The Electoral Votes of 1876 Who Should Count Them, What Should Be Counted, and the Remedy for a Wrong Count

The Electoral Votes of 1876: Who Should Count Them, What Should Be Counted, and the Remedy for a Wrong Count by David Dudley Field confronts one of the most fraught moments in American electoral history with clear-eyed legal reasoning and civic urgency. Field dissects the 1876 presidential dispute—when certificates from four states were contested and the question of who may legitimately count electoral votes threatened the outcome of the nation’s highest office. Combining constitutional interpretation, statutory analysis, and practical remedies, he probes what votes truly qualify, the proper role of the President of the Senate, and how citizens and institutions should respond to a mistaken or fraudulent count. Written by a leading 19th-century jurist, the work places the controversy in its political and historical context while offering principled solutions designed to preserve the franchise and the rule of law. Part legal treatise, part civic manifesto, it illuminates themes of legitimacy, partisan conflict, and institutional safeguards. Ideal for listeners of politics, constitutional law, and American history, this audiobook is essential for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of contested elections and the legal arguments that shaped their resolution.