The Electoral Crisis of 1877
As the U.S. teetered on the edge of constitutional chaos, Seattle citizens read the fine print of the bill designed to settle a deadlocked presidential election.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Subjoined will be found the bill unanimously agreed upon by the Special Joint Electoral Committee of both Houses of Congress to provide for and regulate the counting of the votes for President and Vice-President, and the decision of questions arising thereon, for the term commencing March 4th, 1877: Be it enacted, that the Senate and House of Representatives shall meet in the Hall of the House of Representatives at the hour of 10 o'clock, post meridian, on the first Thursday in February, 1877... The committee shall constitute a commission for the decision of all questions upon, or in respect of, such double returns named in this section... the commission shall not be in the power of either House to dissolve the same or to withdraw any of its members.
“It shall not be in the power of either House to dissolve the same or to withdraw any of its members.”
In early 1877, the U.S. was paralyzed by a contested election between Hayes and Tilden, necessitating this emergency 'Electoral Commission' act. Today, the fragility of the democratic process and the mechanisms for certifying federal power remain a central, recurring anxiety in American civic life.
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