History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson,

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Now, therefore, in obedience to the high and solemn duties
imposed upon me by the Constitution of the United States, and for
the purpose of enabling the loyal people of said State to
organize a State Government; whereby justice may be established,
domestic tranquility insured, I, Andrew Johnson, President of the
United States and Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the
United States, do hereby appoint William W. Holden Provisional
Governor of the State of North Carolina, whose duty it shall be,
at the earliest practicable period, to prescribe such rules and
regulations as may be necessary and proper for convening it
Convention, composed of delegates to be chosen by that portion of
the people of the said State who are loyal all to the United
States and no others, for the purpose of altering or amending the
Constitution thereof; and with authority to exercise, within the
limits of said State, all the powers necessary and proper to
enable such loyal people of the State of North Carolina to
restore said State to its constitutional relations to the Federal
Government, and to present such a republican form of State
Government as will entitle the said State to the guarantee of the
United States therefor, and its people to protection by the
United States against invasion, insurrection and domestic
violence: PROVIDED, that in any election that may be hereafter
held for choosing delegates to any State Convention as aforesaid,
no person shall be qualified as an elector, or shall be eligible
as a member of such Convention, unless he shall have previously
taken and subscribed to the oath of amnesty, as set forth in the
President's Proclamation of May 29th, A. D. 1865, and is a voter
qualified as prescribed by the Constitution and laws of the State
of North Carolina in force immediately before the 20th of May, A.
D. 1861, the date of the so-called ordinance of secession; and
the said Convention, when convened, or the legislature that may
be thereafter assembled, will prescribe the qualifications of
electors, and the eligibility of persons to hold office under the
Constitution and laws of the State--a power the people of the
several States comprising the Federal Union have rightfully
exercised from the origin of the Government to the present time.
And I do hereby direct:

First--That the Military Commander of the Department, and all
officers in the Military and Naval service, aid and assist the
said Provisional Governor in carrying into effect this
Proclamation, and they are enjoined to abstain from, in any way,
hindering, impeding, or discouraging the loyal people from the
organization of a State Government as herein authorized.

Second--That the Secretary of State proceed to put in force all
laws of the United States, the administration whereof belongs to
the State Department, applicable to the geographical limits
aforesaid.

Third--That the Secretary of the Treasury proceed to nominate for
appointment assessors of taxes, and collectors of customs and
revenue, and such other officers of the Treasury Department as
are authorized by law, and put in execution the revenue laws of
the United States within the provisional limits aforesaid. In
making appointments, the preference shall be given to qualified
loyal persons residing in the districts where their respective
duties are to be performed. But if suitable residents of the
district shall not be found, then persons residing in other
States or districts shall be appointed.

Fourth--That the Postmaster General proceed to establish
postoffices and post routes, and put into execution the postal
laws of the United States within the said State, giving to loyal
residents the preference of appointments: but if suitable
residents are not found, then to appoint agents, etc., from other
States.

Fifth--That District Judges for the judicial districts in which
North Carolina is included, proceed to hold courts within said
State, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Congress.
The Attorney General will instruct the proper officers to libel,
and bring to judgment, confiscation and sale, property subject to
confiscation, and enforce the administration of justice within
said State in all matters within the cognizance and jurisdiction
of the Federal Courts.

Sixth--That the Secretary of the Navy take possession of all
public property belonging to the Navy Department within said
geographical limits, and put in operation all Acts of Congress in
relation to naval affairs having application to said State.

Seventh--That the Secretary of the Interior put in force all laws
relating to the Interior Department applicable to the
geographical limits aforesaid.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the
seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this 29th day of May, in the
year, of our Lord 1865, and of the Independence of the United
States the 89th.

By the President: Andrew Johnson.
William H. Seward.
Secretary of State.

North Carolina was the first of the revolted States to which this
identical plan of reconstruction, or reorganization, was applied
by Mr. Johnson. Its application to the several States then lately
in revolt, was continued till the meeting of Congress in the
following December, 1865.

