Source: Brenda Wineapple. The Impeachers -
The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation (2020)
The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation (2020)
Johnson replaced Stanton with a bumbling desk officer, 63 year old Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas, a man widely viewed as incapable of performing any credible public service to his nation. The Democrats viewed the new interim SecWar as a horse’s ass. Thomas went to Stanton’s office, giving him a stack of official documents. Stanton asked if he was expected to vacate the office immediately, and Thomas told him he could have the weekend.
An irritated Johnson told Thomas to return and take charge of the War Department on Saturday. Meanwhile, Stanton had contacted Grant and found out that the general was firmly in his corner. On that Saturday, Stanton told Thomas that he wanted more time to think about the situation, and he officially notified the House that Johnson had fired him. With that, the dormant impeachment process erupted, with almost every Republican in the House in support of impeachment. The Senate went into an immediate executive session when the chamber was told of Stanton’s firing.
Sumner sent Stanton a one word telegram: “Stick”, with other Republicans told Stanton the same thing in their own way. Stanton resolved to remain in his office, taking his meals at his desk and sleeping on the sofa. During the first night, there were actually soldiers stationed in-and-around the building, in case there was trouble, but there was none. That very night, the Senate declared that the firing of Stanton was unconstitutional. Stanton, with the help of a federal judge, drew up a complaint charging Thomas with violating the TOA. An inebriated Thomas, who had spent the night socializing, telling anyone that would listen that he was going to forcibly remove Stanton with Grant’s help, was arrested around 9 pm. After being released on bail ($5000), Thomas went to Johnson for assistance, but an unempathetic President told Thomas that he should have taken care of business on that Friday.
An irritated Johnson told Thomas to return and take charge of the War Department on Saturday. Meanwhile, Stanton had contacted Grant and found out that the general was firmly in his corner. On that Saturday, Stanton told Thomas that he wanted more time to think about the situation, and he officially notified the House that Johnson had fired him. With that, the dormant impeachment process erupted, with almost every Republican in the House in support of impeachment. The Senate went into an immediate executive session when the chamber was told of Stanton’s firing.
Sumner sent Stanton a one word telegram: “Stick”, with other Republicans told Stanton the same thing in their own way. Stanton resolved to remain in his office, taking his meals at his desk and sleeping on the sofa. During the first night, there were actually soldiers stationed in-and-around the building, in case there was trouble, but there was none. That very night, the Senate declared that the firing of Stanton was unconstitutional. Stanton, with the help of a federal judge, drew up a complaint charging Thomas with violating the TOA. An inebriated Thomas, who had spent the night socializing, telling anyone that would listen that he was going to forcibly remove Stanton with Grant’s help, was arrested around 9 pm. After being released on bail ($5000), Thomas went to Johnson for assistance, but an unempathetic President told Thomas that he should have taken care of business on that Friday.
A hungover Thomas went to Stanton’s office and demanded that Stanton leave, and an amused Stanton refused. Thomas began to whine about what had happened to him, and Stanton befriended Thomas on the spot, offering him a drink, talking shop, making Thomas feel good about himself and things in general again. Georges Clemenceau remarked that Johnson called up the lightning, and the lightning came. When the House Judiciary Committee officially reported its 5 - 4 vote for impeachment to the House Chamber, moderate Republicans were in a panic, Democrats were astonished, and the Radical Republicans were perplexed. A silent Johnson allowed his passion and spite to rule his judgment, apparently having never asked anyone for advice before he fired Stanton. The Democrats refused to view Johnson as one of their own, and most refused to tie themselves to what they considered ot be a political corpse. Johnson remained oblivious to the obvious.
The imbroglio between Johnson and Congress reopened the anxieties that people felt after they heard about Fort Sumter in April 1865. After the political tides changed after Johnson’s acquittal in the Senate, far too many in Congress that were in favor of impeachment loudly denounced the attempted removal of Johnson, and many of those impeachers had intentionally forgotten their “Go Fever”. But in 1868, impeachment, while risky, also offered the chance at a better future. Johnson had succeeded in uniting a fractured Republican Party, and even Welles was becoming irritated by Johnson’s rash decision-making and his stubbornness.
