Tilden Campaign Ribbon, 1876

Unknown artist

Samuel Tilden ran for president as the Democratic nominee in the 1876 election. The former governor of New York positioned himself as a political reformer – having led the crusade against the corrupt New York political boss William Tweed – and ran on a platform that called for America to move on from the politics of the Reconstruction, racial politics, and the centralization of power in the Federal government. The election drew 81.8% of eligible voters, the highest in U.S. history, but led to a contested result. Although Tilden won the popular vote, after months of wrangling he lost the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes by a single vote in the House of Representatives.