It quickly became apparent that a new president could not be named because three of the contested states with warring governments-South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana-filed one set of election certificates for Hayes and another for Tilden. Their returning boards, which verified the election returns, were in Republican hands, further tainting the results in Democratic eyes. Faced with this agonizing dilemma, Congress in mid-December called for a special bipartisan committee to settle the electoral crisis and favored the creation of "a tribunal whose authority none can question and whose decision all will accept as final.
( Ron Chernow )
[ Grant ]
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