USA > Wisconsin > A political history of Wisconsin > Part 16
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fair play. It was these qualities that led him to break with his party, after Mr. Lincoln was assassinated, and to follow the for- tunes of Andrew Johnson, though he knew the choice must lead him into private life and into that obscurity which he always dreaded. He thought that the plan which Andrew Johnson had evolved for the reconstruction of the States lately in rebellion was precisely the one which Mr. Lincoln would have adopted. if his life had been spared. Mr. Lincoln would not have made war upon the Republican majority in Congress, as Johnson did, liad there been a disagreement between them, and there would have been conciliatory measures substituted by Lincoln, instead of hot dis- putes, disagreements and estrangements as there were under the stubborn, pig-headed Tennesseean. Nobody knew better than Judge Doolittle what would be the disastrous consequences to his political fortunes if he enlisted under Johnson's banner. He had everything to lose and nothing to gain-nothing but the approval of his own conscience. Up to that time he had stood solid with the Republican party of his State. The constitutional objection to his first election, because his judicial term had not expired, had been obliterated and forgiven by the unanimity with which the Republican Legislature had chosen him for a second term. and his close intimacy with Mr. Lincoln was enough to make most men respect and love him. That he would have been chosen for a third term, without serious opposition among the Republicans. is as certain as the rising of the sun on the day of the election, if he had drifted along in harmony with the majority in Congress, and had consented to the impeachment of President Johnson. He had already been nearly twelve years in the Senate, and that service, together with his term upon the bench, had destroyed his law practice, and the prospect of having to return to his profession for a living did not furnish an alluring picture, especially to a man whose face had already been turned towards the setting sun. But he did what he solemnly and conscientiously believed to be his duty to his country as he then saw it, and in view of the whole situation no man can say that he was actuated by mercenary motives. That he was an ambitious man is not denied; but it was an ambition to do right. and to act for the best interests of
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the country. His patriotism was never doubted. All through the trying and exciting period of secession and rebellion he had but one thought, and that was to save the Union. To this end he devoted all his energies.
As a political speaker before miscellaneous audiences. Judge Doolittle never had a superior. no, not an equal. in Wisconsin. Those who have heard him on any great occasion will never for- get the splendid presence of the man. the charm of his oratory, the music of his voice, or the convincing power of his words. He was always grand, earnest, solemn, persuasive, never flippant. though sometimes apparently sanctimonious. He was almost entirely devoid of the faculty or sense of humor. He never told stories on the stump, never embellished his speeches with anec- dotes or funny comparisons, was never epigrammatic, witty, or sarcastic. The comic side of things, even in politics, had no attrac- tion for him. He never indulged in the clap-trap of oratory, but he always spoke-to use his own language-"as an earnest man speaking to earnest men."
Judge Doolittle was always an acknowledged power in the . United States Senate, as he was in the councils of any political party with which he acted. He had few equals in that branch of Congress as a ready debater, at the time he held a seat in it, and his high legal attainments were admitted by all. If he had voted for the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, the President would have been convicted and deposed, and Benjamin F. Wade of Ohio, then the president pro tem. of the Senate. would have become President of the United States, a radical of the radicals. and the probable result would have been a relighting of the fires of civil war in the South. If Judge Doolittle's influence saved the country from the re-opening of the bloody conflict that closed at Appomattox Courthouse. no man can overestimate the value of his negative vote at the close of the impeachment trial.
There have been members of the United States Senate, men of brilliant intellectual abilities, who were intemperate, and addicted to other popular vices of the times; but Judge Doolittle was not one of them. No scandals ever followed him, social or political. It there were opportunities to make money out of the State secrets
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of the government that were obtained in secret session, Senator Doolittle never availed himself of them to his own pecuniary advantage. no: did he ever stealthily impart such information to his personal, or political friends to aid in their speculations. At the end of his twelve years of service, honestly rendered to his country, he retired from his post a poor man: but he carried with him into his forced retirement the respect of his colleagues and a good name, which, we are assured on the highest authority, is "better than great riches."
