In 1876, a new president was to be chosen. Democrats nominated Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes was the Republican nominee. Tilden won the majority of popular votes and 184 electoral votes, one short of the 185 needed for election. Hayes received 165 electoral votes. Twenty electoral votes from four states were in dispute. A Republican controlled Congress appointed a commission to decide who should get the disputed electoral votes. The commission unsurprisingly gave the votes to Hayes. Democrats threatened to block the commission's decision and no new president was in sight.
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