History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives, and his trial by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 1868Ross, Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson)
History
History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives, and his trial by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 1868
Ross, Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson)
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875 -- Impeachment
Question by the Chairman.--If there are any other letters that you have
seen of Mr. Johnson's written by him to any person connected with the
Confederate Government, or proposing to change the Administration of the
Government in their favor after he became President, or anything of a
public nature affecting the interests of the United States, please state
it and state all you know about such letters.
Ans.--I do not know of any letters of that character--or of any other
letters.
This constituted the substance of Gen. Baker's testimony. His
examination was very lengthy, embracing more of this character of
testimony, and about pardon brokerage, and other alleged corrupt
practices--all evidencing a determination and expectation to fix upon
Mr. Johnson a disposition to disloyalty and corruption, both before
and after his succession to the Presidency, but no such testimony was
obtained.
A considerable portion of the investigation was devoted to Mr. Johnson's
business and personal affairs, such as could have no possible connection
with or indicate implication in corrupt or disloyal practices of any
sort.
A strenuous effort appears to have been made by the Committee throughout
a long and searching examination of witnesses, and constitutes a
conspicuous feature of that investigation, to establish the charges
of corruption and disloyalty in the sale of public property, railways,
etc., that had been constructed and equipped, or seized and operated, by
the Government in connection with its military operations in the South.
Such an accusation had been made with great pertinacity by Mr. Johnson's
opponents, and was also then believed by a great many people to be true.
Among the parties examined by the committee, were Mr. James and Mr.
Burns, of Nashville, Tenn., and Senator Fowler, of that State, and
also the Secretary of war, Mr. Stanton. No facts whatever were elicited
showing a privity to corruption in these matters on the part of Mr.
Johnson.
The information obtained from Mr. Stanton, however, put an effectual
estoppel to further investigation of the charge of corrupt or disloyal
disposal of public property by the President. The following are extracts
from Mr. Stanton's testimony, as given on February 11, 1867:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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