Which of the following statements is true based on the core facts?

Which of the following statements is true based on the core facts?

• A. Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida Were the Issue States
• B. The Compromise of 1877 Created a New Branch of Government
• C. Electors Had No Role in the Election
• D. The Election Was Decided by a Popular Vote Winner

Answer: (A)

The central idea is understanding how a disputed set of electoral votes in the 1876 election was resolved and why those particular states mattered. Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida had returns that could not be counted as they were, making their 20 electoral votes crucial to the final tally. Because the presidency hung on those votes, Congress created a special Electoral Commission to decide them, which effectively determined the winner. This is why that statement is true: those three states were the battleground that decided the election. The resolution also led to the Compromise of 1877, which ended Reconstruction by agreeing to withdraw federal troops from the South. The other options don’t fit because there was not a new branch of government created, electors did have a role in casting the official votes, and the outcome was not simply decided by who won the national popular vote.

The central idea is understanding how a disputed set of electoral votes in the 1876 election was resolved and why those particular states mattered. Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida had returns that could not be counted as they were, making their 20 electoral votes crucial to the final tally. Because the presidency hung on those votes, Congress created a special Electoral Commission to decide them, which effectively determined the winner. This is why that statement is true: those three states were the battleground that decided the election. The resolution also led to the Compromise of 1877, which ended Reconstruction by agreeing to withdraw federal troops from the South. The other options don’t fit because there was not a new branch of government created, electors did have a role in casting the official votes, and the outcome was not simply decided by who won the national popular vote.