The Washington Post has an article speculating that if Andrew Johnson had been removed from office by the Senate at the conclusion of his impeachment trial than the life of former Confederate president Jefferson Davis would have been in jeopardy. Journalist Ronald G. Shafer writes:
The treason trial of Confederate President Jefferson Davis was supposed to be the “Greatest Trial of the Age” in 1868. But that title was claimed instead by the Senate impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson.
The two trials became so intertwined that Davis’s prosecution was delayed for months. While “the man they denounce as a traitor goes free,” the Louisville Courier noted, Johnson “is upon his trial for high crimes and misdemeanors.” Moreover, Johnson’s fate could have determined whether Davis would be hanged.
Andrew Johnson at first talked about imposing harsh punishments on the Confederate leaders. Jeff Davis was confined to prison after he was captured while trying to escape Federal cavalry. But then his fortunes took a turn. Shafer writes:
On May 1, 1867, Davis was brought to the federal court in Richmond for the bail hearing in a courtroom in the same building that previously housed the Confederate Treasury Department. Judge John Underwood noted that a bail request for the rebel leader was “a little remarkable” and issued his decision: “The marshal will release the prisoner.”
Meanwhile, Johnson had moved from a policy of revenge to seeking unity by bringing Southern white supremacists back into the government while resisting new rights for black citizens. After Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, the House impeached Johnson, and his trial in the Senate was scheduled for March 1868 — the same month as Davis’s trial….
Under the Constitution, Chief Justice Salmon Chase, who was scheduled to preside over the Davis trial, was required to oversee the Johnson trial. The main government prosecutor against Davis also was called back to Washington to help defend Johnson. As a result, the Davis trial was delayed until May…
The impeachment trial had ominous implications for Davis. If Johnson were removed from office, there was no vice president to succeed him. The speaker of the House was not made second in the line of succession until 1947, so the next in line for the presidency was the Senate president pro tempore, Sen. Benjamin Wade of Ohio, a leader of the Radical Republicans.
I will be writing more about the Davis treason trial at a latter date, but you might find this Washington Post article interesting.
