Charles Anderson Dana, editor and part-owner of the New York Sun walks away from Puck, who holds a portrait of James E. Anderson defaced with the word "PERJURER."

While Dana was editor, the Sun supported Samuel J. Tilden, the 1876 Democratic Presidential candidate who lost the disputed election to Rutherford B. Hayes. The Sun criticized the Electoral Commission that settled the election (through a series of secret negotiations) and continually referred to Rutherford B. Hayes as the "fraud president".

During the election campaign of 1876, James E. Anderson was a Republican Supervisor in Louisiana who used questionable tactics to register black voters. He was also hired to register voters by the Democrats.

After Hayes entered the White House, Congress investigated reports that Republicans had bribed Louisiana officials. Anderson testified that John Sherman (Hayes's Secretary of the Treasury) had tried to pursuade Anderson to throw out the Democratic votes in his district. Anderson claimed that Sherman made verbal and written assurances that Anderson would be "taken care of" after the election. However, Anderson could not produce the letter he claimed to receive from Sherman. Sherman testified that he did not remember it and did not believe he had written it.

Anderson visited Hayes in the White House three times and was later offered appointments as U.S. consul to Madeira and as a U.S. Customs Inspector.