Thread by @pptsapper

Ok SO

I may have had some wine and yo, if you think this was the first time in American history a presidential candidate tried this exact thing, baby, have I got a story for you

It's been a hot minute since we did some #drunjhistory huh

Let's remedy that

So it's 1876, and America is, as many historians have said, a hot ass mess

Like, former treasoners in the south are actively fighting the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments and using lots of violence to try to keep white supremacy, US troops are actively fighting them

The election is between Rutherford Hayes, who ate a bullet at South mountain in 62 so you know he's a badass G, and samuel tilden, who's like, a guy. He opposed Lincoln but was like "I guess the union is ok"

And the election is TIGHT. CLOSW. LIKE. super duper close

Not only is it close, but remember that white nationalist violence in the south? Yeah, it was totally wielded against African Americans who would vote for Hayes. US troops did what they could but they were stretched too thin across too large of an area fighting insurgents

Ok, now at this time we go to the correspondence of General of the Army, William T Sherman, who's like,, "da fuq does the constitution say about what happens when we don't have a president" and he's writing letters all over the place, like, prolifically. He's profligate af

Sherman's exchanging letters with MG John Schofield at West Point, and MG Hancock, all about what the constitution says about what to do when there's no president as by January and February, there's no president called, and it's all legal shit that I won't bore you with

Then shermy sherm gets a letter from old "kill cavalry" himself, Judson kilpatrick, who's going on some sort of cross country tour, and he's worried as fuck

He's like. Yo. Sherm. All these people in the south are saying that if tilden doesn't win, they gonna civil war again

Not only that, but he's got deets. He's like "hey I'm hearing that if Hayes wins, tilden declares HE'S the winner the day before the inauguration, calls on the Army & Navy to support him, Hayes will be forced to declare insurrection, and yo, civil war bitch"

Sherman like '... '

This isn't just news on the east coast, it gets as far west as where Nelson Miles is doing shady shit with George Custer, and he writes Sherman a long ass letter on the campaign (that Custer is totes gonna die on) and then ends with this totally bonkers statement:

Miles is like, I heard what all is going on out east and "I trust you will not leave me out here" if there was some insurrection, adding that now the US Army has repeating rifles and understands logistics, that it wouldn't take long to end civil war 2: telegraphic boogaloo

So Sherman is like ok, but what's the legal foundation of all this. Meanwhile, politicians start arguing and shit and they come to a compromise -- Hayes gets to win if he withdraws federal troops, which, is like, the only thing keeping the constitution from constitutioning there

So by March, Hayes gets to win, but everyone's still nervous as shit so Sherman is like "uh, I guess we'll just sorta kinda deploy all these troops around the capitol, just in case"

WOW WHEN HAS THAT EVER HAPPENED

So Rutherford gets to be president but THEN

Southern pols get together with northerners who are tired of spending money on reconstruction and pass the posse comitatus act (I want cred for spelling that correctly whilst intoxicated).the posse comitatus act. That one. Which restricts federal troops from doing domestic shit

And by "shit" I mean, enforcing the goddamn constitution against the former rebs who band into clubs of guys who like guns and uniforms and march around and go to political events and march around and SOUND FAMILIAR YET it's like these people have the imagination of a rock

Ummmmm what was I saying. Right. Yes. Congested lection. Contested, even. An election. So, yeah, Hayes wins, reconstruction ends, but civil war doesn't happen. Again. But it happens in the south, where white supremacists unseat Black legislators for the next 30 years w violence

"riots" happen in cities across the south, killing many Black politicians and their families and causing many more to flee north for safety. This was called "redeeming" by the white supremacists and effectively overturned the results of the civil war. Which is some BULLSHIT

So yeah, definitely not the first time someone has tried to use the threat of violence to get at the office of the presidency. And the compromise that came out of it set the US south back by about 70 years and condemned Black Americans in the south to Jim Crow

And this, kids, is why we read history - well, and to also know that Sherman had the shittiest handwriting. Well, no. Hancock's was worse. Anyways. Um. Don't do a treason or try to overthrow the government

It bad

The end