History: The Chase Impeachment and The Elections of 1860 - Essay Example

Running Head: HISTORY History: The Chase Impeachment and The Elections of 1860 The Chase Impeachment 1804 An impeachment trial is a political process whereby the government decides whether an impeached official should be expelled from office or convicted of legal offense. This way, any official suspected of illegal acts can be removed or condemned while the official post is reclaimed by a worthy alternate. The Chase Impeachment of 1804 was carried out against Samuel Chase, then the US Supreme Court Justice – thus the name. Chase had gained controversy due to his rebellion against the US government. During the elections of 1800, Chase had earned the enmity of Thomas Jefferson’s alliance due to his prosecutions of journalists who wrote in favor of Jefferson while criticizing his competitor, John Adams. Despite this, Jefferson was able to win a majority and seize the government of the country. Once in office, Jefferson repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801 and implemented numerous changes in courts and court procedures countrywide. Chase raised voice in protest on this lawlessness and unguided government decisions regarding the judicial system of the country. Thereafter, Chase was indicted with eight articles, including the prosecutions of James Callender, the author of a book which had criticized the Adams and favored Jefferson, and John Fries, who was a staunch supporter of Jefferson and had led rebellions against Federal Excise Taxes (FET). Chase is believed to have ruled in favor of the Federal government numerous times. The Jefferson Democratic Republicans were offended when Chase criticized their policies in front of the Baltimore Grand Jury in 1803. The Jefferson alliance vowed to indict Chase for such an offense against the prevailing government. Chase had remarked that such changes as had been made by the Jeffersonian government would “rapidly destroy all protection to property, and all security to personal liberty, and our Republican constitution would sink into mobocracy, the worst of all possible governments… The modern doctrines by our late reformers, that all men in a state of society are entitled to enjoy equal liberty and equal rights, have brought this mighty mischief upon us, and I fear that it will rapidly destroy progress, until peace and order, freedom and property shall be destroyed” (Chase, 1803). This had further infuriated the government. In 1805, the US Senate moved to impeach Chase. Jeffersonian Republicans claimed he had committed judicial misconduct and had tried to influence politics without adequate know-how. The Federalists argued that Chase had not committed any legally recognized crime, and hence could not be convicted according to the legal code of conduct. The Republicans failed to gain the two-third majority of the Senate in convicting Chase and hence Chase was subsequently vindicated of the charges and allowed to serve office till his death. (Impeachment trial of Samuel Chase) This was the only trial of its kind in the entire history of United States. The Chase impeachment trial was more of a political battle than legal, and was solved on the same grounds instead of the legality of arguments. The political outcome for such a case was the popularity of the fact that a judge cannot be removed on the basis of political incompetence. This also marked the beginning of judicial courts operating under the influence of political system. The near impeachment of Justice Chase served as a warning for himself as well as other judges to stay aloof from politics while in office. Though Chase did not entirely eliminate his deliberations about politics and the government, he resorted to becoming less vocal about his views. His post was subsequently occupied by Justice Marshall during his declining years. The Elections of 1860 The Elections of 1860 accurately registered the precarious condition of the country which had intense divisions among the American nation. During the mid nineteenth century, the debate over slavery had come to a breaking point. Following James Buchanan’s reign (1857-1861), the subsequent elections were held in 1860. During the 1860 elections, four nominees were elected. Firstly, Abraham Lincoln was nominated by The Republican Party. He had previously contested in the 1856 elections. He opposed the expansion of slavery, though the party he represented could be regarded as moderate on this account. He contested from the Northern American region. He was subsequently able to win the elections with an overall majority and formed the republican government shortly afterwards. Secondly, The Democratic Party had split into two due to a disagreement regarding slavery laws. The Southerners complained that it had been incapable to secure federal slave code in western territory. The Southerners therefore separated ways from the Democratic Party. The Northerners then appointed Stephan Douglas for Presidency on their behalf. Their notion on slavery was to keep such discussions out of government deliberations and let the people domestically decide its fate. This is believed to be the parting point of the Northern and Southern wings. Thirdly, the Southerners reconvened in Richmond and nominated the then Vice-President of the country, John Breckinridge for presidency. Their stand on slavery was that the rights of slaveholders, as with non-slaveholders, were to be constitutionally safeguarded, entitling them to move across states and territories along with their property, including slaves. The Southern wing believed the Northern Wing’s notion would permit and even protect slavery within the territorial areas. They equated slavery to free labor in respecting the honor and security of these slaves, and hence found it objectionable that slavery was allowed to take root in the territorial regions. (The Election of 1860) The fourth and last nominee for presidency was from the Constitutional Union Party – John Bell. He was represented in the South, against John Breckinridge. Their motive on slavery was rather the eradication of sectional divisions, and a unified patriotic rallying for the Union. This means that Constitutional Union Party was generally against slavery; instead it promoted free and equal rights’ regime. The contest that followed was rather divided between the North and the South. In the North, Lincoln and Douglas competed for popularity whereas in South, Breckinridge and Bell were opponents in the political war. Neither of the representatives gained any substantial representation in the other hemisphere. The elections resulted in Lincoln gaining a popular vote in seventeen free states (North) whereas Breckinridge was popularly supported in eleven slave states (South). Neither was able to win any state in the other region. Breckinridge was unable to achieve an overall majority vote – Breckinridge failed to remain popular even in South, losing fifty-five percent of the vote to a combined opposition. Thus Abraham Lincoln was able to form the government following the elections in 1860. However, his notion on slavery was not acceptable by the South. Soon afterwards, the Southern states started withdrawing from the Union, paving way for the Civil War (1861-1865) and making the divide between the North and South eminent. (West Virginia Division of Culture and History) References Gale Encyclopedia of US History. (n.d). Impeachment Trial of Samuel Chase. Answers.com. Retrieved from http://www.answers.com/topic/impeachment-trial-of-samuel-chase Chase, S. (1803). Samuel Chase – The Samuel Chase Impeachment Trial. Law Library- American Law and Legal Information. Retrieved from http://law.jrank.org/pages/5152/Chase-Samuel.html The Election of 1860. (n.d). In Tulane. Retrieved from http://www.tulane.edu/~latner/Background/BackgroundElection.html West Virginia Division of Culture and History. (n.d). The Election of 1860. West Virginia Archives and History. Retrieved from http://www.wvculture.org/history/statehood/statehood02.html Read More