The election of 1876 was one of the closest and most contentious in United States history and was later decided by a special electoral commission. Who became president under these semi-suspicious circumstances and served from 1877 to 1881?

Rutherford B. Hayes served as the 19th president of the United States. The election of 1876 Hayes initially lost the popular vote by a narrow 250,000 vote margin, but the electoral college count was contested due to votes in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina. A special electoral committee later ruled in favor of Hayes resulting in the Compromise of 1877, which allegedly traded Hayes the presidency in turn for a Democrat earning a Cabinet post and the removal of government troops from Louisiana and South Carolina, effectively ending Reconstruction.

Asked by Jason Forbes · Last updated 5 years ago · 47K views · SOURCE