On May 16, 1868, Pres. Andrew Johnson came within one vote of being removed from office. That one vote was that of Sen. Edmund Ross. On March 3, Johnson had been impeached by the House 126-47. Although Johnson was a Republican, every Democrat voted no (and two Republicans) because they believed Johnson was a kindred spirit in their defiance of the Radical Republicans. It was Johnson’s opposition to Radical Reconstruction that had angered the Radicals. When it became clear the Johnson planned to replace Edwin Stanton as Secretary of War, they passed the Tenure of Office Act. The law made it illegal for the President to replace a Cabinet member without Congressional approval. They then waited for Johnson to remove their boy Stanton so they would have an excuse to impeach the unpopular president. When Johnson took the bait, the House passed 11 articles of impeachment for “high crimes and misdemeanors”. The case moved on to the Senate where Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presided. Sen. Benjamin Wade refused to abstain, although as Senate Pro Tempore he would become President if Johnson was removed. (Johnson had no Vice President and the Pro Temp was next in line.) The key witness was Gen. William Sherman. He hurt the prosecution’s case by testifying that he was to be the next Secretary of War because Johnson wanted an efficient administrator. He refuted the idea that Johnson wanted him to use the military to overthrow Congress. On May 16, the Senate voted 35-19 for conviction. 7 Republicans joined all 9 Democrats in voting against removal. The final vote was one vote short of the 2/3 needed. Historians, and John F. Kennedy in his book “Profiles in Courage”, have lauded Ross as the key vote. He was supposed to vote for and changed his mind at the last moment. Supposedly as an act of conscience. But recent scholarship has pointed to bribery as a possible factor. He would not have been the only Senator who was bribed as both sides were active in this “persuasion”. Maybe was not such a hero, but we have to thank all 19 of the no votes because if just one of them had voted aye, a door would have been opened for removing any unpopular president. Because the fact is that the Tenure of Office Act was clearly unconstitutional and Johnson had not committed a high crime or misdemeanor.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impeachment_of_Andrew_Johnson
https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/the-man-whose-impeachment-vote-saved-andrew-johnson
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