In which states did Reconstruction end after contested election returns in 1876?

• A. Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi
• B. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee
• C. Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina
• D. Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma

Answer: (C)

The moment Reconstruction ended in these states is tied directly to the disputed results of the 1876 presidential election and the deal that followed. In Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina, the returns were contested, and a federal commission ultimately decided the electoral votes for Hayes. As part of the Compromise of 1877, federal troops were withdrawn from these states, ending federal enforcement of Reconstruction there and allowing white Southern Redeemer governments to take control. That specific linkage—contested returns in those three states leading to troop withdrawal and the end of Reconstruction—explains why these states are the correct answer. The other options involve states where Reconstruction had already ended or, in one case, reference a territory that wasn’t a state yet, so they don’t fit the question’s framing.