---
title: "Compromise of 1877 — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "The Compromise of 1877 settled the disputed 1876 election, pulled federal troops from the South, and ended Reconstruction, opening the door to de jure segregation."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/compromise-of-1877"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 3"
---

# Compromise of 1877 — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

The Compromise of 1877 was the political deal resolving the disputed 1876 presidential election in which federal troops were withdrawn from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction and allowing Southern states to rewrite their constitutions with de jure segregation laws (EK 3.4.A.1).

## What It Is

The Compromise of 1877 was an informal political bargain that settled the contested presidential election of 1876. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes got the White House, and in exchange the federal government withdrew the last troops from the South. Those troops had been the muscle protecting Black political rights during [Reconstruction](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/reconstruction "fv-autolink"). Once they left, former Confederates and [white supremacist](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/8-the-arts-music-and-the-politics-of-freedom/study-guide/waqzin2LZmqFfbJA "fv-autolink") Democrats regained full control of Southern state governments.

For [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink"), the key move is what came next. After the election of 1876 and the Compromise of 1877, Southern states began rewriting their state constitutions to include de jure segregation laws, meaning segregation written directly into law (EK 3.4.A.1). The Compromise didn't create racism, but it removed the federal enforcement that had been holding the line. Think of it as the moment the referee walked off the field. Everything that follows in Topic 3.4, including poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, lynching, and *Plessy v. Ferguson*, happens in the political space this deal opened up.

## Why It Matters

This term lives in **[Unit 3](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3 "fv-autolink"): The Practice of Freedom, [Topic 3.4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/4-the-defeat-of-reconstruction/study-guide/UtbdMoCqU9btNjpe "fv-autolink") (The Defeat of Reconstruction)** and supports learning objective **3.4.A**, which asks you to explain how Reconstruction-era reforms were dismantled during the late nineteenth century. The Compromise of 1877 is the hinge of that whole story. Unit 3 traces what African Americans built during Reconstruction (citizenship, voting rights, officeholding, schools), and Topic 3.4 explains how those gains were systematically rolled back. The Compromise is the starting gun for the rollback. If you can explain why removing federal troops made disenfranchisement (EK 3.4.A.2), racial terror (EK 3.4.A.3), and *Plessy* (EK 3.4.A.4) possible, you've mastered the cause-and-effect chain this topic is testing.

## Connections

### [Plessy v. Ferguson (Unit 3)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/plessy-v-ferguson)

The Compromise of 1877 and Plessy bookend the defeat of Reconstruction. The Compromise removed federal enforcement in 1877, and Plessy gave segregation the Supreme Court's blessing in 1896 with '[separate but equal](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/separate-but-equal "fv-autolink").' One opened the door politically, the other locked it legally.

### Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses (Unit 3)

These voter-suppression tools only worked because the Compromise put Southern Democrats back in charge of state lawmaking. States like Louisiana then held constitutional conventions (Louisiana's was in 1898) specifically designed to strip Black men of the vote while claiming legal legitimacy.

### Ku Klux Klan and lynching (Unit 3)

Federal troops had been the main check on political terrorism against Black communities. After the Compromise pulled them out, groups like the KKK and other white supremacist actors could use violence and [lynching](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/lynching "fv-autolink") with little fear of federal intervention (EK 3.4.A.3).

### [Brown v. Board of Education (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/brown-v-board-of-education)

The [Jim Crow](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/20-science-medicine-and-technology-in-black-communities/study-guide/GGvwKPixbIHELH9o "fv-autolink") system that the Compromise made possible stood for roughly 75 years. Brown (1954) began dismantling the de jure segregation that post-1877 state constitutions created, which makes the Compromise the start of the long arc the civil rights movement had to undo.

## On the AP Exam

Multiple-choice questions on this term almost always test cause and effect, not the deal's backroom details. Expect stems like 'Which post-Reconstruction political development most directly enabled Southern states to rewrite their constitutions with segregationist provisions?' or 'The Compromise of 1877 contributed to the defeat of Reconstruction primarily by...' The answer pattern is consistent. The Compromise withdrew federal troops, which let Southern states regain control and write de jure segregation into their constitutions. You may also see it paired with states' rights, since questions ask which constitutional principle Southern states manipulated to make segregation look legally legitimate. For short-answer and argument-based questions, the Compromise works as your starting evidence for any prompt about how Reconstruction-era reforms were dismantled (LO 3.4.A). Use it as the first domino, then connect it to disenfranchisement, racial violence, and Plessy.

## Compromise of 1877 vs Plessy v. Ferguson

Both helped defeat Reconstruction, but they're different kinds of events doing different jobs. The Compromise of 1877 was a political deal that ended federal enforcement and let Southern states act. Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) was a Supreme Court ruling that came nearly 20 years later and gave constitutional cover to the segregation laws those states had already been writing. If a question asks what *enabled* states to rewrite their constitutions, that's the Compromise. If it asks what *upheld* segregation as 'separate but equal,' that's Plessy.

## Key Takeaways

- The Compromise of 1877 resolved the disputed 1876 presidential election by giving Hayes the presidency in exchange for withdrawing federal troops from the South.
- Removing federal troops ended Reconstruction's enforcement, allowing former Confederates and white supremacist Democrats to retake Southern state governments.
- After 1877, Southern states rewrote their constitutions to include de jure segregation, meaning segregation written directly into law (EK 3.4.A.1).
- The Compromise set up the entire Topic 3.4 chain of events, including poll taxes, literacy tests, grandfather clauses, lynching, and Plessy v. Ferguson.
- Southern states used the language of states' rights to claim legal legitimacy for segregationist constitutions, like Louisiana's 1898 convention.
- On the exam, the Compromise is tested as a cause. Know what it enabled, not just what it was.

## FAQs

### What was the Compromise of 1877?

It was the political deal that settled the disputed 1876 presidential election. Republican Rutherford B. Hayes became president, and in return federal troops were withdrawn from the South, which effectively ended Reconstruction.

### Did the Compromise of 1877 immediately create Jim Crow laws?

No. The Compromise itself didn't write any segregation laws. It removed the federal enforcement that had protected Black rights, and Southern states then spent the following decades rewriting their constitutions with de jure segregation, like Louisiana's 1898 constitutional convention.

### How is the Compromise of 1877 different from Plessy v. Ferguson?

The Compromise (1877) was a political bargain that pulled federal troops out and let Southern states regain control. Plessy (1896) was a Supreme Court case that upheld segregation under 'separate but equal.' The Compromise enabled segregation laws; Plessy made them constitutional.

### Why did the Compromise of 1877 end Reconstruction?

Federal troops were the main protection for Black voting, officeholding, and physical safety in the South. Once they left, white supremacist state governments suppressed Black voting with poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses, and racial violence like lynching went largely unpunished.

### Is the Compromise of 1877 on the AP African American Studies exam?

Yes. It's named in essential knowledge for Topic 3.4 (EK 3.4.A.1) under learning objective 3.4.A. Multiple-choice questions typically test it as the development that enabled Southern states to write de jure segregation into their constitutions.

## Related Study Guides

- [3.4 The Defeat of Reconstruction](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/4-the-defeat-of-reconstruction/study-guide/UtbdMoCqU9btNjpe)

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