defeated by Democrat Samuel L. Tilden. He told his sorrowful tale to his diary the Saturday after the polls closed. We’ll let him speak for himself in his diary [p. 274 onward] written nearly one hundred and fifty years ago:
Saturday, November 11.–The election has resulted in the defeat of the Republicans after a very close contest.
Tuesday evening a small party assembled in our parlor to hear the news. General Mitchell and Laura, our boys, Birch and Webb, Governor Dennison, a reporter of the Chicago Tribune, Mr. Huntley, W. K. Rogers, Rutherford Platt, and a few others at times.-Emily Platt, Dr. Fullerton, and Fanny.
The first dispatch was from Rutherford [his son at Cornell], showing a majority of in Ithaca, New York, and a gain of— over Grant in 1872. We all felt that the State of New York would decide the contest. Our last dispatches from our commit-tee in New York were very encouraging -full of confidence.
Mr. A. B. Cornell, Chairman New York State Committee, said in an experience of ten years he had never seen prospects brighter on the eve of an election. But we all knew -warned by the enormous registration in the cities of New York and Brooklyn and other facts- that we must not count confidently on carrying the State. The good omen from Ithaca was ac- cepted with a quiet cheerfulness.
Almost at the same instant came a gain of thirty-six in Ballville, the township nearest my own home. This was good. Then came, one at a time, towns and precincts in Ohio. The comparison was made with the vote in 1875, instead of with the vote of October last. This was confusing. But soon we began to feel that Ohio was not doing as well as we had hoped. The effect was depressing. I commanded without much effort my usual composure and cheerfulness. Lucy felt it more keenly. With- out showing it [her depression], she busied herself about refreshments for our guests, and soon disappeared. I found her soon after abed with a headache. I comforted her by consoling talk; she was cheerful and resigned, but did not return to the parlor. Without difficulty or much effort I became the most composed and cheerful of the party.
At- P. M., or thereabouts, we heard that in some two hundred districts of New York City, Tilden had about twenty thousand majority, which indicated fifty thousand in the city. The returns received from the rural districts did not warrant the belief that they would overcome such a large city majority. From that time, I never supposed there was a chance for Republican success.
I went to bed at 12 to 1 o’clock. Talked with Lucy, consoling her with such topics as readily occurred of a nature to make us feel satisfied on merely personal grounds with the result. We soon fell into a refreshing sleep and the affair seemed over.
Both of us felt more anxiety about the South -about the colored people especially–than about anything else sinister in the result. My hope of a sound currency will somehow be realized; civil service reform will be delayed; but the great injury is in the South. There the Amendments will be nullified, disorder will continue, prosperity to both whites and colored people will be pushed off for years.
But I took my way to my office as usual Wednesday morning, and was master of myself and contented and cheerful. During the day the news indicated that we [had] carried California; soon after, other Pacific States; all New England except Con-necticut; all of the free States West except Indiana; and it dawned on us that with a few Republican States in the South to which we were fairly entitled, we would yet be the victors.
From Wednesday afternoon the city and the whole country has been full of excitement and anxiety. People have been up and down several times a day with the varying rumors. Wednes- day evening on a false rumor about New York, a shouting multi- tude rushed to my house and called me out with rousing cheers.
I made a short talk, saying [as reported by the papers] :-“Friends. -If you will keep order for one half minute, I will say all that is proper to say at this time. In the very close political contest, which is just drawing to a close, it is impossible, at so early a time, to obtain the result, owing to the incomplete tele- graph communications through some of the Southern and West-ern States.
“I accept your call as a desire on your part for the success of the Republican party. If it should not be successful, I shall surely have the pleasure of living for the next year and a half among some of my most ardent and enthusiastic friends, as you have demonstrated tonight.”
From that time, the news has fluctuated just enough to prolong the suspense and to enhance the interest. At this time the Republicans are claiming the election by one electoral vote.
With Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida, we have carried one hundred and eighty-five [electoral votes]. This creates great uneasiness. Both sides are sending to Louisiana prominent men to watch the canvassing of the votes.
All thoughtful people are brought to consider the imperfect machinery provided for electing the President. No doubt we shall, warned by this danger, provide, by amendments of the Constitution, or by proper legislation, against a recurrence of the danger.
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Hayes’ comments about Blacks in the South are interesting, given that he is often overly criticized for agreeing to sacrifice federal protection of Black rights in order to gain the Presidency. Likewise his final comment about the need to change the “imperfect machinery” of electing the President. If only we had done so long ago!