On this matter Mr. Johnson, himself, testifies in his
communication to the Senate in 1867, relating to the removal of
Mr. Stanton, that "This grave subject (Reconstruction) had
engaged the attention of Mr. Lincoln in the last days of his
life, and the plan according to which it was to be managed had
been prepared and was ready for adoption. A leading feature of
that plan was that it was to be carried out by Executive
authority. * * * The first business, transacted in the Cabinet
after I became President was this unfinished business of my
predecessor. A plan or scheme of reconstruction had been prepared
for Mr. Lincoln by Mr. Stanton. It was approved, and at the
earliest moment practicable was applied, in the form of a
proclamation, to the State of North Carolina, and afterwards
became the basis of action in turn for the other States."

Mr. Stanton also testified before the House Impeachment Committee
of 1867, that he had "entertained no doubt of the authority of
the President to take measures for the reorganization of the
rebel States on the plan proposed, during the vacation of
Congress, and agreed in the plan specified in the proclamation in
the case of North Carolina."

In the first attempt to impeach the President, in 1867, Mr.
Johnson's method of Reconstruction was the most conspicuous
feature of the prosecution. It was insisted by the extremists
that it was a departure from Mr. Lincoln's plan--an unwarranted
assumption of authority by Mr. Johnson--that its purpose was the
recognition of the people of the South as American citizens with
the rights of such, and even as an act not far removed from
treason. In reference to this action of the President, General
Grant was called before the Committee and testified as follows:

Question: I wish to know whether, at or about the time of the war
being ended, you advised the President that it was, in your
judgment, best to extend a liberal policy towards the people of
the South, and to restore as speedily as possible the fraternal
relations that existed prior to the war between the sections?

Answer: I know that immediately after the close of the rebellion
there was a very fine feeling manifested in the South, and I
thought we ought to take advantage of it as soon as possible.

Ques. I understood you to say that Mr. Lincoln had inaugurated a
policy intended to restore these governments?

Ans. Yes Sir.

Ques. You were present when the subject was brought before the
Cabinet?

Ans. I was present, I think, twice before the assassination of
Mr. Lincoln, when a plan was read.

Ques. I want to know whether the plan adopted by Mr. Johnson was
substantially the plan which had been inaugurated by Mr. Lincoln
as the basis for his future action.

Ans. Yes sir: substantially. I do not know but that it was
verbatim the same.

Ques. I suppose the very paper of Mr. Lincoln was the one acted
on?

Ans. I should think so. I think that the very paper which I heard
read twice while Mr. Lincoln was President, was the one which was
carried right through.

Ques. What paper was that?

Ans. The North Carolina Proclamation.

In additional testimony that Mr. Johnson was endeavoring to carry
out Mr. Lincoln's methods of reconstruction, the following
extracts from a speech by Gov. O. P. Morton, of Indiana,
delivered at Richmond, that State, Sept. 29th, 1865, are here
inserted:

An impression has gotten abroad in the North that Mr. Johnson has
devised some new policy by which improper facilities are granted
for the restoration of the rebel States, and that he is
presenting improperly and unnecessarily hurrying forward the work
of reconstruction, and that he is offering improper facilities
for restoring those who have been engaged in the rebellion to the
possession of their civil and political rights.

It is one of my purposes here this evening to show that so far as
his policy of amnesty and reconstruction is concerned, he has
absolutely presented nothing new, but that he has simply
presented, and is simply continuing THE POLICY WHICH MR. LINCOLN
PRESENTED TO THE NATION ON THE 8TH OF DECEMBER, 1863. Mr.
Johnson's policy differs from Mr. Lincoln's in some restrictions
it contains, which Mr. Lincoln's did not contain. His plan of
reconstruction is absolutely and simply that of Mr. Lincoln,
nothing more or less, with one difference only, that Mr. Lincoln
required that one-tenth of the people of the disloyal States
should be willing to embrace his plan of reconstruction, whereas
Mr. Johnson says nothing about the number; but, so far as it has
been acted upon yet, it has been done by a number much greater
than one-tenth. * * * Their plans of amnesty and reconstruction
cannot be distinguished from each other except in the particulars
already mentioned, that Mr. Johnson proposed to restrict certain
persons from taking the oath, unless they have a special pardon
from him, whom Mr. Lincoln permitted to come forward and take the
oath without it. * * * That was Mr. Lincoln's policy at the time
he was nominated for re-election by the Union Convention at
Baltimore, last summer; and in that convention the party
sustained him and strongly endorsed his whole policy, of which
this was a prominent part. MR. LINCOLN WAS TRIUMPHANTLY AND
OVERWHELMINGLY RE-ELECTED UPON THAT POLICY.

