Other radical Republicans then joined him in condemning Johnson. They made many charges. But they offered little evidence to support the charges.
VOICE TWO:
Johnson's lawyers called for facts, instead of emotion. They said the Constitution required the radicals to prove that the president had committed serious crimes. Andrew Johnson had committed no crime, they said. This was purely a political trial.
They warned of serious damage to the American form of government if the president was removed for political reasons. No future president would be safe, they said, if opposed by a majority of the House and two-thirds of the Senate.
VOICE ONE:
The impeachment trial
The trial went on day after day. The decision would be close. Fifty-four senators would be voting. Thirty-six votes of guilty were needed to remove the president from office.
It soon became clear that the radicals had thirty-five of these votes. Only seven senators remained undecided. If one of the seven voted guilty, Johnson would be removed.
Radicals put great pressure on the seven men. They tried to buy their votes. Party leaders threatened them. Supporters in the senators' home states were told to write hundreds of letters demanding that Johnson be found guilty.
VOICE TWO:
A senator from Maine was one who felt the pressure. But he refused to let it force him to do what others wished. He answered one letter this way:
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2013-11-25
2013-11-25
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2013-11-25