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)
For eight months, Johnson had in effect been ruling by Executive Decree, which changed on 4 December 1865 when the 39th Congress gaveled into session. Under House rules, the House managers could refuse to seat anyone they chose. The Radical Republicans wanted to bar from entry such ex-Confederates as Alexander Stephens in the Senate, who was the Vice-President of the Confederate States of America. The atmosphere was so charged that Seward actually arranged, via Welles, to sail to Cuba in order to avoid the sturm and drang.
Most moderate and conservative Republicans agreed with the view of the Radical Republicans, in that for every state that had seceded, none of their representatives or Senators would be seated. The first Southern representative that was “skipped over” and not recognized from from TN. After Schuyler Colfax was elected Speaker of the House, Thaddeus Stevens made sure to suspend the rules to end debate. Stevens then proposed the creation of a Joint Committee on Reconstruction (9 from the House, 6 from the Senate) which would investigate the situation in the South. The resolution easily passed both houses, and a moderate Republican was selected as the chair of the committee, while the three Democrats were the loud contrarian minority on the committee.
Stevens brought up the reality that with the 13 Amendment, the 3/5’s Compromise was no longer in effect, which meant that former slaves would count the same as white citizens for representation in the House. Stevens made it very clear to all that the result would be increased allocation of representatives from the Southern states, which he viewed as grossly unfair since Af/Am’s could not vote in those states.
Most moderate and conservative Republicans agreed with the view of the Radical Republicans, in that for every state that had seceded, none of their representatives or Senators would be seated. The first Southern representative that was “skipped over” and not recognized from from TN. After Schuyler Colfax was elected Speaker of the House, Thaddeus Stevens made sure to suspend the rules to end debate. Stevens then proposed the creation of a Joint Committee on Reconstruction (9 from the House, 6 from the Senate) which would investigate the situation in the South. The resolution easily passed both houses, and a moderate Republican was selected as the chair of the committee, while the three Democrats were the loud contrarian minority on the committee.
Stevens brought up the reality that with the 13 Amendment, the 3/5’s Compromise was no longer in effect, which meant that former slaves would count the same as white citizens for representation in the House. Stevens made it very clear to all that the result would be increased allocation of representatives from the Southern states, which he viewed as grossly unfair since Af/Am’s could not vote in those states.
Stevens also brought up that Johnson and others had repeatedly and publicly stated that the US government was a ‘White Man’s Government”, which appalled Stevens, who had been an Abolitionist long before the movement became organized. Stevens was elected to the House as a Whig in 1849, lost his seat for a term, and then won it back in 1858 as a Republican, very soon becoming the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In the “World According to Stevens”, justice was for all as was equal opportunity. Stevens was a mix of practical and an idealist, depending on the situation, but Sumner was a Puritanical perfectionist who was a pompous schoolmaster, doctrinaire, arrogant, and a longe-talker. Sumner shared with Stevens and Phillips the rightness of his views, and Sumner, and like the other two, he saw himself as a political knight ready to engage in battle, inspiring respect but not love.
In 1851, Sumner joined the Free Soil Party, and was soon elected Senator from MA. Sumner often misjudged, or didn’t even consider, the reactions to his tirades, which led to “The Caning” in 1856, which took Sumner over three years to recover. The result was that Sumner became even keener and sharper in the desire and pursuit of equality and justice. Sumner saw Johnson as pigheaded, ignorant, and perverse. Sumner wanted to chair the Reconstruction Committee, but he wasn’t even asked to be a member. Sumner then acted on his own, introducing bills to advance the cause of the former slaves. Sumner publicly challenged Johnson, saying that if the President wasn’t going to be Moses, at least he should not be the Pharaoh. By the end of 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified when the 27th state (out of 36) voted yes; it was the conclusion of a process that had been started by Lincoln earlier the same year.
