What would occur if President Tilden won the election in 1876? Lets say he won the state of Florida as well (a strong possibility) and became President. How would having a Gold Democrat 8 years in the white house before OTL change things?
Why assume he'll be president for eight years? In his 1876 acceptance letter he specifically urges a constitutional amendment limiting the president to one term: "Through this solemnity only can he be effectually delivered from his greatest temptation to misuse the power and patronage with which the Executive is necessarily charged." https://books.google.com/books?id=MnsFAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA343
Basically, the choice in 1876 is between a Reconstruction-ending, single-term-favoring, "sound money" Republican who advocates civil service reform but probably can do little to actually bring it about and...a Reconstruction-ending, single-term-favoring, "sound money" Democrat who advocates civil service reform but probably can do little to actually bring it about.
Eight years before Grover Cleveland won in 1884. Both were Gold Democrats from New York.
I was thinking more in terms of the 1893 crash and would a Republican likely be in charge and if so, how would the Bryan populist movement pan out.
Very likely, Tilden won't run again in 1880, and if he does he would probably lose, even the New York Democracy being far from solidly behind him. Anyway, Gilded Age presidential elections were so close that it is useless to speculate on who would be in power in 1893 based on who won in 1880. If you want a Republican in the White House in 1893, the simplest way to do that would be to have Cleveland win in 1888.
It's hard to predict who would be the GOP candidate in 1892. If things do not differ much from OTL, then I think it would be John Sherman or William McKinley.If you want a Republican in the White House in 1893, the simplest way to do that would be to have Cleveland win in 1888.