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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC00254 |
| From Archive Folder | Documents Relating to the 1860s |
| Title | Manuscript denouncing Benjamin Wade |
| Date | ca.1868 |
| Author | Welles, Gideon (1802-1878) |
| Document Type | Diary |
| Content Description | Welles rails against Congress, and Senate President Pro Tem Benjamin Wade in particular. Probably written during the Johnson impeachment crisis. Welles was a Johnson supporter and a strong opponent of Wade. If Johnson’s impeachment had resulted in removal from office, Wade would have become president. Welles noted in his diary that the thought of the much disliked Radical Republican Wade becoming president may have, in and of itself, prevented Johnson’s conviction. Excerpt: “What a virtuous, abstinent and reserved imbecile would our radical Ohio Senator become were he only made President. He would have no policy of his own - would be nobody but a mere subservient tool of the managing intrigues of the legislative department of the government. Thank God, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson and all of our Presidents from the beginning have been unlike Wade the radical. There has been no President however weak in other respects who has not had a policy and opinion of his own. In reverting to the measures pursued by our government during the eight years of the administration of Genl Washington commencing in 1789 we speak and so does history of the policy of Washington and not of the policy of the Ben Wades or others who happened to be in Congress…Jay’s treaty…and other measures, foreign and domestic are justly known and characterized as the policy of Washington…The funding system which originated with Hamilton & Wolcott and was opposed by Jefferson and others was adopted by Washington and made a part of the policy of his administration…So with the policy of the John Adams’ administration… Who is there, so stupid and ignorant as to characterise the policy of Jefferson with its beneficial and multiplied blessings as a congressional policy. What schoolboy is there who will pretend that the wise and comprehensive measures which indicated the profound ability and statesmanship of the grand apostle of liberty during the exciting period of the Napoleon Wars as the policy of Congress. Had the President then…been the mere cypher and non-entity which Senator Wade says he would be, our country would have sunk in disgrace…The embargo, the non-intercourse - the War of 1812 were measures of administration supported by one party and opposed by another in Congress, but no historian or statesman or man of general intelligence ever speaks of them as the policy of Congress…The policy of Mr Madison which broke down the existing parties, was never mentioned or alluded to as a matter of congressional action....who is there that will pretend that the measures of administration from 1829 to 1837…were not measures of Andrew Jackson…?” |
| Subjects | Lincoln's Cabinet Impeachment Politics Government and Civics President Congress Republican Party Treaty Global History and Civics Embargo War of 1812 Reconstruction |
| People | Welles, Gideon (1802-1878) Johnson, Andrew (1808-1875) Wade, Benjamin Franklin (1800-1878) |
| Place written | s.l. |
| Theme | Reconstruction; The Presidency |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1860-1945 |
| Additional Information | In February 1868, after ongoing debate regarding the issue of reconstruction, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Johnson. Johnson's trial began in March 1868, and the Senate failed by one vote to convict and remove him from office. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Civil War, Reconstruction and the Modern Era: 1860-1945 |