In 1851, Sumner joined the Free Soil Party, and was soon elected Senator from MA. Sumner often misjudged, or didn’t even consider, the reactions to his tirades, which led to “The Caning” in 1856, which took Sumner over three years to recover. The result was that Sumner became even keener and sharper in the desire and pursuit of equality and justice. Sumner saw Johnson as pigheaded, ignorant, and perverse. Sumner wanted to chair the Reconstruction Committee, but he wasn’t even asked to be a member. Sumner then acted on his own, introducing bills to advance the cause of the former slaves. Sumner publicly challenged Johnson, saying that if the President wasn’t going to be Moses, at least he should not be the Pharaoh. By the end of 1865, the 13th Amendment was ratified when the 27th state (out of 36) voted yes; it was the conclusion of a process that had been started by Lincoln earlier the same year.
At the same time, Seward was still in agreement with Johnson that Reconstruction was unnecessary, and that Af/Am suffrage was not a concern of the federal government. The Freedman’s Bureau created the idea of what became known as “40 Acres and a Mule” for Af/Am’s, which Stevens used as his opening in order to start the process of transferring property to Af/Am’s. What wasn’t clear was whether Af/Am’s had any legal rights to that land, in that did the land still belong to the those that abandoned it. Would the land be confiscated, or were the Planters still full-fledged citizens with property rights after they were pardoned by Johnson, as the President claimed.
Johnson ordered that all confiscated lands be returned to the original owners. Land ownership was political power, which all parties involved in Reconstruction understood. When pressed by Frederick Douglass and other Af/Am Civil Rights leaders, Johnson’s response was the same, in that the federal government should not impose Af/Am voting rights on the people of any state. Johnson simply ignored the fact that most of South Carolina’s citizens were Af/Am. Johnson didn’t like it one bit when he was lectured to by Af/Am idealists, whom he believed hadn’t sacrificed as he had in terms of property loss and death threats. Johnson either didn’t know, or he ignored the fact, that Douglass was a former slave that risked his life and had for too many lost years. Johnson’s prejudices and arrogance struck many as reprehensible, and before long he vetoed both the Freedman’s Bureau bill and the Civil Rights bill, not wanting to have anything to do with legislation he thought was was from the Radical Republicans.
Johnson ordered that all confiscated lands be returned to the original owners. Land ownership was political power, which all parties involved in Reconstruction understood. When pressed by Frederick Douglass and other Af/Am Civil Rights leaders, Johnson’s response was the same, in that the federal government should not impose Af/Am voting rights on the people of any state. Johnson simply ignored the fact that most of South Carolina’s citizens were Af/Am. Johnson didn’t like it one bit when he was lectured to by Af/Am idealists, whom he believed hadn’t sacrificed as he had in terms of property loss and death threats. Johnson either didn’t know, or he ignored the fact, that Douglass was a former slave that risked his life and had for too many lost years. Johnson’s prejudices and arrogance struck many as reprehensible, and before long he vetoed both the Freedman’s Bureau bill and the Civil Rights bill, not wanting to have anything to do with legislation he thought was was from the Radical Republicans.
When Johnson vetoed the Freedman’s Bureau bill on 19 February 1866, there was no more mistaking his position, and no more pretending he might change. Johnson viewed the Freedman’s Bureau as nothing more that a patronage scheme that favored Af/Am’s, and he ignored all the information of the benefits that had already occurred. Johnson believed that each state could take care of itself, and he stated that the bill’s passage in both houses would be unconstitutional., since Southern representatives and Senators were still not seated. Johnson wanted Congress to do his bidding, denying the legitimacy and authority of a Congress that hadn’t included the South. Democrats and conservative Republicans were giddy with delight with the policies of the President.
Johnson and Seward branded the Radical Republicans as obstructionists and extremists, hoping to lure conservative Democrats and Republicans, and even moderate Republicans, into a new Union Party, which would be headed by the President and the Secretary of State. Both men believed that once the Union Party was a reality, the nation would follow their lead. When Johnson spoke to crowds, his speeches became even more venomous, seeing his speeches as a chance to unload all the vitriol that had been stored up, settle scores, and to justify his authority and policies.
