Historical Illustration: The Smelling Committee
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Note: The illustration includes several captions.
The Library of Congress features an 1868 historical illustration, drawn by John Cameron, that depicts the important figures involved in the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson (D-TN)--who became the 17th President of the United States after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865--surrounding a horse that seems to be deceased and covered in a blanket that reads "impeachment." From left to right those men are: John A. Logan, George S. Boutwell, Thomas Williams, Benjamin F. Butler, Thaddeus Stevens, and John A. Bingham. In the foreground, Boutwell is pulling the tail of the horse while saying "I fear we are getting mired, but I certainly smell corruption," while Bingham has his hand on a ram with "30,000" printed on its side while saying "It's no use Gentlemen...your old nag is dead and you can't ride it any more" my Woolley friend finished him." In the background, the other men are standing and holding their noses and the journalist Thurlow Weed is depicted with his head on the body of a plant.
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