America won’t soon forget last year’s nerve-wracking election. Democrat Samuel Tilden and Republican Rutherford Hayes battling to a deadlock in the Electoral College. Violence against black voters. Officials charging fraud. Everyone asking, “Who won?”
Despite the cries of “Tilden or War!” both sides compromised. Congress appointed a commission to determine the outcome, and the transfer of power was peaceful. Rutherford Hayes is our new president.
But peace comes at a cost. President Hayes has promised to stop using troops to protect black voting rights in the South. Former slaves like Henry Adams say they’ve “lost all hopes.”