I happened to be in Washington city in the spring of 186 ;. when the impeachment trial of President Andrew Jackson began. and meeting the late Judge Doolittle one morning, he said that the great fight was on and advised me to postpone the time of my intended return home and remain in the capital and see the end of the conflict between two of the co-ordinate branches of the Federal government. "It is the first time in the history of this nation." said the Senator. in his solemn and impressive manner. "that impeachment proceedings have been commenced against the President of the United States, and it is highly probable that this trial will be the last of the kind in our history; certainly it will not be attempted again in your time or mine, and the present case is so important in all respects, especially from the political and historical standpoint, that the performance will be well worth your time and attention. Some of the best legal talent in the nation is engaged on both sides, and although I am convinced that the President cannot be convicted, nevertheless the managers appointed on the part of the House of Representatives to prosecute the case will perform their duty with all the ability they possess, and with a zeal worthy of a better cause." I was easily persuaded to remain : I was present in the Senate chamber nearly every day of the long trial, and the recollection of it all is now a source of much pleasure to me. The preliminary proceedings looking up to this great event had been going on for more than a year: the country was in a state of ferment over the dispute about reconstruction. aml differ- ences between I'resident Johnson and the radical Republicans in Congress were well defined and irreconcilable. . Judge Doolittle had already adopted the views of the President upon this subject
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and had cut entirely loose from the party that had twice elected him to the United States Senate. His departure from the Repub- lican fold had been emphasized and confirmed by the Legislature of Wisconsin passing a joint resolution asking him to resign his seat in the Senate for reasons therein duly set forth. He was an able and ardent defender of the President all through that vexa- tious and exciting period, and his apparently independent position. having been so recently regarded as a sound Republican, and the warm personal and political friend of Mr. Lincoln, gave him a commanding influence in Washington with all parties except the extreme radicals like Wade, Sumner and Butler. Probably it is not too much credit to give to the dead Senator to say that the Senate's vote of only one majority against convicting Johnson was due as much to Doolittle's influence as to any other man's.
The impeachment trial had been brewing for over a year. No sooner had Johnson taken the oath of office as President of the L'nited States than he entered upon a course that the Republican leaders in Congress considered a declaration of war against their party, and they at once resolved that it should be war to the knife and the knife to the hilt. Johnsoni declared that the ralicals were violating the Confitution, and the radicals retorted by charging that the executive was exceeding the limits of his authority, and was not only guilty of breaking over constitutional restraints, but that he was guilty of "high crimes and misdemeanors" in that he was trying to reconstruct the seceding States in the interest of rebellion. Mr. Johnson had made his famous "swing around the circle." and had made violent speeches against Congress in some of the principal cities of the country, notably in Washington, Cleve- land and St. Louis, all three of which harrangues were cited in the indictment which had been made against him. Three separate attempts were made in the House of Representatives in the Thirty- ninth and Fortieth Congresses to get the judiciary committee to consent to report a resolution in favor of impeachment before they could agree upon a plan of procedure. The first resolution was lost by a vote of 108 to 57. The trouble was in finding some definite, overt acts committed by the President at variance with the constitutional limitations of executive power, for he could not be
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impeached simply because he had left the Republicans and gone over to the Democrats, or because he had, with very bad taste. considering his high office, responded to a serenade of his friends. by making a personal attack upem Wade. Sumner. Butler and Thad. Stevens, in an inflammatory speech delivered from the steps of the White House. But so cunning and able a lawyer as Benja- min F. Butler and so full of resources was not long in formulating charges, and after a long and angry debate a resolution was agreed to by a vote of 128 to 47. that "Andrew Johnson. Presi- dent of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and mis- demeanors in office." On the 5th of March the Senate met as a court of impeachment. with Chief Justice Chase in the chair.
