ent. With short debate and with little delay the Senate passed
a resolution declaring "that under the Constitution and laws of the
United States, the President has no power to remove the Secretary of
War and to designate any other officer to perform the duties of that
office _ad interim_." The Senate could do nothing more than express
and record this opinion, but it did that promptly, resentfully, almost
passionately.

The House took up the matter in hot temper and in hot haste. A
flagrant offense against the Constitution and the laws had, in the
judgment of a majority of its members, been committed by the President.
In defiance of the letter and spirit of the Tenure-of-office Act he had
removed the Secretary of War from office. He had done this under
circumstances of peculiar aggravation, because the Senate had passed
upon all his reason therefor when the question of Mr. Stanton's
suspension was before that body; and if even the suspension was not
justifiable, how very grave must be the offense of removing the
Secretary from office! These views and the discussion to which they
led engrossed the attention of the House as soon as it was known that
the President had sent a message to the Senate communicating his
action in regard to Mr. Stanton. The Senate had no sooner recorded
its dissent from the Executive power of removal than Mr. Covode of
Pennsylvania, on the same day, rose to a privileged question in the
House and offered a resolution that "_Andrew Johnson, President of the
United States, be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors_." The
resolution was referred to the Committee on Reconstruction and the
House adjourned. On the next day (February 22d) Mr. Stevens, chairman
of the Reconstruction Committee, reported the resolution back to the
House with the recommendation that it pass, suggesting that the
question might immediately be taken without debate.

--Mr. Brooks of New York had hoped for time to prepare a minority
report, but contented himself with a long speech earnestly protesting
against the Impeachment. "Suppose," said he, "you succeed. You settle
that hereafter a party having a sufficient majority in the House and
the Senate can depose the President of the United States. You
establish a precedent which all future parties in all time to come will
look to. The curse of other countries, the curse of France, the curse
of the South-American Republics, has been that they followed such a
precedent