It was during the first part of 1866 that some in Washington, D.C. believed that impeachment was on the table since it appeared that Johnson was unfit to fulfill the duties of President of the United States. SecWar Stanton remained in office, wanting to protect the military, seeing Johnson as unhinged. Stanton also was firm in his stance that if the President wanted him out as SecWar, then Johnson would have to remove him from office.
Johnson and Seward branded the Radical Republicans as obstructionists and extremists, hoping to lure conservative Democrats and Republicans, and even moderate Republicans, into a new Union Party, which would be headed by the President and the Secretary of State. Both men believed that once the Union Party was a reality, the nation would follow their lead. When Johnson spoke to crowds, his speeches became even more venomous, seeing his speeches as a chance to unload all the vitriol that had been stored up, settle scores, and to justify his authority and policies.
It was during the first part of 1866 that some in Washington, D.C. believed that impeachment was on the table since it appeared that Johnson was unfit to fulfill the duties of President of the United States. SecWar Stanton remained in office, wanting to protect the military, seeing Johnson as unhinged. Stanton also was firm in his stance that if the President wanted him out as SecWar, then Johnson would have to remove him from office.
There was no reason to believe that the Civil Rights bill in 1866 was objectionable, controversial, or that it would prevent the healing of the nation . . . or that Johnson would veto the bill. The bill said nothing about suffrage or anything else controversial, in that its intent was reconciliation, which was seen as sensible and in vogue. The bill granted citizenship to anyone born in the US (excluding Natives), and as such had the same rights as any other citizen. The bill was popular, and it seemed to be uniting a fractured Republican Party Even Wendell Phillips endorsed the bill, although it lacked the right to vote for Af/Am’s. The bill sailed through both houses in March 1866, but Johnson simply didn’t want to sign it.
By Spring 1866, Johnson’s political instincts were failing, and his demagoguery, orneriness, and malice, if useful before 1866, were no longer useful or productive at that point. On 27 March 1866, Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights bill, labeling it “fraught with evil”. Johnson’s veto electrified and stupefied the nation, and the Republican Congress was livid. On 9 April 1866, both houses overrode Johnson’ s veto, making the bill the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Johnson had succeeded in alienating moderate Republicans with his veto, as well as unifying the various factions of the Republican Party against the President. Johnson’s veto emboldened the South to ignore its provisions, and within a month the Memphis riots occurred. In Memphis, a white mob, believing that Af/Am soldiers were rioting and shooting anything/anyone in sight. That mob shot Af/Am men, women, and children in plain sight in daylight, and worse came at night; the mob’s cheered Johnson and the “White Man’s Government”.
By Spring 1866, Johnson’s political instincts were failing, and his demagoguery, orneriness, and malice, if useful before 1866, were no longer useful or productive at that point. On 27 March 1866, Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights bill, labeling it “fraught with evil”. Johnson’s veto electrified and stupefied the nation, and the Republican Congress was livid. On 9 April 1866, both houses overrode Johnson’ s veto, making the bill the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Johnson had succeeded in alienating moderate Republicans with his veto, as well as unifying the various factions of the Republican Party against the President. Johnson’s veto emboldened the South to ignore its provisions, and within a month the Memphis riots occurred. In Memphis, a white mob, believing that Af/Am soldiers were rioting and shooting anything/anyone in sight. That mob shot Af/Am men, women, and children in plain sight in daylight, and worse came at night; the mob’s cheered Johnson and the “White Man’s Government”.
The widespread false reports of an Af/Am armed insurrection, the Great Southern White Fear going back many decades, kept fueling the fire over the next days in Memphis. When the horror was over in Memphis, 46 Af/Am’s were killed, with at least 5 Af/Am women raped and 53 wounded. Over 70 A/Am homes had been torched, as well as Af/Am schools, and every single Af/Am church, and 93 robberies were reported. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was treated as a dead letter which had never been delivered.
Clerks in the bureaucracy of the Executive branch knew they would be terminated if they didn’t do Johnson’s bidding. Those in the bureaucracy that publicly shared different views that Johnson were sacked, especially those who were involved with newspapers that advocated viewpoints that Johnson didn’t support As far as Johnson was concerned, there was not reason why the federal government needed to keep traitors on the payroll.