The personnel of that great trial on all sides was very dis- tinguished. The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States was the presiding officer but his right to vote on any ques- tion, except in case of a tie, was in dispute: the Senate of the United States was sitting as a jury "to determine whether Andrew Johnson, because of malversation in office, was longer fit to retain the office of President of the United States, or hereafter to holl any office of honor or profit!" There stood the strong men of the House of Representatives who appeared in behalf of the people. At the head of the delegation was Benjamin F. Butler, who had a national reputation as an astute and brilliant lawyer and as a soldier; then came George S. Boutwell. afterwards Secretary of the Treasury; Bingham of Ohio; Wilson of Iowa: Williams, Logan and Stevens. Of these. Bingham and Wilson had at first opposed impeachment, but all the others were extreme stalwarts of the old abolition variety. The gentlemen who appeared for the defense of the President were all men of great legal attainments and of acknowledged ability. William M. Evarts. afterwards Secretary of State under President Hayes: Mr. Stanbery, ex-Attorney-Gen- eral; ex-Judge Benjamin R. Curtis, and Nelson and Grosbeck. From a strictly legal point of view it will be conceded tha hat the House managers were overmatched.
The defense was greatly aided by the rulings of the Chici Jus- tice, which were invariably in favor of the President. Judge Chase had had the presidential bee in his bonnet for a long time, and it
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was still buzzing in his ear. He had been Governor of Ohio: United States Senator from that State, and was a prominent candi- date for the nomination at the Chicago convention which nomi- nated Mr. Lincoln. Mr. Lincoln had made him Secretary of the Treasury, and afterward appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Judge Chase had already soured on the Repub- lican party, and seeing the rising tide in favor of the nomination of General Grant by the Republicans to succeed Johnson, he had already been coquetting with the Democrats in the hope of secur- ing a nomination from them. As the Democrats had almost unanimously enlisted under the banner of Mr. Johnson. so much so as to secure the solid vote of the Democratic Senators against impeachment. the conduct of the Chief Justice during the trial is easily accounted for.
As the trial progressed the weakness of the prosecution became more and more apparent as did also the professional superiority of the intellectual gladiators engaged on the side of the defense in the great legal battle. General Butler showed to great advantage on the part of the prosecution and was ably sustained by Bing- ham and Boutwell; but Logan, Stevens and Williams were of but little account. The personal encounters between Evarts and But- ler upon incidental questions that arose during the trial were sublime in the keenness of their wit and the bitterness of their sar- casm. Mr. Evarts was well acquainted with Gen. Butler's military career, some portions of which were not thought to be creditable to him as a soldier, and of these exploits the learned counsel made the most. Butler's imprudence was well .illustrated by his treat- ment of Alexander W. Randall. our old War Governor, who was then Postmaster General under Johnson. Randall had been called as a witness, and after he had been sworn. Butler asked:
"What is your name, sir?"
"Alexander W. Randall."
"Where do you live. sir?"
"I am living in Washington city."
"What is your present occupation, sir?"
"I am at present Postmaster General."
After questioning him as he would any obscure person, and Randall began to feel the insult keenly. Butler continued:
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"Did you remove Foster Blodgett from the postoffice at Atlanta, Ga .? "
"I did."
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"Will you please inform the Senate by the authority of what law you removed Mr. Blodgett?"
Randall hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Under the great law of necessity." At this Butler gave a grunt of disgust, loud enough to be heard in the gallery, and waving his hand imperiously toward Randall, he said: "That is all, sir; you can retire, sir." Randall asked the privilege of explaining his action, but Butler would not allow it, his object being to prove from a member of Johnson's Cabinet that the Johnson adminstration was being conducted illegally and despotically.
I went over to the Postoffice Department after the adjourn- ment, where I found the ex-Governor walking the floor in a ter- rible rage. "If Butler had given me three minutes to explain the · circumstances under which I acted I could have placed myself in
a very different light before the country," said the Governor, inter- larding his statement with a well selected assortment of naughty words that he only used in cases of necessity.
