<P> The Compromise of 1877 was a purported informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election . It resulted in the United States federal government pulling the last troops out of the South, and formally ended the Reconstruction Era . Through the Compromise, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House over Democrat Samuel J. Tilden on the understanding that Hayes would remove the federal troops whose support was essential for the survival of Republican state governments in South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana . The compromise involved Democrats who controlled the House of Representatives allowing the decision of the Electoral Commission to take effect . The outgoing president, Republican Ulysses S. Grant, removed the soldiers from Florida . As president, Hayes removed the remaining troops from South Carolina and Louisiana . As soon as the troops left, many white Republicans also left, and the "Redeemer" Democrats took control . They already dominated most other state governments in the South . What was exactly agreed is somewhat contested as the documentation is insufficient . </P> <P> Black Republicans felt betrayed as they lost power and were subject to discrimination and harassment to suppress their voting . At the turn of the twentieth century, most black people were effectively disenfranchised by state legislatures in every southern state, despite being a majority in some . </P> <P> The compromise essentially stated that Southern Democrats would acknowledge Hayes as president, but only on the understanding that Republicans would meet certain demands . The following elements are generally said to be the points of the compromise: </P> <Ol> <Li> The removal of all U.S. military forces from the former Confederate states . At the time, U.S. troops remained in only Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida, but the Compromise completed their withdrawal from the region . </Li> <Li> The appointment of at least one Southern Democrat to Hayes' cabinet . (David M. Key of Tennessee was appointed as Postmaster General .) </Li> <Li> The construction of another transcontinental railroad using the Texas and Pacific in the South (this had been part of the "Scott Plan," proposed by Thomas A. Scott of the Pennsylvania Railroad; he had initiated negotiations resulting in the final compromise). </Li> <Li> Legislation to help industrialize the South and restore its economy following Reconstruction and the Civil War . </Li> <Li> The right to deal with blacks without northern interference . </Li> </Ol>

What was the impact of the compromise of 1877