In 1837, the destruction of Elijah P. Lovejoy’s printing press (and his murder) led to national outrage, and the view by millions that Lovejoy was a martyr. When the same thing occurred in 1866, minus the murder, the female publisher was dismissed as as a traitor/crackpot, and there was zero national uproar.
Colonel George Armstrong Custer reported to the Joint Reconstruction Committee of the atrocities occurring in TX, such as Union men being murdered on sight for simply being Union men. Custer stated that over the last few months the number of murders of Af/Am’s and whites were increasing in the state. The committee listened to other horrifying accounts of unrestrained and unrepentant Southern whites on the rampage, and it became clear to most members in Congress that something needed to be done. to curb the violence. Also, the Republicans in Congress knew that although they were able to override Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights bill, their advantage would vanish if the Democrats regained the majority in the upcoming Congressional Elections. As a result, many more Republicans realized that the 13th Amendment needed another amendment in support.
Clerks in the bureaucracy of the Executive branch knew they would be terminated if they didn’t do Johnson’s bidding. Those in the bureaucracy that publicly shared different views that Johnson were sacked, especially those who were involved with newspapers that advocated viewpoints that Johnson didn’t support As far as Johnson was concerned, there was not reason why the federal government needed to keep traitors on the payroll.
In 1837, the destruction of Elijah P. Lovejoy’s printing press (and his murder) led to national outrage, and the view by millions that Lovejoy was a martyr. When the same thing occurred in 1866, minus the murder, the female publisher was dismissed as as a traitor/crackpot, and there was zero national uproar.
Colonel George Armstrong Custer reported to the Joint Reconstruction Committee of the atrocities occurring in TX, such as Union men being murdered on sight for simply being Union men. Custer stated that over the last few months the number of murders of Af/Am’s and whites were increasing in the state. The committee listened to other horrifying accounts of unrestrained and unrepentant Southern whites on the rampage, and it became clear to most members in Congress that something needed to be done. to curb the violence. Also, the Republicans in Congress knew that although they were able to override Johnson’s veto of the Civil Rights bill, their advantage would vanish if the Democrats regained the majority in the upcoming Congressional Elections. As a result, many more Republicans realized that the 13th Amendment needed another amendment in support.
Adding to the desire to propose and ratify an amendment was the unintended consequence of the 13th Amendment, in that without the 3/5’s Compromise, an Af/Am was counted as a “full” white person for representation, which would ad 1.5 million Southerners in the next census. The South would add 20 more seats in the House as well as 20 more Electors in the Electoral College. To many Republicans then, if Af/Am’s were denied the right to vote, then it was guaranteed that the former ex-Confederates would return to power. Moderate Republicans still believed that there should be specific qualifications for suffrage, such as property ownership and literacy; the thinking was that if Af/Am’s had fewer qualifications in order to become eligible to vote, then the bar should be lowered for whites. The constitutional question was this: could the federal government mandate suffrage in part of the nation in opposition to the states deciding the matter.
The Reconstruction Committee proposed an amendment that among other features stated that if men over the age of 21 were prevented from voting due to race, then the state’s total number of citizens to consider for representation would be reduced by that very number. Sumner tried to kill the proposition at the head, arguing that there should be no denial of rights, civil or political, based on race in any state, not just in the South. Sumner’s attack killed the committee’s proposition, thrilling the three Democrats, but also to the relief of the committee’s Republicans, who didn’t want to mess with Af/Am suffrage in the first place.
Stevens was infuriated, saying that the proposal was killed by self-righteous Republicans and unrighteous Copperheads. Stevens and others believed that Sumner acted out of pure vanity, and at best he was a magnificent fool. To many, Sumner was seen as every bit of an obstructionist as Johnson, and Sumner’s opposition also fed the view that the Republicans couldn’t get their act together.
Addendum: The 14th Amendment and the New Orleans Massacre . . .