In his last annual message to Congress, December, 1864, he again
brings forward this same policy of his, and presents it to the
Nation.

Again, on the 12th of April, 1865, only two days before his
death, he referred to and presented this policy of amnesty and
reconstruction. That speech may be called his last speech, his
dying words to his people. It was after Richmond had been
evacuated. It was the day after they had received the news of
Lee's surrender. Washington City was illuminated. A large crowd
came in front of the White House and Mr. Lincoln spoke to them
from one of the windows. He referred to the organization of
Louisiana under his plan of amnesty and reconstruction, and in
speaking of it he gave the history of his policy. He said:

In my annual message of December, 1863, and accompanying the
Proclamation, I presented a plan of reconstruction, as the phrase
goes, which I promised if adopted by any State, would be
acceptable and sustained by the Executive Government of this
Nation. I distinctively stated that this was a plan which might
possibly be acceptable, and also distinctively protested that the
Executive claimed no right to say when or whether members should
be admitted to seats in Congress from such States.

The new constitution of Louisiana, (said Mr. Lincoln) declaring
emancipation for the whole State, practically applies the
Proclamation to that part previously exempted. It does not adopt
apprenticeship for freed people, and is silent, as it could not
well be otherwise, about the admission of members to Congress. As
it applied to Louisiana, every member of the Cabinet approved the
plan of the message. * * * Now, we find Mr. Lincoln, just before
his death; referring in warm and strong terms to his policy of
amnesty and reconstruction, and giving it his endorsement; giving
to the world that which had never been given before--the history
of that plan and policy--stating that it had been presented and
endorsed by every member of that able and distinguished Cabinet
of 1863. Mr. Lincoln may be said to have died holding out to the
Nation his policy of amnesty and reconstruction. It was held out
by him at the very time the rebels laid down their arms. Mr.
Lincoln died by the hand of an assassin and Mr. Johnson came into
power. He took Mr. Lincoln's Cabinet as he had left it and he
took Mr. Lincoln's policy of amnesty and reconstruction as he had
left it, and as he had presented it to the world only two days
before his death. MR. JOHNSON HAS HONESTLY AND FAITHFULLY
ATTEMPTED TO ADMINISTER THAT POLICY, which had been bequeathed by
that man around whose grave a whole world has gathered as
mourners. I refer to these for the purpose of showing that Mr.
Johnson's policy is not a new one, but that he is simply carrying
out a policy left to him by his lamented predecessor--a policy
that had been ENDORSED BY THE WHOLE NATION IN THE REELECTION OF
MR. LINCOLN.

Again Gov. Morton said:

An impression has gotten abroad in the North that Mr. Johnson has
devised some new policy by which improper facilities are granted
for the restoration of the rebel States and that he is presenting
improperly and unnecessarily hurrying forward the work of
reconstruction, and that he is offering improper facilities for
restoring those who have been engaged in rebellion, to the
possession of their civil and political rights. It is one of my
purposes here this evening to show that so far as his policy of
amnesty and reconstruction is concerned, he has absolutely
presented nothing new, that he has simply presented, and is
SIMPLY CONTINUING THE POLICY WHICH MR. LINCOLN PRESENTED TO THE
NATION ON THE 8TH OF DECEMBER, 1863.

