After the closing arguments by the president’s defense team and the House Managers prosecuting the case, the long-silent Senators had their say. Each of the fifty-four senators was allotted fifteen minutes to respond to what they had heard over the preceding weeks. The meeting was held in secret, in what was called “executive session.” During the executive session, several Republican senators expressed doubts about removing President Johnson.
On May 12, 1868 the Senate met to vote on the Articles of Impeachment, but it was announced that one of their number, Michigan’s Jacob Howard, was too sick to attend. The Senate unanimously voted to adjourn the trial for four days in one of the great anti-climaxes of Congressional history.
The next day, May 13, the American Anti-Slavery Society met at Steinway Hall in New York City. Wendell Phillips placed the impeachment crisis in historical context, saying; “Every great question in American history has involved race, and no matter if Presidents betray us, or Senators fail their duty, we will one day see the flag floating from the lakes to the coast, from sea to sea, and it will represent impartial justice to all races and people.”
Source of Phillips quote: Wineapple, Brenda. The Impeachers (p. 346). Random House Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
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