Samuel J. Tilden had the popular vote at 4 228 546 or 50.9%, but lost to Rutherford B. Hayes, who had 4 034 331 votes, or 47.9%.
Rutherford won because he received 185 electoral votes to Tilden's 184.<span />
The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote as guaranteed under the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