The following are extracts from Mr. Johnson's Message to
Congress, in December, 1865, on the re-assembling of that
body--the first session of the 39th Congress. Indicating, as it
did, a policy of reconstruction at variance with the views of the
Congressional leaders, it may be said to have been another
incident out of which arose the conditions that finally, led to
his impeachment. Mr. Johnson said:

I found the States suffering from the effects of a civil war.
Resistance to the General Government appeared to have exhausted
itself. The United States had recovered possession of its forts
and arsenals, and their armies were in the occupation of every
State which had attempted to secede. Whether the territory within
the limits of those States should be held as conquered territory,
under Military authority emanating from the President as head of
the Army, was the first question that presented itself for
decision. Military Governments, established for an indefinite
period, would have offered no security for the early suppression
of discontent; would have divided the people into the vanquishers
and the vanquished; and would have envenomed hatred rather than
have restored affection. Once established, no precise limit to
their continuance was conceivable. They would have occasioned an
incalculable and exhausting expense. * * * The powers of
patronage and rule which would have been exercised, under the
President, over a vast and populous and naturally wealthy region,
are greater than, under a less extreme necessity, I should be
willing to entrust to any one man. They are such as, for myself,
I should never, unless on occasion of great emergency, consent to
exercise. The wilful use of such powers, if continued through a
period of years, would have endangered the purity of the General
Administration and the liberty of the States which remained
loyal. * * * The policy of military rule over conquered territory
would have implied that the States whose inhabitants may have
taken part in the rebellion had, by the act of those inhabitants,
ceased to exist. But the true theory is, that ALL PRETENDED ACTS
OF SECESSION WERE, FROM THE BEGINNING, NULL AND VOID. THE STATES
CAN NOT COMMIT TREASON, nor screen the individual citizens who
may have committed treason, any more than they can make valid
treaties, or engage in lawful commerce with any foreign power.
The States attempting to secede placed themselves in a condition
where their vitality was IMPAIRED, BUT NOT EXTINGUISHED--THEIR
FUNCTIONS SUSPENDED, BUT NOT DESTROYED.

Reports had been circulated in the North, and found ready
credence with a great many, that the people of the South were as
a rule, insubordinate and indisposed to accept the changed
conditions there, and that insubordination and turmoil were the
rule. To ascertain the facts in this regard, during the later
months of 1865 Mr. Johnson commissioned General Grant and others
to make a tour of inspection and investigation of the condition
of affairs in the Southern States, especially as to their
disposition with reference to the acceptance by the people of
those States, of their changed relations to the Union, and to
report to him the results of their observations.

On the 10th of December, 1865, on motion of Mr. Cowan, of
Pennsylvania, the following resolution was adopted by the Senate:

Resolved, That the President of the United States be, and he is
hereby requested to furnish the Senate information of the state
of that portion of the Union lately in rebellion; whether the
rebellion has been suppressed and the United States put again in
possession of the States in which it existed; whether the United
States courts are restored, post offices re-established and the
revenue collected; and also whether the people of those States
have reorganized their State governments, and whether they are
yielding obedience to the laws and Government of the United
States. And at the same time furnish to the Senate copies of such
reports as he may have received from such officers or agents
appointed to visit that portion of the Union.

December 19th, 1865, in response to this resolution of the
Senate, the President transmitted the following Message to the
Senate inclosing Gen. Grant's Report:

In reply to the resolution adopted by the Senate on the 12th
inst., I have the honor to state that the rebellion waged by a
portion of the people against the properly constituted
authorities of the Government of the United States has been
suppressed; that the United States are in possession of every
State in which the insurrection existed; and that, as far as
could be done, the courts of the United States have been
restored, postoffices re-established, and steps taken to put into
effective operation the revenue laws of the country. As the
result of the measures instituted by the Executive, with the view
of inducing a resumption of the functions of the States
comprehended in the inquiry of the Senate, the people in North
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi,
Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee, have reorganized their
respective State Governments, and 'are yielding their obedience
to the laws and Government of the United States' with more
willingness and greater promptitude than under the circumstances
could reasonably have been anticipated. The proposed amendment to
the Constitution, providing for the abolition of slavery forever
within the limits of the country, has been ratified by each one
of those States, with the exception of Mississippi, from which no
official information has yet been received; and in nearly all of
them measures have been adopted or are now pending, to confer
upon freedmen rights and privileges which are essential to their
comfort, protection and security. In Florida and Texas, the
people are making considerable progress in restoring their State
Governments, and no doubt is entertained that they will at the
Federal Government. In that portion of the Union lately in
rebellion, the aspect of affairs is more promising than, in view
of all the circumstances, could have been expected. The people
throughout the entire South evince a laudable desire to renew
their allegiance to the Government, and to repair the
devastations of war by a prompt and cheerful return to peaceful
pursuits. An abiding faith is entertained that their actions will
conform to their professions, and that, in acknowledging the
supremacy of the Constitution and laws of the United States,
their loyalty will be given unreservedly to the Government; whose
leniency they cannot fail to appreciate, and whose fostering care
will soon restore them to a condition of prosperity. It is true,
that in some of the States the demoralizing effects of war are to
be seen in occasional disorders; but these are local in
character, not frequent in occurrence, and are really
disappearing as the authority of the civil law is extended and
sustained. * * * From all the information in my possession, and
from that which I have recently derived from the most reliable
authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that sectional
animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of
nationality, and that representation, connected with a properly
adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious
restoration of the relations of the States and the National
Union.

