February 24, 2013
ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT INTRODUCED 155 YEARS AGO TODAY
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) 155 years ago today, February 24, 1868, eleven articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson were introduced in the House of Representatives charging "high crimes & misdemeanors" as outlined in Article II of the US Constitution.
Impeachment Trial
of President Andrew Johnson
Illustration by Theodore R. Davis
Harper's Weekly
April 11, 1868
The articles, introduced by Representatives Thaddeus Stevens* of Pennsylvania & John A. Bingham** of Ohio, were primarily aimed at President Johnson's alleged violation of the Tenure of Office Act.
*Thaddeus Stevens (1792-1868) was chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee. He died less than 3 months after President Johnson was acquitted by the Senate.
**John A. Bingham (1815-1900) served as judge advocate in the trial of the Lincoln assassins & as a prosecutor in the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. He was the principal author of the 14th Amendment.
The act, prohibiting the President of the United States from dismissing any member of his cabinet without Senate approval, had been violated just 3 days before when President Johnson dismissed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.
The introduction of impeachment articles against Andrew Johnson was part of a struggle for control of the reconstruction of the South following the Civil War between Presidents Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson & the Radical Republicans in the Congress.
While Lincoln & Johnson favored a leniency toward the South, the Radicals pushed for a harsh reconstruction policy.
Since Lincoln's death in April 1865, the Radicals became increasingly powerful & were able to override President Johnson's vetoes.
The House of Representatives approved the 11 articles of impeachment by a vote of 126 to 47 on March 2, 1868 & the results of the vote were presented by Stevens & Bingham to the Senate.
Stevens & Bingham present
Articles of Impeachment
in the Senate Chamber
Illustration by Theodore R. Davis
Harper's Weekly
March 14, 1868
August 18, 2012
EDMUND G. ROSS II
Knoxville, Tennessee (JFK+50) Today we continue our report on Senator John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize winning book, "Profiles In Courage."
JFK's book highlights the stories of eight United States Senators who risked their political careers to pursue justice.
In the introduction to the Memorial Edition, Robert Kennedy writes:
"Courage is the virtue that President Kennedy most admired. That is why this book so fitted his personality, his beliefs."
JFK Library Image
The title of Chapter VI is Edmund G. Ross.
JFK writes that on February 24, 1868, a new House resolution to impeach President Andrew Johnson was adopted in "a tremendous vote" with a YEA vote by "every single Republican."
Pennsylvania congressman, Thaddeus Stevens, said:
"Let me see the recreant who would vote to let such a criminal escape. Point me to the one who will dare do it & I will show you one who will dare the infamy of posterity."
The Senate trial of Andrew Johnson began on March 5th & was presided over by the Chief Justice.
Of the 11 charges against the President, JFK tells us, the 1st 8 were related to his violation of the TENURE OF OFFICE ACT by dismissing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton without majority consent of the Senate.
Since the Constitution requires a 2/3 vote of the Senate for conviction, this meant of the 54 Senators, 36 guilty votes would be required.
One Republican senator, however, Ross of Kansas, "would not announce his verdict" in a preliminary poll.
The Radicals were angry with Senator Ross & began a systematic pressure campaign to get him on line.
On the day of the vote, JFK writes, quoting Ross himself:
"The galleries were packed. Tickets...were at an enormous premium. Every chair on the Senate floor was filled...."
By the time the Chief Justice called the name of Senator Ross, 24 GUILTY votes had been cast. 10 more guilty votes were CERTAIN, with 1 additional almost certain.
JFK writes:
"Only Ross's vote was needed to obtain the 36 votes necessary to convict..."
The Chief Justice said:
"Mr. Senator Ross, how say you? Is the respondent Andrew Johnson guilty or not guilty of a high misdemeanor as charged....?
Edmund Ross later recalled....
"The Senators....leaned over their desks, many with hand to ear.....I almost literally looked down into my open grave. Friendships, position, fortune.....were about to be swept away..."
Ross responded, but his answer could not be heard throughout the chamber. He was asked to repeat his vote.
Senator Edmund Ross of Kansas repeated in a voice "that could not misunderstood...."
"NOT GUILTY!"
Andrew Johnson was thus acquitted by the Senate of the United States.
Ross was lambasted by the press in his own state. A Kansas newspaper wrote:
"Poor, pitiful, shriveled wretch, with a soul so small that a little pelf would outweigh all things else that dignify....manhood."
JFK tells us that Edmund Ross was not the only Senator to suffer as a result of his vote:
"Neither Ross nor any other Republican who had voted for the acquittal of Johnson was ever re-elected to the Senate."*
And when Ross returned home in 1871, he & his family were beset by ostracism, physical attack & poverty.
*The others were William Pitt Fessenden of Maine, John B. Henderson of Missouri, Peter Van Winkle of West Virginia, Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, Joseph Smith Fowler of Tennessee & James W. Grimes of Iowa.
Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson
Illustration by Theodore R. Davis
Harper's Weekly, April 11, 1868
