Two items, including a handwritten draft in pencil by Johnson and a leatherbound autograph book containing a ticket to his impeachment hearings. Handwritten manuscript in pencil by Andrew Johnson, unsigned, one page both sides, 5.25 x 8.25, no date but ostensibly as president circa 1868-1869, given the presence of a Congressional seal to the upper left corner. The manuscript, likely written as a speech draft, is headed "Debt of the State," and reads, in part: "Agriculturalists and mechanics are somewhat interested in high taxes…Debt of the U. S…ample for the purposes of the people. President to be elected by the people and the election of Senators to be taken from the Legislature. Reference to myself I hope will not be indelicate. Betrayed by the Legislature and defeated. Washington had his Arnold, Jefferson, Burr, Caesar his Brutus &c. (The ladies God bless them &c). I am ambitious and would not be worthy of myself. Granges, Registration of Commerce between the states &c. Agriculture, Mechanics and labor constitute the foundation rock upon which the whole structure of Government rests. Distinguished men who have been farmers and mechanics & Adam and the great father…I would rather…upon governments the dust of the field &c…I had hoped that the baneful planet of fire and blood have been chased away &c Glory to God in the highest."
The 5 x 7.5 leatherbound autograph album contains the autographs of 30 politicians, plus a ticket to the Gallery for the Impeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson on May 16, 1868, and a rare undated admission ticket to the U.S. Senate. March 16th was a critical date in the trial, as the Senate first voted on one of the articles of impeachment. Prosecutors chose the eleventh article—'Bringing disgrace and ridicule to the presidency by his aforementioned words and actions'—as the one with the most support in the Senate. A tally of 35 guilty to 19 not guilty fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed for conviction.
Signers include: Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch, who served from 1865 to 1869 and again from 1884 to 1885; Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who served from 1862 to 1867 and again for five months in 1868; former Secretary of the Treasury William P. Fessenden, who served in that role from 1864 to 1865; and former Secretary of War Simon Cameron, who held that position from 1861 to 1862. Both Fessenden and Cameron were U.S. Senators in 1867 and 1868. Other prominent politicians who signed the album include Benjamin F. Butler of Massachusetts, Ira Harris of New York, Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, Robert C. Schenck of Ohio, Nathaniel P. Banks of Massachusetts, Zachariah Chandler of Michigan, James W. Grimes of Iowa, Henry S. Lane of Indiana, William Sprague of Rhode Island, and Henry Wilson of Massachusetts. Butler, Schenck, and Banks were all Civil War generals before serving in Congress. In very good to fine condition, with scattered staining and a short edge tear to the speech draft, and cover wear to the album.
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