America’s Closest Elections: 1876 and 2000

 America is the most technologically advanced country in the world. We are the only nation to land a man on the moon. Our research universities are the envy of the world. And in the year 2000, we were confronted by an uncomfortable reality: the world’s oldest democracy was unable to count the votes from a Presidential election. Long lines, malfunctioning machines, third-party candidates, poorly designed ballots, and a partisan judicial system threw the results of the battle between George W. Bush and Al Gore into massive confusion.

Oddly, the election of 2000 was not the first time a Presidential election went into overtime! At our nation’s centennial in 1876, the cliffhanger election between Republican Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel B. Tilden was even closer!  And, as improbable as it may seem, the final state to have its voting problems resolved (albeit in a controversial manner) was Florida!

This unique, fascinating multimedia presentation shows how America has twice coped with a bitter Presidential election too close to call. We will examine what happens when both the political and judicial systems cannot resolve the result in a way that inspires confidence in the American public.

We will also look at the long-range results of the elections. The 1876 election ended the Reconstruction of the South and plunged America deep into a period of racial segregation. And the victory of George W. Bush in the election of 2000 ushered in the war on terrorism in ways that were very different from how Al Gore would have responded.