audiobook Fraud of the Century: Rutherford B. Hayes; Samuel Tilden; and the Stolen Election of 1876 by Roy Jr. Morris in History

Review

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Political Drama of the Century as WellBy MJIn 1876; America celebrated the centennial of its independence. It was also the year of the most hotly contested presidential election in the history of the United States up until that point; and probably ever since. Not again until 2000 would America's anxiety about an election outcome be so prolonged and uncertain.Some reviews of Fraud of the Century have called the book lopsided. But reviews of virtually every book I have read on the subject of the 1876 election have made similar criticisms. The election is difficult to write about without some finding the perspective slanted one way or another. Personally; I found Fraud of the Century to be as balanced an account of this contentious topic as one can possibly write; including the account of the events leading up to the election; and the tension that followed as Democrats and Republicans vied to come out on top.The drama of this hotly disputed election plays out against the backdrop of reconstruction; carpetbagging; the rise of violence in the South; implementation of Black Laws; and Grant's insouciance about the pervasive corruption in which his administration was mired. The country; still very much divided following the Civil War; continued to fester through the proxies of political parties. In the end; Democrats ran roughshod over blacks; Republicans ran roughshod over Democrats; and both political parties felt self-righteous about their respective actions. It is history worth knowing and understanding; and this book succeeds in enlightening its readers on this subject.For those who think that the book is biased; try reading some of the other accounts of the election of 1876 and find one about which the same criticism cannot be made. Roy Morris' Fraud of the Century brings to life a political drama which gripped the country in an well written and entertaining account.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Fascinating portrait of the United States a decade after the civil warBy Marc and Susan OsborneI was originally interested in this book because of the uncanny similarity between the election of 1876 and that of 2000: the Democratic candidate won the popular vote but the Republican candidate was declared the winner; amid allegations of election fraud. But that similarity is in important respects only superficial; and I disagree with those reviewers who conclude that Roy Morris Jr. wrote the book out of partisan support for Al Gore. The book is very interesting; but it sheds no light on the election of 2000; nor does it pretend to. Rather; it is a fascinating portrait of United States political culture at a particular moment; a moment very different from our own. The United States at that time was still working out the consequences of the civil war and had not yet gone through the era of big capitalism. As a result; very different social and economic concerns divided the country and the parties in 1876; so much so that it's hard to see much continuity between the Republican and Democratic parties of 1876 and those or our own era. Even more striking is the very different level of political corruption that was accepted as normal at that time. Make no mistake; by today's standards the election of 1876 was stolen; and stolen brazenly. There's just no comparison between the outright fraud of 1876; depicted at length in Morris's book; and the maneuvering of 2000. Importantly; Morris doesn't appear (not to me; anyway) to believe that the Democrats were more morally upright than the Republicans in 1876; nor that they were seriously opposed in principle to what we would now consider political fraud. At best; the Republicans were more organized; most importantly; it happened that Republicans controlled the governments of the contested states.In addition to his portrait of the times; Morris's book is also a portrait of the individuals involved in the election. He paints a sympathetic portrait of the Republican candidate (and later President); Rutherford B. Hayes; noting that Hayes did not instigate the fraud and may not have been aware of its scope. Morris also examines the conventional notion;which I learned in high school; that the Democrats ultimately allowed Hayes to assume the presidency in return for a promise to end Reconstruction. Morris demonstrates that this understanding is overly simplistic. It's not clear that Hayes gave any such promise; and Reconstruction was dying before he took office; mostly because northern Whites were tired of fighting for it.Overall; Morris is a lively writer and brings to life a different time in United States history. I highly recommend his book; for reasons that have nothing to do with George Bush or Al Gore.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The voteBy J. KingMorris summarizes his thesis that by fraudulent means the republicans stole the presidential election—from Sam Tilden; democratic candidate—of 1876 to give the presidency to Rutherford (some: Rutherfraud) B. Hayes by the choice of 1 sole Supreme Court Judge. I am sure many conservatives are outraged by this conclusion. But you must read for yourself. I love U.S. history and Morris has a captivating way of writing about it.Morris in his own words:But even as Tilden was completing his royal progress and retiring for the night as the nation’s presumptive president-elect; an unlikely trio of supporting actors—a controversial former general; an openly pessimistic political operative; and a bitterly partisan journalist—was preparing to make its entrance onto the stage. And with the subsequent dispatching of a few well-chosen telegrams to Republican functionaries in a handful of questionable southern states; those three bit players— Daniel E. Sickles; William E. Chandler; and John C. Reid—would set into motion a chain of events that would effectively stall Samuel Tilden’s long-anticipated victory march and stifle the cheers in millions of Democratic throats. Over the course of the next few days Americans would come to realize—with conflicting emotions of anger; elation; and disbelief—that the presidential election of 1876; far from being over; in many ways had just begun.Oh; one of the states whose votes were held in recount by republican reconstruction governments?Florida.Go figure!