Samuel Jones Tilden (February 9, 1814–August 4, 1886) was an American politician who served as the 25th governor of New York and was the Democratic nominee in the disputed 1876 United States presidential election.  Tilden was born in 1814 into a wealthy family in New Lebanon, New York.  Attracted to politics at a young age, he became a protégé of Martin Van Buren. After studying at Yale University and New York University School of Law, Tilden began a legal career in New York City, becoming a noted corporate lawyer.  He served in the New York State Assembly and helped launch Van Buren's candidacy in the 1848 United States presidential election.  A War Democrat who opposed slavery, Tilden opposed Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election, but later supported him and the Union during the Civil War.  Afterward, he became the chairman of the New York State Democratic Committee and managed Horatio Seymour's campaign in the 1868 presidential election.  Tilden initially cooperated with the state party's Tammany Hall faction, but he broke with them in 1871 due to boss William M. Tweed's rampant corruption.  Tilden won election as governor of New York in 1874, and in that office, he helped break up the Canal Ring.  His battle against public corruption, along with his personal fortune and electoral success in New York, made him the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 1876.  Tilden was selected as the party's nominee on the second ballot.  In the general election, Tilden faced Republican nominee Rutherford B. Hayes.  Tilden focused his campaign on civil service reform, support for the gold standard, and opposition to high taxes, but many of his supporters were more concerned with ending Reconstruction in the Southern United States. 

Tilden won the popular vote by 250,000 votes.  However, 20 electoral votes were in dispute, leaving both Tilden and Hayes without a majority of the electoral vote. As Tilden had won 184 electoral votes, one vote shy of a majority, a Hayes victory required that he sweep all of the disputed electoral votes.  Against Tilden's wishes, Congress appointed the bipartisan Electoral Commission to settle the controversy.  Republicans had a one-seat advantage on the Commission, and decided in a series of party-line rulings that Hayes had won all of the disputed electoral votes.  In the Compromise of 1877, Democratic leaders agreed to accept Hayes as the victor in return for the end of Reconstruction.  Tilden is the only presidential candidate to win an absolute majority of the popular vote while losing the election.  Tilden retired in the early 1880s, living as a near-recluse at his 110-acre (0.45 km²) estate, Greystone (now part of Untermyer Park and Gardens) in Yonkers, New York.  He died a bachelor at Greystone on August 4, 1886, at the age of 72.  He is buried at Cemetery of the Evergreens in New Lebanon, Columbia County, New York.  In reference to the 1876 election, Tilden's gravestone bears the words, "I Still Trust The People".  Of his fortune, estimated at $7 million (equivalent to $237.38 million in 2023), $4 million (equivalent to $135.64 million in 2023) was bequeathed for the establishment and maintenance of a free public library and reading-room in the City of New York; but, as the will was successfully contested by relatives, only about $3 million (equivalent to $101.73 million in 2023) was applied to its original purpose.  In 1895, the Tilden Trust was combined with the Astor and Lenox libraries to found the New York Public Library, and the building bears his name on its front. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_J._Tilden    

Quotes attributed to Samuel Jones Tilden: 

“I shall receive from posterity the credit of having been elected to the highest position in the gift of the people without any of the cares and responsibilities of the office.”

“Everybody knows that, after the recent election, the men who were elected by the people were counted out; and the men who were not elected were counted in and seated.”

“It has been our faith and our pride that we have established a mode of peaceful change to be worked out by the agency of the ballot box.  The question now is whether our elective system, in its substance as well as its form, is to be maintained.”

 “Be of good cheer.  The Republic will live.  The institutions of our fathers are not to expire in shame.  The sovereignty of the people shall be rescued from this peril and reestablished.”  https://billofrightsinstitute.org/activities/handout-d-tildens-response-to-the-election    

The William T. Tilden Middle School is an historic, American middle school that is located in the Paschall neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  It is part of the School District of Philadelphia.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.  Designed by Irwin T. Catharine and built between 1926 and 1927, this historic structure is a three-story, eleven-bay, brick and limestone building that was created in the Late Gothic Revival style.  t features projecting end bays with one-story entrances, brick piers, and a crenellated parapet.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_T._Tilden_Middle_School  The Muser attended high school next door:  John Bartram High School is a public secondary school serving neighborhoods of the Southwest Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia.  Bartram (According to a history of the school published on its 50th anniversary, the school was originally planned to be built at 74th Street and Dicks Avenue, but the site was changed before construction started.)  It was one of the first Philadelphia high schools named for a prominent individual rather than a geographic region of the city.  Bartram served grades 10 through 12 when the Muser attended.    

Boston Terrier, breed of dog developed in the latter half of the 19th century in Boston.  Bred from the English Bulldog and a white English terrier, the Boston Terrier is one of the few breeds to have originated in the United States.  It has a terrier-like build, dark eyes, a short muzzle, and a short fine coat of black or brindle, with white on the face, chest, neck, and legs.  At maturity, it stands 15 to 17 inches (38 to 43 cm) tall at the withers and weighs 12 to 25 pounds (5 to 11 kg).  The breed is characteristically gentle and affectionate.  https://www.britannica.com/animal/Boston-terrier  Thank you, Muse reader!    

This bok choy recipe is a basic stir-fry that can be served as-is, or you can add meat or tofu to make it more substantial.  Serve with fluffy white rice or over noodles in soup.  The amount of raw bok choy may look too much, but it will cook down.  Prep Time:  10 mins  Cook Time:  10 mins  Total Time:  20 mins  Servings:  4   Find instructions at https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/218619/easy-bok-choy/    

Marion Nestle (born 1936) is an American molecular biologist, nutritionist, and public health advocate.  She is the Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health Emerita at New York University.  Her research examines scientific and socioeconomic influences on food choice, obesity, and food safety, emphasizing the role of food marketing.  Through her work at NYU and her award-winning books, Nestle has had a national influence on food policy, nutrition, and food education.   Nestle became a Fellow of the American Society for Nutritional Sciences in 2005.  In 2019 she received the Food Policy Changemaker Award, as a "leader who is working to transform the food system".  In 2022, the University of California Press published Slow Cooked:  An Unexpected Life in Food Politics, a memoir.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Nestle  Thank you, Muse reader!    

Delaware Park (also known as DelPark) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing track, casino, and golf course in Stanton, Delaware.  It is located just outside the city of Wilmington, and about 30 miles from Philadelphia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_Park_Racetrack   Thank you, Muse reader!    

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  Issue 2909 February 19, 2025