Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

Was Andrew Johnson Acquitted Because a Senator Was Bribed?

Almost as soon as President Andrew Johnson was acquitted by one vote in his Senate trial for impeachment, accusations were leveled that Johnson’s minions bribed…

Continue Reading Was Andrew Johnson Acquitted Because a Senator Was Bribed?
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

April 21, 1868 A Southern Newspaper Assesses the Evidentiary Phase of the Johnson Impeachment Trial

President Johnson’s defense rested on April 18, 1868. As the two legal teams prepared their closing statements, newspapers around the country weighed in with their…

Continue Reading April 21, 1868 A Southern Newspaper Assesses the Evidentiary Phase of the Johnson Impeachment Trial
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment White Supremacy White Terror

Ben Butler Warns that Delaying Conclusion of the Impeachment Trial Plays Into the Hands of Ku Klux Klan

After Generals Thomas and Sherman testified in the Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson, the president’s lead counsel Henry Stanbery took ill. The defense requested a…

Continue Reading Ben Butler Warns that Delaying Conclusion of the Impeachment Trial Plays Into the Hands of Ku Klux Klan
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

The Impeachment Polka: Literally Dancing Through the Senate Trial

The most talked-about event of the first-half of 1868 was the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson. Why not cash in by turning impeachment into a dance…

Continue Reading The Impeachment Polka: Literally Dancing Through the Senate Trial
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

Alan Dershowitz Messes Up the History of the Johnson Impeachment- Again!

Last week I posted about Alan Dershowitz’s misrepresentation about the use of witnesses at previous impeachment trials. Dershowitz implied that previous impeachment trials had not…

Continue Reading Alan Dershowitz Messes Up the History of the Johnson Impeachment- Again!
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

Brenda Wineapple: Salmon Chase Not a Good Role Model for Chief Justice During Impeachment Trial

Brenda Wineapple has been the most-quoted historian of the month. Her recent book The Impeachers tells the story of the Andrew Johnson impeachment and she…

Continue Reading Brenda Wineapple: Salmon Chase Not a Good Role Model for Chief Justice During Impeachment Trial
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

Ben Butler’s Conduct of Impeachment Questioning “A Disgraceful Spectacle”: New York Times

On April 13, 1868 The NY Times carried this article on the questioning of Gen. Lorenzo Thomas during the Johnson Impeachment Trial by House Manager…

Continue Reading Ben Butler’s Conduct of Impeachment Questioning “A Disgraceful Spectacle”: New York Times
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

The Day of the Two Generals: Impeachment Testimony of Sherman and Thomas

On April 11, 1868, the flagging public interest in the Senate’s Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson was revived as two generals, Lorenzo Thomas and William…

Continue Reading The Day of the Two Generals: Impeachment Testimony of Sherman and Thomas
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

On the Third Day of Testimony in the Impeachment Trial Boredom Had Set In Among Spectators

By April 2, 1868 the Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson was in its third day of testimony. While the opening argument had been a crowd…

Continue Reading On the Third Day of Testimony in the Impeachment Trial Boredom Had Set In Among Spectators
Posted in Andrew Johnson Impeachment

The Second Day of Impeachment Testimony: Did the President Conspire to Use Force to Evict Stanton?

On April 1, 1868 theĀ  Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson was dominated by testimony about whether the president’s designee as acting War Secretary tried to…

Continue Reading The Second Day of Impeachment Testimony: Did the President Conspire to Use Force to Evict Stanton?