Historical Speech: Opinion of Hon. J. W. Patterson, of New Hampshire, in the case of the impeachment of the President

Johnson Impeachment & the End of His Presidency

Historical Speech: Opinion of Hon. J. W. Patterson, of New Hampshire, in the case of the impeachment of the President

1868

Historical Speech

The Internet Archives provides an 1868 historical speech, given by James Willis Patterson, that provides Patterson's opinion in support of a guilty verdict in 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. He says, "if conviction may impress instability upon our institutions, acquittal may destroy the original adjustment and balance of their powers and hasten their overthrow. The lessons of history warn us rather against the indulgence than the arrest of arbitrary power."

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