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Election of 1876
Main article: 1876 United States presidential election
The abandonment of Reconstruction by the nation played a central role during the Election of 1876.[556] Mounting investigations into corruption by the House, controlled by the Democrats, politically discredited Grant's presidency.[557] Grant, by a public letter in 1875, chose not to run for a third term, while the Republicans chose Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio, a reformer, at their convention.[558] The Democrats nominated Governor Samuel J. Tilden of New York. Voting irregularities in three Southern states caused the election that year to remain undecided for several months.[559] Grant told Congress to settle the matter through legislation and assured both sides that he would not use the army to force a result, except to curb violence. On January 29, 1877, he signed legislation forming an Electoral Commission to decide the matter.[560] Hayes was ruled President by the commission; to forestall Democratic protests, Republicans agreed to the Compromise of 1877, in which the last troops were withdrawn from Southern capitals. With Reconstruction dead, an 80-year era of Jim Crow segregation was launched.[561] Grant's "calm visage" throughout the election crisis appeased the nation.