Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 3.djvu/44

 the impeachment by Congress of President Johnson, the Republicans voting for and the Democrats against it.

In 1867 an attempt had been made in the House of Representatives of Congress to impeach President Johnson. The matter was referred to the judiciary committee. After several months spent by the committee in taking evidence, on the 25th of November, three different reports were made. Five of the Republican members reported in favor of impeachment. James F. Wilson of Iowa and Woodbridge, Republicans, reported against impeachment while the two Democratic members were also opposed to impeachment. When the resolutions came before the House that the body by a vote of fifty-six yeas to one hundred and nine nays refused to impeach. Price and Loughridge of Iowa voted for impeachment; while Allison, Dodge, Hubbard and Wilson voted against it. In the following August the President suspended from the War Department, Secretary Stanton, and directed General Grant to act as Secretary in the interim. The removal of Secretary Stanton from the position he had filled with such marked ability during the war, aroused intense indignation throughout the Northern States among the members of the Republican party, as they had long regarded Stanton as the one fearless and uncompromising member of the Cabinet who stood between the arbitrary designs of the President and the will of the loyal people as expressed by the acts of their Representatives and Senators in Congress. On the 13th of January, 1868, the Senate by a vote of thirty-five to five (a strict party vote) passed a resolution to the effect that the Senate did not concur in the removal of Secretary Stanton and General Grant thereupon retired from the position. In February the House committee on reconstruction reported a resolution as follows: “Resolved, That Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors."  The resolution was adopted by the House on the 24th by a vote of one hundred and twenty-eight