Most Republicans had been content to tie Johnson’s hands and wait until a Republican, almost certainly Grant, was elected in 1868. However, by early-1868 Johnson had pushed most Republicans too far, in that no Republican could ignore that the President had declared war on the Legislative branch. On 24 February 1868, the floor debate for impeachment started, and the lid blew off, with Republican after Republican spewing forth what Johnson had done in violation of the law. The Democrats in the House, correctly as history would prove, argued that the Republicans, especially the Radical Republicans, wanted to increase the power at the expense of the Executive branch. Some Democrats argued that Johnson was only testing the constitutionality of the TOA. It was during the early stages of the debate that Stanton dropped his charge against Thomas for violating the TOA, which meant that Johnson could not appeal the the conviction.
The imbroglio between Johnson and Congress reopened the anxieties that people felt after they heard about Fort Sumter in April 1865. After the political tides changed after Johnson’s acquittal in the Senate, far too many in Congress that were in favor of impeachment loudly denounced the attempted removal of Johnson, and many of those impeachers had intentionally forgotten their “Go Fever”. But in 1868, impeachment, while risky, also offered the chance at a better future. Johnson had succeeded in uniting a fractured Republican Party, and even Welles was becoming irritated by Johnson’s rash decision-making and his stubbornness.
Most Republicans had been content to tie Johnson’s hands and wait until a Republican, almost certainly Grant, was elected in 1868. However, by early-1868 Johnson had pushed most Republicans too far, in that no Republican could ignore that the President had declared war on the Legislative branch. On 24 February 1868, the floor debate for impeachment started, and the lid blew off, with Republican after Republican spewing forth what Johnson had done in violation of the law. The Democrats in the House, correctly as history would prove, argued that the Republicans, especially the Radical Republicans, wanted to increase the power at the expense of the Executive branch. Some Democrats argued that Johnson was only testing the constitutionality of the TOA. It was during the early stages of the debate that Stanton dropped his charge against Thomas for violating the TOA, which meant that Johnson could not appeal the the conviction.
The resolution for impeachment passed 126 - 47, with every Republican in the chamber voting to impeach. Next, the House had to specifically outline the articles of impeachment. In order to get the support of key powerful Republicans in the House, the focus was on violating the TOA, which was an indictable offense; Stevens’ preference was to focus on Johnson’s abuse of power. Stevens thought that by focusing on the TOA that the articles of impeachment would be too weak. Stevens proved to be correct, in that the first eight articles focused on Stanton, with the ninth focusing on Johnson’s efforts to circumvent Grant’s authority in the military districts. Stevens did not think that the articles needed in any way to be based on an indictable offense(s). Stevens gained Butler’s support to add a tenth article that accused Johnson of disgracing the office of the President, using his vitriolic speeches as evidence. Stevens lobbied for an eleventh article focusing on abuse of Congress, obstruction of the laws, and conspiracy, which was to serve as a catch-all article covering most bases.
Next came the process of selecting the House prosecutors for the Senate trial, called managers. Among those selected were Stevens and Butler, and while Butler was not the chair of the committee of managers, he would lead the charge. On 5 March 1868, Chief justice Salmon P. Chase was sworn in as the judge in the Senate removal trial. Beyond that swearing-in, no one really knew what to do next, since the Constitution offered no guidance for Chase as judge, or for the Senate in terms of organization. The Senate couldn’t even force Chase to be the presiding judge, in that if he refused, there was no procedure to replace him. Chase knew he was in a very powerful position, having already indicated that if there was a tie vote, he wanted to cast the deciding vote. Technically, since Chase was not a member of the Senate, he should not have had the right to vote. Chase wanted to rule on the admissibility of evidence, subject to a Senate vote, as well as deciding the reliability of witnesses. Chased wanted the removal trial to be as close to a court of law as possible, so he, not the Senate, would be in control of the trial.
Next came the process of selecting the House prosecutors for the Senate trial, called managers. Among those selected were Stevens and Butler, and while Butler was not the chair of the committee of managers, he would lead the charge. On 5 March 1868, Chief justice Salmon P. Chase was sworn in as the judge in the Senate removal trial. Beyond that swearing-in, no one really knew what to do next, since the Constitution offered no guidance for Chase as judge, or for the Senate in terms of organization. The Senate couldn’t even force Chase to be the presiding judge, in that if he refused, there was no procedure to replace him. Chase knew he was in a very powerful position, having already indicated that if there was a tie vote, he wanted to cast the deciding vote. Technically, since Chase was not a member of the Senate, he should not have had the right to vote. Chase wanted to rule on the admissibility of evidence, subject to a Senate vote, as well as deciding the reliability of witnesses. Chased wanted the removal trial to be as close to a court of law as possible, so he, not the Senate, would be in control of the trial.
