Compromise of 1877 - Interpretations

Interpretations

Some historians argue that the assurances offered to some Southern Democrats to prevent a filibuster were not a "compromise" but a foregone conclusion. Peskin admits that Woodward's interpretation is almost universally accepted but since not all terms were met it should not be called a compromise. Other historians argue that the Republican party abandoned Southern Blacks to racist Democratic party rule in order to gain Democratic support. In any case, Reconstruction ended, and the supremacy of the Democratic Party in the South was cemented with the ascent of the "Redeemer" governments that displaced the Republican governments. After 1877, White supremacy generally caused the South to vote Democratic in elections for federal office (the "Solid South") until 1966.

Downs in "The Mexicanization of American Politics: The United States’ Transnational Path from Civil War to Stabilization," (2012) rejects the idea that it was an era of easy reconciliation and political stability. Instead he shows many Americans feared "Mexicanization" of politics, whereby force would be used to settle a presidential election, as force was used to settle state elections in the South. Downs explores how Mexicanization was roundly rejected and stability was achieved.

Whatever "deals" may or may not have taken place, in formal legal terms, the election of 1876 was not decided by such acts, but by the official vote of Congress to accept the recommendations of the Electoral Commission they themselves had set up as a way out of the election impasse. The expectation in setting up the committee had been that its decisions would be accepted by Congress. It was only when certain Democrats disagreed with the commission's decisions in favor of Hayes that this arrangement was jeopardized. This group threatened a filibuster (opposed by Republicans and Congressional Democratic leadership as well) that would prevent the agreed upon vote from even taking place. Discussions of the points in the alleged "compromise" only concerned convincing key Democrats not to acquiesce in a filibuster. The very threat of a filibuster—a measure used by a minority to prevent a vote—indicates that there were already sufficient votes for accepting the commission's recommendations.