No one knew in 1868 what a Senate Impeachment Trial should look like. There had been no witnesses examined by the House before it voted to impeach Andrew Johnson. What witnesses were to be called? What were the rules of evidence? Were the Senators supposed to be impartial jurors or were they politicians carrying out what was essentially just another political task.
On March 4, the Senate spent three hours debating whether Radical Republican Senator Ben Wade, President Pro Tem of the Senate, should be able to vote on impeachment. At the time, the president pro tem of the Senate was first in line of succession if the president was removed. Republicans countered that David Patterson, Senator from Tennessee, might also be ineligible to vote because he was married to the president’s daughter.
Then there was the question of the role of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the proceedings. All that the Constitution says on the Chief Justice job is “When the President of the United States is tried, the Chief Justice shall preside.” What that meant was up for grabs. It did not help matters that Chase was one of the most political Chief Justices in history. He had been a Democrat before the Civil War, joined Lincoln’s cabinet and the Republican Party, plotted against Lincoln’s reelection in hopes he might win the nomination, and was essentially deposed by Lincoln by appointing him to the Supreme Court. Now, in 1868 Chase hoped to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president.
Chase could never appear to be impartial presiding over the impeachment. In fact, in October, 1867 Chase told friends in Congress to block impeachment.
Oh yes, and did I mention that in a trial that would be decided by one vote, Andrew Johnson’s son-in-law was a senator!
The Framers of the Constitution vested the power to try the president in a body filled with politicians. Whatever they intended, it was inevitable that politics and self-interest would be the motors of the impeachment process.
Reference: Stewart, David O.. Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln’s Legacy (Kindle Locations 2853-2855). Simon & Schuster.
Note: The feature photo shows Salmon Chase.
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