The Life of Lyman Trumbull

by Horace White

That the Secretaries of State, of the Treasury, of War, of the Navy, and of the Interior, the Postmaster-General, and the Attorney-General shall hold their offices respectively for and during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed and for one month thereafter, subject to removal by and with the advice and consent of the Senate.

Senator Doolittle, who opposed the bill in toto, pointed out that it did not accomplish what it aimed at: that is, it did not prevent the President from removing the Secretary of War. He showed that Stanton had never been appointed by Johnson at all. He was merely holding office by sufferance. The term of the President by whom he was appointed had expired and the "one month thereafter" had also expired; therefore, the proviso reported by the Conference Committee was futile to protect him.

Sherman replied that the proviso was not intended to apply to a particular case or to the present President, and that Doolittle's interpretation of the phrase as not protecting Stanton in office was the true interpretation. He added that if he supposed that Stanton, or any other Cabinet officer, was so wanting in manhood and honor as to hold his office after receiving an intimation that his services were no longer desired, he (Sherman) would consent to his removal at any time. This declaration committed Sherman in advance to a definite opinion as to the President's right to remove Stanton whenever he pleased.

The bill passed with the clause above quoted, all the Republican Senators present voting for it except Van Winkle and Willey, of West Virginia. Trumbull was recorded in the affirmative.

At the first Cabinet meeting of February 26, the bill was considered, and all the members thought that it ought to be vetoed. "Stanton was very emphatic," says Welles, "and seemed glad of an opportunity to be in accord with his colleagues." (He had previously given his sanction to the Stevens Reconstruction Bill in opposition to his colleagues.) The President said he would be glad if Stanton would prepare a veto or make suggestions for one. Stanton pleaded want of time. The President then turned to Seward, who said that he would undertake it if Stanton would help him. This was agreed to, and the veto (based on the ground of unconstitutionality) was prepared and submitted by them at the Cabinet meeting of March 1. Stanton must have been aware of the colloquy between Sherman and Doolittle in which his name was mentioned, and he probably agreed with them in the opinion that he was not protected by the Tenure-of-Office Act. If he had thought differently he would hardly have favored the veto, or joined with Seward in writing it. The veto message was sent in on March 2, 1867, and the bill was passed by two thirds of both houses the same day.

Few persons at the present time believe that there was any substantial ground for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. The unsparing condemnation of history has been visited upon the whole proceeding, and the commonly received opinion now is that if the Senate had voted him guilty as charged in the articles of impeachment a precedent would have been made whereby the Republic would have been exposed to grave dangers. Trumbull was one of the so-called "Seven Traitors" who prevented that catastrophe.

The first session of the Fortieth Congress began on March 4, 1867. The radical wing of the Republican party had been muttering about impeachment even earlier, and a resolution had been passed by the House on the 7th of January preceding, authorizing the Judiciary Committee to inquire into the official conduct of the President and to report whether he had been guilty of acts designed or calculated to "overthrow, subvert, or corrupt the Government of the United States, or any department or office thereof." On the 28th of February, the committee reported that it had examined a large number of witnesses and collected many documents, but had not been able to reach a conclusion and that it would not feel justified in making a final report upon so important a matter in the expiring hours of this Congress, even if it had been able to make an affirmative one. On the 29th of March following, the committee was instructed to continue its investigation.

It accordingly continued its work and voted on the 1st of June, by 5 to 4, that there was no evidence that would warrant impeachment; but at the earnest solicitation of the minority it kept the case open during the recess which Congress took from July to November. In this interval one member of the committee changed his vote and this change made the committee stand 5 to 4 in favor of impeachment. The report of the committee was presented by Boutwell, of Massachusetts, November 25, accompanied by a resolution that Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors. James F. Wilson, of Iowa, chairman of the committee, submitted a minority report adverse to impeachment, and the House on the 7th of December sustained Wilson and rejected the majority report by a vote of 57 to 108. Among those voting against impeachment were Allison, Bingham, Blaine, Dawes, Poland, Spalding, and Washburne, of Illinois. On the other side were Thaddeus Stevens, B. F. Butler, and John A. Logan. On the 5th of August, the President sent to Stanton a note of three lines saying that his resignation as Secretary of War would be accepted. Stanton replied on the same day declining to resign before the next meeting of Congress. The President thereupon decided to remove him regardless of consequences, but he felt the necessity of finding somebody to take the office who would be acceptable to the country. His choice fell upon General Grant, who was perhaps the only person whose appointment under the circumstances would not have caused a disturbance. No plausible objection could be raised against him in any quarter, not even by Stanton himself. Grant reluctantly consented to accept the place. Accordingly one week after Stanton had refused to resign, the President suspended him and appointed Grant Secretary ad interim and so notified Stanton. The latter had undoubtedly made plans for retaining the office in defiance of the President and was chagrined to find that a man had been appointed whom he could not resist. Although a few months earlier he had advised the President that the Tenure-of-Office Law was unconstitutional and had assisted in writing the message vetoing it on that ground, he now denied the President's power to suspend him without the consent of the Senate, but said that he yielded to superior force. He then surrendered his office to Grant. Although the usual expressions of confidence and esteem were exchanged between himself and his successor, a residue of asperity remained in the breast of the retiring Secretary, who felt that the head of the army ought not to have enabled the President to get the better of him. But as a matter of fact Grant did not want the office. He accepted it only because he feared that trouble might follow from the appointment of somebody less familiar than himself with conditions prevailing in the South.

On the 13th of January, 1868, the Senate, having considered the reasons assigned by the President for the suspension of Stanton from office, non-concurred in the same and sent notice to this effect to the President and to Grant. The latter considered his functions as Secretary ad interim terminated from the moment of receipt of the notice and so notified the President, at the same time locking the door of his room and handing the key to the person in charge of the Adjutant-General's office in the same building.

Under the terms of the Tenure-of-Office Law, Stanton returned and resumed his former place.