Tom Hanks narrates the stolen election that killed Reconstruction in 7 blistering minutes.
The most hotly contested presidential election in U.S. history did not take place in 2020, or even 2000. It took place 11 years after the Civil War and ended in a backroom deal with devastating consequences still felt to this day.
Direction
Kunstler sisters pack decades of corruption into seven minutes.
Writing
Hanks' narration turns 1876 into urgent present-tense horror.
Director
Emily Kunstler
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Samuel Tilden won the popular vote and led in electoral votes, but lost after a 'commission' of 15 men—8 Republicans, 7 Democrats—gave every disputed state to Hayes.
This short was produced by the Equal Justice Initiative, the same organization behind the National Memorial for Peace and Justice—designed to force confrontation with historical amnesia.
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