The arguments of the learned counsel came to an end at last, and a vote was first taken on one of the articles of impeachment which was considered strongest against the President. The vote stood guilty, 35; not guilty, 19. As it took a two-thirds vote to convict, the impeachment proceedings had failed by one vote. There were 7 Republicans and 12 Democrats who voted no. It was a close call for Mr. John-on. but it well illustrates the import- ance of one vote. Mr. Doolittle is always classed with the Demo- crats, but at that time he called himself a Democratic Republican. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." The Repub- licans that voted not guilty, were Fessenden. Fowler, Grimes. Hen- derson, Ross, Trumbull and Van Winkle.
Of course. when the result of the vote was announced and it was learned that I'resident Johnson had been acquitted by one vote, there was the usual charge of fraud and corruption, and the asser- tions were oft repeated that some of the Senators who had voted for acquittal had been bought up, and that the friends of Johnson,
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not having much money, had purchased only the one vote which turned the scale in their favor. The cry of corruption helped to let the prosecution down easy, but the charge was never seriously believed by any large number of either side.
I often wished. during the progress of that famous trial. that F. G. Ryan, our late Chief Justice, then in the pride and power of his genius, could have been of counsel on one side or the other- it would have made very little difference to him which side he espoused-for, if he had been so engaged, the opportunity would have been embraced by the great barrister to make a display of his rare scholastic attainments and legal acumen such as the country had never seen before.
If he had been on the side of the people. as he was in the Hubell impeachment case, and as he was in the trial of Bashford vs. Barstow, he would have been at home and his arraignment of the President woukl have reminded the English-speaking race of the trial of Warren Hastings; or, if he had defended Johnson. the radical Icaders like Ben Butler and Thad Stevens would have felt the power of invective as they never felt it before. No man on either side could have matched him.
I think nearly all the men engaged in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson are now dead. including the distinguished defend- ant, the eminent Chief Justice who presided. the Senators who returned the verdict of not guilty, the lawyers and the principal witnesses, Judge Doolittle being the last engaged in that great drama to take his departure for that "undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns."
Now a few words of reminiscence concerning the brilliant man who succeeded Doolittle in the Senate.
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I think the finest compliment that was ever paid to the forensic ability of the late Senator Matt. Il. Carpenter. during all his pub- fic career, was what a well educated Englishman once said to me as we were walking down l'eansylvania avenue together in Wash- ington city, just after Mr. Carpenter had entered the Senate of the United States. We had both been occupants of seats in the Senate gallery and had been listening to an interesting debate on Senator Summer's famous Civil Rights Bill. the distinguished author of the
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bill on one side and the new Senator from Wisconsin on the other. The discussion had been going on all the afternoon. Mr. Sumner speaking with great power and eloquence from a carefully pre- pared written manuscript. Mr. Carpenter "talking on his legs." as he facetiously described his impromptu efforts. We had sat near each other in the Senate chamber. this Englishman and myself. and as we fell in company after the adjournment, we natur- ally got into conversation as we walked along about the merits of the bill and the personal characteristics of the two intellectual gladiators. When I told him that I was a resident of Wisconsin he said :
"That Mr. Carpenter from your State is a wonderful man and an able parliamentary debater. . As a speaker, I do not think we have any man in public life in England at the present time who will compare with him except Mr. Gladstone. I do not believe that any person ever heard the sound of that voice who did not stop to listen." A neater compliment was never paid to Mr. Car- penter's fascinating oratory.
The debate above referred to between these two famous Sena- " tors, both members of the same political party, came about in this way: Mr. Sumner had introduced what was called a Civil Rights Bill, which, as its title indicated, was framed to protect the rights of the colored people in the lately reconstructed States, giving them certain rights and privileges which the laws of the lately rebellious States had denied to them. Mr. Sumner, of course, being an original abolitionist, and the acknowledged champion of the colored man on the floor of the Senate, had drawn his bill pretty strong and incorporated in it some things that Mr. Carpen- ter considered unconstitutional, and when it was under discussion some two weeks previous, Mr. Carpenter had attacked it vigor- ously for that reason, although he gave his approval to the general objects which the bill sought to attain. Mr. Carpenter had just entered the Senate and was a new man in that arena, but his fame as a lawyer had preceded him. as he had recently argued a very important case in the Supreme Court of the United States, which involved the constitutionality of the reconstruction acts of Con- gress, upon which great things depended, and had won his case.