The Radical Republicans believed Chase was guilty of judicial interference in what they considered to be a legislative process. It was common knowledge that Chase believed that Johnson acted within his rights as President in removing Stanton, and he considered the entire impeachment process to be ridiculous. Chase had drifted away from his radicalism before/during the Civil War, and it was apparent to those in the know that Chase at that point in time actually sided more with Johnson than with the Radical Republicans. That was an ironic shift, in that Chase had been one of the primary founders of the Republican Party in the mid-1850s. Chase had his eye on winning the Presidency in 1868, firmly believing that he was by far the most qualified, far more than Grant. The Radical Republicans therefore had legitimate reasons to be suspicious of Chase.
Grant’s supporters were worried about Chase as well, seeing that quite a bit of money had been raised for Chase’s campaign war chest. Making matters more intriguing, Chase was wooing the Democrats as well. Being a former Democrat years ago, Chase had concluded that it was in his best political interest to make life as difficult as possible for the impeachers. On 4 March 1868, Johnson and his two daughters were invited to a Chase soiree. With a straight face, Chase argued that doing so didn’t mean that he was anything but impartial. Chase mostly succeeded in organizing the Senate as a court of law for the removal trial, getting his wish to cast the deciding vote if there was a tie. The only check on Chase was that the Senate voted to allow an individual Senator to call for a vote on any ruling from Chase. The Chief Justice, whether he meant to or not, succeeded in steering the removal trial to more of a courtroom determining a breach of the law than a legislative debate on the abuse of power.
A Democratic Senator from IN made a motion that Wade should not be sworn in like the other Senators since he was next in line for the Presidency, which the Senator argued was an obvious conflict of interest. Wade dealt in absolutes, and he didn’t let things go, and he simply didn’t care what critics said of him. For many in Congress, several months of Wade as President would have been far worse than what they had experienced with Johnson, which made the non-Radical Republican Senators feel that they were in a Catch-22.
Grant’s supporters were worried about Chase as well, seeing that quite a bit of money had been raised for Chase’s campaign war chest. Making matters more intriguing, Chase was wooing the Democrats as well. Being a former Democrat years ago, Chase had concluded that it was in his best political interest to make life as difficult as possible for the impeachers. On 4 March 1868, Johnson and his two daughters were invited to a Chase soiree. With a straight face, Chase argued that doing so didn’t mean that he was anything but impartial. Chase mostly succeeded in organizing the Senate as a court of law for the removal trial, getting his wish to cast the deciding vote if there was a tie. The only check on Chase was that the Senate voted to allow an individual Senator to call for a vote on any ruling from Chase. The Chief Justice, whether he meant to or not, succeeded in steering the removal trial to more of a courtroom determining a breach of the law than a legislative debate on the abuse of power.
A Democratic Senator from IN made a motion that Wade should not be sworn in like the other Senators since he was next in line for the Presidency, which the Senator argued was an obvious conflict of interest. Wade dealt in absolutes, and he didn’t let things go, and he simply didn’t care what critics said of him. For many in Congress, several months of Wade as President would have been far worse than what they had experienced with Johnson, which made the non-Radical Republican Senators feel that they were in a Catch-22.
Wade had been sent to the Senate the same year as Sumner by a coalition of Whigs and Free Soilers in the OH legislature, and he chaired the Senate committee on the conduct of the war during the Civil War. Wade opposed the re-election of LIncoln in 1864 with the other Radical Republicans, since he felt that Lincoln was going to be too lenient on the South after the war. Moderate and conservative Republican Senators were fine with Johnson being impeached, but not removed. Johnson was incredulous when a trusted confidant told him that the Senate trial was more about Chase not being allowed to be President than Johnson being removed, which of course Johnson hated to hear since he felt he was the star of the show.
