Historical Speech: Opening argument of Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, one of the managers on the impeachment of the President

Johnson Impeachment & the End of His Presidency

Historical Speech: Opening argument of Mr. Butler, of Massachusetts, one of the managers on the impeachment of the President

1868

Historical Speech

The Internet Archives presents an 1868 historical speech, given by Benjamin Franklin Butler, that provides Butler's opinion that President Andrew Johnson (D-TN)--who became the 17th President of the United States after President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April of 1865--should be declared guilty of the allegations against him in his impeachment trial. He says, "We have presented the facts in the constitutional manner; we have brought the criminal to your bar, and demand judgment at your hands for his so great crimes."

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