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Samuel Tilden had won the majority of votes, but then (as now) it's the electoral colleges of States that formally elect the President. In this case, three States sent out two electoral colleges, each claiming to represent the 'true' outcome of the voting. Without their votes, Tilden was 1 electoral vote short of winning. But instead of immediately taking on the outcome of even one of these States and getting its votes, Tilden started working for a month on a legal paper on how the problem should be formally solved. The Republicans then simply claimed victory and Hayes became President.

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10y ago

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