The debate over Wade being able to vote continued into 6 March 1868, at which point the motion wa withdrawn for unknown reasons, probably due to behind the scenes deal-making. Wade took the oath with the other Senators. To Wade and the Radical Republicans, it seemed like a huge victory, but they apparently had no idea that the moderate Republicans were going to make sure that Wade never entered the White House via the removal of Johnson. On 7 March 1868, Johnson received a summons to appear in front of the Senate. Johnson welcomed martyrdom and being able to make his case known nationwide, vowing to deal with his enemies once-and-for-all.
The debate over Wade being able to vote continued into 6 March 1868, at which point the motion wa withdrawn for unknown reasons, probably due to behind the scenes deal-making. Wade took the oath with the other Senators. To Wade and the Radical Republicans, it seemed like a huge victory, but they apparently had no idea that the moderate Republicans were going to make sure that Wade never entered the White House via the removal of Johnson. On 7 March 1868, Johnson received a summons to appear in front of the Senate. Johnson welcomed martyrdom and being able to make his case known nationwide, vowing to deal with his enemies once-and-for-all.
Johnson was able to get a Dream Team of lawyers to represent him, since many big time lawyers thought impeachment, at least in this case, was not warranted. One of the lawyers was Benjamin Curtis, who had cast a dissenting vote in the Dred Scott Decision in 1857, was no longer on the Supreme Court (he resigned from the Court that same year). Although he was no longer a Supreme Court Justice, Curtis remained a conservative interpreter of the Constitution. Curtis hated politics, and he also hated Abolitionists, having supported the Fugitive Slave Act. Curtis later supported Johnson’s policies, all in the name of conservatism.
Another of Johnson’s lawyers, William Evarts, was the grandson of the Founding Father Roger Sherman. Evarts, unlike Curtis, enjoyed politics and wanted ot be on the Supreme Court, a position that Curtis had abandoned (Evarts would eventually become SecState under President Rutherford B. Hayes, and then a Senator from NY). Seward was the one that advised Johnson to bring aboard Evarts. Sumner, who was actually fond of Evarts, believed that Evarts should have never represented Johnson.
Eight hundred tickets had been printed for the removal trial in the Senate, with each Senator and Representative receiving a specific allotment. On 13 March 1868, the removal trial began in the Senate. The Senate summoned Johnson to appear three separate times, but Johnson (wisely) was a no-show. Johnson actually listened to the advice of his lawyers and stayed away. His lawyers knew that Johnson would be his own worst enemy if he showed up and spoke. Instead, three of Johnson’s lawyers answered the summons, Curtis being one of them.
The first thing Johnson’s lawyers wanted as a forty day postponement, which was denied by the Senate, instead they were granted ten days. Johnson’s lawyers also lost their argument for a very slow-paced trial. The removal trial in the Senate reconvened on 23 March 1868, and Johnson’s three lawyers spent two hours laying out their defense aligned with the articles of impeachment., only after another motion for a postponement was denied. The date of 30 March 1868 was set for the beginning of the actual trial in the Senate.
Addendum: The Removal Trial in the Senate
For President Andrew Johnson Begins
Another of Johnson’s lawyers, William Evarts, was the grandson of the Founding Father Roger Sherman. Evarts, unlike Curtis, enjoyed politics and wanted ot be on the Supreme Court, a position that Curtis had abandoned (Evarts would eventually become SecState under President Rutherford B. Hayes, and then a Senator from NY). Seward was the one that advised Johnson to bring aboard Evarts. Sumner, who was actually fond of Evarts, believed that Evarts should have never represented Johnson.
Eight hundred tickets had been printed for the removal trial in the Senate, with each Senator and Representative receiving a specific allotment. On 13 March 1868, the removal trial began in the Senate. The Senate summoned Johnson to appear three separate times, but Johnson (wisely) was a no-show. Johnson actually listened to the advice of his lawyers and stayed away. His lawyers knew that Johnson would be his own worst enemy if he showed up and spoke. Instead, three of Johnson’s lawyers answered the summons, Curtis being one of them.
The first thing Johnson’s lawyers wanted as a forty day postponement, which was denied by the Senate, instead they were granted ten days. Johnson’s lawyers also lost their argument for a very slow-paced trial. The removal trial in the Senate reconvened on 23 March 1868, and Johnson’s three lawyers spent two hours laying out their defense aligned with the articles of impeachment., only after another motion for a postponement was denied. The date of 30 March 1868 was set for the beginning of the actual trial in the Senate.
Addendum: The Removal Trial in the Senate
For President Andrew Johnson Begins