History.org: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation's Official History and Citizenship Website

VOLUME 9, ISSUE 2

Top Stories

"The Compromise of 1877: Insights on Election Disputes"

In 1876-1877, the nation's politicians turned not to the courts for resolution, but rather to politics and dealmaking. The present electoral dispute [in the 2000 election between Al Gore and George W. Bush] may require similar intervention. As most Americans now know, there is far more to presidential elections than what occurs on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every fourth year.

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Primary Source of the Month:
"A Truce—Not a Compromise" by Thomas Nast

This political cartoon by Thomas Nast appeared in the February 17, 1877 issue of the American political magazine Harper's Weekly. The cartoon is in response to the Compromise of 1877 that ended the bitterly contested Election of 1876 between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel J. Tilden.

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Teaching Strategy: The Disputed Election of 1876

The election of 1876, between Samuel J. Tilden (Democrat) and Rutherford B. Hayes (Republican), came at a particularly difficult time for this country. Though the policies of Reconstruction had been in effect for almost a decade, tension still existed between the south and the north, which manifested itself in the struggle between the Democrats and the Republicans. In this lesson, students will model how the Electoral College works. They will learn about the disputed Election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877, and they will explore the politics involved in Reconstruction-era America.

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Colonial Williamsburg Teaching Resources for Your Classroom

Colonial Williamsburg offers a variety of quality instructional materials dealing with 18th-century life, including:

• Teaching Literacy Through History (Lesson Unit)
• Eye of the Beholder: Looking at Primary Sources (Lesson Unit)

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Teaching News

Oregon & Washington EFT Scholarships Available

A grant from an Oregon foundation is providing funding for 80 public elementary and middle schools to receive the 2010-2011 Electronic Field Trip series at no charge (a $500 value per school). This Emmy award-winning series consists of 7 live broadcasts and their companion resources, all of which are aligned to your state standards and integrate reading/literacy, civics, history, and technology standards. If you are interested, please contact us at EFTsupport@cwf.org with the subject line Northwest Grant or call 1-800-761-8331. You can apply immediately here. Simply type "NWI10" in the promo code box. This scholarship is open to any Oregon or Washington school that did not receive a scholarship for the Electronic Field Trips last year. Last year's schools do qualify for a partial $150 scholarship.

Funding available for
Electronic Field Trips

Quotation of the Month

"No man worthy of the office of President should be willing to hold it if counted in, or placed there, by any fraud. Either party can afford to be disappointed in the result, but the country cannot afford to have the result tainted by the suspicion of illegal or false returns."

—President Ulysses S. Grant, in a November 10, 1876 telegram to General William Tecumseh Sherman.

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