Andrew Johnson.

The following is General Grant's Report transmitted to Congress
with the foregoing Message:

Headquarters Armies of the United States,
Washington, D. C., Dec. 18, 1865.

Sir:--In reply to your note of the 16th inst., requesting a
report from me giving such information as I may be possessed,
coming within the scope of the inquiries made by the Senate of
the United States, in their resolution of the 12th inst., I have
the honor to submit the following:

With your approval, and also that of the Honorable Secretary of
War, I left Washington City on the 27th of last month for the
purpose of making a tour of inspection through some of the
Southern States, or States lately in rebellion, and to see what
changes were necessary to be made in the disposition of the
Military forces of the country; how these forces could be reduced
and expenses curtailed, etc., and to learn as far as possible,
the feelings and intentions of the citizens of those States
towards the General Government.

The State of Virginia being so accessible to Washington City, and
information from this quarter therefore being readily obtained, I
hastened through the State without conversing or meeting with any
of its citizens. In Raleigh, North Carolina, I spent one day; in
Charleston, South Carolina, I spent two days; Savannah and
Augusta, Georgia, each one day. Both in traveling and while
stopping, I saw much and conversed freely with the citizens of
those States, as well as with officers of the Army who have been
stationed among them. The following are the conclusions come to
by me:

I am satisfied that the mass of the thinking men of the South
accept the present situation of affairs in good faith. The
questions which have heretofore divided the sentiments of the
people of the two sections--Slavery and State Rights, or the
right of a State to secede from the Union--they regard as having
been settled forever by the highest tribunal--arms--that man can
resort to. I was pleased to learn from the leading men whom I
met, that they not only accepted the decision arrived at, as
final, but that now, when the smoke of battle has cleared away,
and time has been given for reflection, this decision has been a
fortunate one for the whole country, they receiving like benefits
from it with those who opposed them in the field and in council.

Four years of war, during which law was executed only at the
point of the bayonet throughout the States in rebellion, have
left the people possibly in a condition not to yield that ready
obedience to civil authority the American people have been in the
habit of generally yielding. This would render the presence of
small garrisons throughout those States necessary until such time
as labor returns to its proper channels and civil authority is
fully established. I did not meet anyone, either those holding
places under the Government or citizens of the Southern States,
who think it practicable to withdraw the Military from the South
at present. The white and black mutually require the protection
of the General Government. There is such universal acquiescence
in the authority of the General Government throughout the
portions of the country visited by me, that the mere presence of
a military force, without regard to numbers, is sufficient to
maintain order. The good of the country and economy require that
the force kept in the interior where there are many freedmen
(elsewhere in the Southern States than at forts upon the sea
coast, no more is necessary,) should all be white troops. The
reasons for this are obvious without mentioning any of them. The
presence of black troops, lately slaves, demoralizes labor both
by their advice and by furnishing in their camps a resort for
freedmen for long distances around. White troops generally excite
no opposition, and therefore a small number of them can maintain
order in a given district. Colored troops must be kept in bodies
sufficient to defend themselves. It is not thinking men who would
use violence towards any class of troops sent among them by the
General Government, but the ignorant in some cases might, and the
late slave seems to be imbued with the idea that the property of
his late master should of right belong to him, or at least should
have no protection from the colored soldiers. There is danger of
collision being brought on by such causes.

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