Delmarva Heritage Series, by Dr. William H. Wroten, Jr.
Shoreman Saves Andy Johnson
Salisbury Times - July 10, 1959
The
Constitution of the United States reads that the President, Vice
President and all civil officers of the United States shall be
removed from office by the process of impeachment "for, and
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery or other high Crimes and
Misdemeanors." Many times since the Constitution went into effect
in 1789, individuals, sections, political parties, and special
interest groups have talked about removing a president who seemed
unsympathetic with their views.
The trial
of impeachment, under our system of government, is a method whereby
Congress, and the people, have a check on the actions of the
president or other civil officers. But the founding fathers did not
want this power to be abused by a few willful men; thus the
Constitution stated that the House of Representatives would have the
"sole Power of Impeachment" and the Senate would have the "sole
Power to try all Impeachment." One might say that the House was to
act as State's Attorney and the Senate as Jury. But no person may
be convicted by impeachment without the agreement of two-thirds of
the Senators present.
Several
Federal judges and other civil officers have been impeached since
1789 but only once, despite the many threats, has a President of the
United States been charged by the House and tried before the Senate.
Probably
the most famous trial in American history was the effort of the
Radical Republicans to remove President Andrew Johnson by
impeachment. These so-called Radicals in Congress were determined
to remove all obstacles to their plan of reconstruction for the
South after the Civil War. The Great Civil War historian Randall
wrote:
"The
effort of the Vindictives to remove President Johnson by impeachment
was of a piece with the rest of the Radical program. The full story
reveals the absence of the judicial attitude in House and Senate ...
the House passed the impeachment resolution, to be followed by
articles of impeachment, after which the President was put on trial
for his official life and reputation before a Senate made up chiefly
of his outspoken enemies. In the end, however, the Radicals failed
of conviction by one vote. The final outcome was to fix the
precedent that the weapon of Federal impeachment, which is not
merely a 'Method of removal,' shall not be degraded to partisan
purposes."
Senator
Ross of Kansas and Senator Grimes of Iowa have been honored for the
great stand which they took to defeat the impeachment plan. Some
will recall the story of Senator Grimes being so sick that he had to
be carried to the Senate to cast his vote, and those of you who have
been fortunate enough to read Senator John Kennedy's book, "Profiles
in Courage," know about Senator Ross' great display of courage in
the face of the enemy. The two men, along with five other
Republicans, had been under pressure to cast their votes against
President Johnson, and failing to comply they were denounced as
traitors.
The role
that Senator George Vickers played in this exciting drama probably
is not as well known, because he was a Democratic and expected to
vote against impeachment. But Marylanders, and Shoremen especially,
should know about Senator Vickers, for his vote was just as
necessary to save President Johnson as that of Ross or Grimes.
George
Vickers was born in Chestertown on November 19, 1801. He was
educated in the classical tradition at Washington College. After
graduation he worked in the county clerk's office for several years
while he prepared himself for the profession of law. When he was
admitted to the bar in 1832 began his practice in Kent County.
George
Vickers was also very active in politics, being elected in 1836 as a
Whig to the Senatorial College of Maryland. When the Civil War
broke out in 1861, he took a stand against the Secessionists, and
when expressing this view to Governor Thomas Hicks, he asked that
troops be raised on the Shore to combat the secessionist movement.
In this same year he was commissioned by the Governor, a Major
General of the militia for the Eastern Shore. General Vickers had
two sons in the Federal Army and one in the Confederate Army.
Although Vickers was opposed to secession and endeavored to keep
Maryland in the Union, he disapproved of what he considered the
unconstitutional acts on the part of the Federal Government.
In 1865
Vickers was elected to the Maryland Senate, and in the following
year was a member of the Union Convention held at Philadelphia.
In
February, 1867 Governor Swann of Maryland was elected to the United
States Senate to replace John A. J. Creswell, whose term was to
expire in March, but Swann heard of the plan in the Senate to refuse
him the seat, and he declined and kept the governor's chair. Philip
Francis Thomas of Talbot County was then elected by the Maryland
General assembly, and although he was constitutionally eligible, and
the Judiciary Committee reported favorably upon his credentials, he
was refused the seat by a vote of 27 to 20.
The
refusal of the United States Senate to seat ex-Governor Thomas was
undemocratic. Historian Scharf wrote: "By this act a gross outrage
was perpetrated upon the people of Maryland by a body which usurped
despotic powers, and exercised them for purely partisan purposes.
He (Thomas) was arbitrarily refused permission to enter the Senate
Chamber, simply because his political views were not in accord with
those of the radical members of that body, who were bent upon
retaining control of the Government."
A rather
large minority of the General Assembly in 1868 were in favor or
re-electing Thomas, thus expressing their indignity; but the
majority thought it best to elect another man. George Vickers on
the 3rd ballot received the necessary majority and was
announced elected. It is important that Maryland did not re-elect
Thomas, for surely if that had been done the United States Senate
would once again have excluded him and President Johnson would have
lost the trial.
Quick
action was necessary if Johnson was to be saved. The trial was in
progress and public opinion was being aroused against him. Even the
General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, then in
session in Chicago, offered a prayer that the Senators avoid error;
and there seems little doubt that "error" meant the acquittal of the
President. As Vickers was a Methodist he probably knew of this
prayer, but nevertheless he was one of those responsible for the
vindication of Johnson.
With the
impeachment of President Johnson hanging in balance, the Democratic
leaders in Washington sent word that the vote of Vickers was
needed. Just as soon as the General Assembly adjourned on March 6,
1868 (the day Vickers was elected) an ice-boat was obtained and the
friends of Vickers, led by J.Q.A. Robson of Baltimore, made the trip
from Annapolis to Chestertown, breaking the ice in the bay as they
went.
Upon
arrival, about three o'clock in the morning, they found Vickers in
bed. He was aroused, notified of his election and hurried to
Baltimore by boat. In the city he was placed on a special Baltimore
and Ohio train, furnished by the famous John W. Garrett, which
brought him to Washington just in time to be sworn in.
When
Vickers presented his credentials, Senator Sumner of Massachusetts
the leader of the Radical forces in senate, made an unsuccessful
attempt to have his admittance held up by the Judiciary Committee.
But the new senator from Maryland was permitted to take his seat.
As the impeachment proceedings against Andrew Johnson failed of
success by a single vote, Senator Vickers' "Not Guilty" was just as
much the saving one as that of the other 18.
Senator
Vickers served in the Senate until March, 1873, and while a member
of this body he took a major part in the debates on the Fifteenth
Amendment to the Federal Constitution - the one concerning suffrage
and the Negro. He died October 8, 1879.
Matthew
Page Andrews noted the real importance of Vickers' dash to
Washington in 1868 when he wrote: "Hence, in view of the importance
of the occasion, the Maryland Senator's journey to Washington may
bear comparison with Caesar Rodney's ride to Philadelphia 92 years
before. Rodney rode to cast his vote for the independence of the
state as against tyranny without; Vickers sought to preserve the
Constitutional rights of the states when imperiled by tyranny from
within. Once more the influence of Maryland had helped to steer the
Federal Ship of State away from the whirlpool of centralization on
the one side and the rocks of radicalism on the other."
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