Changes

The prosecutors – called “managers” in impeachment trials – were confident of victory. Manager Thaddeus Stevens described President Johnson as the "wretched man, standing at bay, surrounded by a cordon of living men, each with the axe of an executioner uplifted for his just punishment." Manager John Bingham brought the public galleries to their feet with his oratory: "May God forbid that the future historian shall record of this day's proceedings, that by reason of the failure of the legislative power of the people to triumph over the usurpations of an apostate President, the fabric of American empire fell and perished from the earth....I ask you to consider that we stand this day pleading for the violated majesty of the law, by the graves of half a million of martyred hero-patriots who made death beautiful by the sacrifice of themselves for their country, the Constitution and the laws, and who, by their sublime example, have taught us all to obey the law; that none are above the law;... and that position, however high, [[patronage]], however powerful, cannot be permitted to shelter crime to the peril of the [[republic]]."

The prosecutors – called “managers” in impeachment trials – were confident of victory. Manager Thaddeus Stevens described President Johnson as the "wretched man, standing at bay, surrounded by a cordon of living men, each with the axe of an executioner uplifted for his just punishment." Manager John Bingham brought the public galleries to their feet with his oratory: "May God forbid that the future historian shall record of this day's proceedings, that by reason of the failure of the legislative power of the people to triumph over the usurpations of an apostate President, the fabric of American empire fell and perished from the earth....I ask you to consider that we stand this day pleading for the violated majesty of the law, by the graves of half a million of martyred hero-patriots who made death beautiful by the sacrifice of themselves for their country, the Constitution and the laws, and who, by their sublime example, have taught us all to obey the law; that none are above the law;... and that position, however high, [[patronage]], however powerful, cannot be permitted to shelter crime to the peril of the [[republic]]."

2/3rd vote was necessary for conviction, and it all turned on Republican Senator [[Edmund Ross]] of Kansas. Like real jurors, he spoke to no one during the proceedings and no one knew which way he was leaning. But he voted "not guilty," and President Johnson was acquitted by one vote. The Radical Republicans were defeated, the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and [[Jim Crow]] arose, and Republicans shied away from civil rights issues for the next 100 years in the face of Klan terror and media opposition.  Ross was characterized as a hero in [[John F. Kennedy]]'s book ''Profiles in Courage'', for resisting Republican civil rights reform efforts for Blacks in the South, and working with Democrats.  Andrew Johnson did not run for re-election and died a drunk.

2/3rd vote was necessary for conviction, and it all turned on Republican Senator [[Edmund Ross]] of Kansas. Like real jurors, he spoke to no one during the proceedings and no one knew which way he was leaning. But he voted "not guilty," and President Johnson was acquitted by one vote. The Radical Republicans were defeated, the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and [[Jim Crow]] arose, and Republicans shied away from civil rights issues for the next 100 years in the face of Klan terror and media opposition.  Ross was characterized as a hero in [[John F. Kennedy]]'s book ''Profiles in Courage'', for resisting Republican civil rights reform efforts for Blacks in the South, and working with Democrats to rebuild the Democratic party after its defeat in the Civil War.  Andrew Johnson did not run for re-election and died a drunk.

Later the Tenure of Office Act was repealed, and all presidential appointments - including the [[FBI]] Director and Ambassadors - now serve at the pleasure of the president and can be fired without cause at any moment.

Later the Tenure of Office Act was repealed, and all presidential appointments - including the [[FBI]] Director and Ambassadors - now serve at the pleasure of the president and can be fired without cause at any moment.