WI: President-Elect Hayes Assassinated

QuoProQuid

For the 1876 Presidential Election, Florida, Louisiana and South Carolina were expected to vote for Tilden. The state electoral commissions, which had been set up during Reconstruction, realized that if all these states flipped in Tilden's favor then the Democrats would win and they would lose their positions. To trick the region's illiterate to vote Republican, the electoral commissions printed Democratic ballots with Lincoln's picture on them. The Republican-dominated state electoral commissions subsequently disallowed a sufficient number of Democratic votes to award their electoral votes to Hayes.

Democrats cried foul and claimed the Republicans had launched a coup against Tilden. Rioting occurred in the South, there were calls for an armed march on Washington and Hayes' home was fired upon by an unknown assassin while eating dinner with his family.

What if President-Elect Hayes was killed in late 1876?
 

Nofix

William A. Wheeler is elevated to President-elect, Grant orders the military to hold down the insurrection, and probably returns to his General's Uniform after Wheeler is in office, Reconstruction might have a second gust of wind with the Federal Amry back in there, now remotivated that the Southerners can't be trusted to follow any election rules.
 

QuoProQuid

I think it is important to remember that Hayes' election wasn't an assumed fact until March 1877 when the details of the Corrupt Bargain were worked out. Hayes' assassination would inflame a lot of Republican voters but it might also give Democrats greater incentive to push for Tilden. After all, he is the only candidate left standing.

Wheeler has nowhere near the same parliamentary influence or recognition as Hayes.
 

QuoProQuid

I foresee a massive crisis if the assassination happens before 6 December, when the Electoral College meets. Hayes was not yet made President-Elect by the Electoral College. There is a risk of the Republican vote falling apart into several different candidates like the Democratic vote did 4 years earlier.

The Election is probably thrown to the House, which in 1877 is divided 146 to 146 between the Democrats and Republicans.
 
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Mikestone8

QuoProQuid said:
I foresee a massive crisis if the assassination happens before 6 December, when the Electoral College meets. Hayes was not yet made President-Elect by the Electoral College. There is a risk of the Republican vote falling apart into several different candidates like the Democratic vote did 4 years earlier.

The Election is probably thrown to the House.
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Not on your nelly.

The Republicans would see this danger, and close ranks around Wheeler. There might be a scattering of votes for Vice-President, but that wouldn't matter as the Republicans controlled the Senate. They would never let the Democratic HoR get a look in.
 

QuoProQuid

Mikestone8 said:
Not on your nelly.

The Republicans would see this danger, and close ranks around Wheeler. There might be a scattering of votes for Vice-President, but that wouldn't matter as the Republicans controlled the Senate. They would never let the Democratic HoR get a look in.
Click to expand...

All that is necessary to throw the election to the House is one defection. The Republicans have a very short time period to ensure the vote for Wheeler. Hayes' death is going to throw some chaos into the Electoral College meetings.
 
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