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Mr. Carpenter was not at any time in his life a man to take a back seat anywhere, and Mr. Sumner could hardly believe his cars when the newcomer from the wilds of Wisconsin pointed out the clauses of his pet measure that conflicted with the organic laws of the land with so much force and clearness that such excellent lawyers in the Senate as the late Judge Thurman of Ohio, Senator Conkling of New York and Edmunds of Vermont. agreed with the Wiscon- sin Senator and insisted on the amendments being adopted that our "Matt." had offered to the bill. Mr. Summer had taken two weeks to prepare a reply to all his critics and it is needless to say that his speech was one of the ablest and most elaborate that he ever delivered in the defense of the colored man's rights. The morning of its delivery I was in Mr. Carpenter's law office, and found him just back from New York, where he had been for a few days taking testimony in an important lawsuit. He said to me:
"You had better come down to the Senate chamber this after- noon; there is going to be some fun and music by the band."
"What is on the program that is going to be so highly entertain- ing?"
"Well, Summer has the floor to-day and is going to reply to some comments which I made the other day on the unconstitu- tionality of his Civil Rights Bill. He has been loading up for me for two weeks and I suppose he will chew me up very fine."
"What are you going to do about it?" I asked.
"Oh, I am going to answer him then and there as well as I can," he replied, cheerily, lighting a fresh cigar.
"Why don't you take as much time in replying to him as he has taken in replying to you? You know Mr. Sumner is one of the ablest men in the nation and one of the oldest Senators. When he speaks the nation listens."
"Well, I am going to listen. too," said Matt., interrupting me with a hearty laugh, "and if I don't like what he says I intend to tell him so on the spot."
"What I mean is," I continued. "that you will be at a great disadvantage to attempt an impromptu reply 'before all Israel and the sun,' on such an occasion and to such a noted man, and I think you had better do as Webster did before replying to Hayne-sleep on it."
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"Perhaps I may take your advice." he said. half musingly, a> he blew a cloud of smoke away from his cigar. "but I can't promise. I know Sumner is a great man, and that I am rather fresh, but if I am to lock horns with any one it might as well be with the biggest ox in the pen."
I may as well break the continuity of this simple narrative here by relating how it was said that Mr. Summer prepared his public speeches and how he perfected himself in the arts and graces of oratory and declamation. Some one called at his house on one occasion and asked if the Senator was at home. The colored man answered that he was not in. but that he guessed he had gone down to the Senate to "deliber dat 'ar speech."
"What speech?" asked the caller.
"Why," answered the darkey, "dat ar speech dat Massa Sum- ner has bin hollerin to hisself in bed afore he gits up in de mornin' for more'n two weeks."
That is as likely as the story of Demosthenes declaiming on the seashore with pebbles in his mouth to cure stammering.
Entering the Senate Chamber just before it was called to order I met Vice-President Colfax. with whom I was well acquainted, who said to me: "There will be lively times in the Senate this afternoon. Senator Sumner is to have the floor for a speech on his Civil Rights Bill in reply to Senator Carpenter and others, who attacked it the other day from: the constitutional standpoint, and Carpenter will probably reply." .I expressed the same wish to Mr. Colfax that I had expressed to Mr. Carpenter, namely, that our man would not hazard his reputation by any off-hand reply, but that he would take as much time in preparation as the Massa- chusetts man had taken. I passed into the gallery, which was fast filling up with that part of Washington's population which is always on hand when any man of national reputation has the floor, and it had been published in the morning papers that Mr. Summer was to defend his bill against all assailants. Both Senators were already in their seats; Mr. Sumner was almost hidden behind the breast- . works of books that were piled high upon his deck for reference. while Mr. Carpenter sat uneasily in his seat. a little paler than usual. the unruly tuft of hair overshadowing his broad forehead.
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