Not long after the terrible defeat of Union troops at the first Battle of Bull Run, a Texas based arms merchant named Thomas Lincoln, was captured as he tried to cross into the South. Among the items in his baggage was Senator Bright's letter, dated March 1, 1861, from to "His Excellency Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederation of States":
My dear Sir:
Allow me to introduce to your acquaintance my friend, Thomas B. Lincoln of
Texas. He visits your capital mainly to dispose of what he regards a great
improvement in fire-arms. I recommend him to your favorable consideration as a
gentleman of the first respectability, and reliable in every respect.
There was deep and serious discussion about what would happen to Bright at the mercy of a Republican controlled Senate, particularly in view of the fact that he had ruthlessly denounced and penalized those who maintained that abolitionism was part of loyalty to the Union and he also thought the Insurrection wouldn't last and that nothing could heal the rupture of the Southern states.
On December 16, 1861, at the beginning of its session, Senator Morton Wilkinson, a Republican of Minnesota, introduced the resolution to expel Bright on the basis that the letter to Jefferson Davis was ample evidence of disloyalty to the Union, and the resolution was sent to the Judiciary Committee, consisting of two Democrats and five Republicans.
At the heart of Bright's defense was the question of the state of relations between the Union and Confederacy on March 1, 1861, the date of the letter. He argued that no fighting had yet occurred and the break was then considered not to be permanent or irreparable.
Bright argued in his defense that he did not specifically remember writing that letter because he frequently wrote such letters on behalf of his friends and constituents. However, early in his career, Bright had served as Thomas Lincoln's attorney and, in 1861 and that he felt it was nothing serious to commend his qualities to his former US Senate colleague, Jefferson Davis. Bright contended that, in addressing his letter to "His Excellency, Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederation of States," he had simply followed the conventions of the day, using a polite form of address customary between two gentlemen and using the title Davis claimed at the time.
This, however, became the weakest point in Bright's case. The opposition Senators depicted accurately that Jefferson Davis was already the arch- traitor who, in March 1861, was hurriedly assembling a massive amount of weapons to attack on the federal garrison at Fort Sumter. Thus, Bright's introduction of a Texas arms dealer to Davis was clearly an act of treason and they brought up as incriminatory his wording and his references to "His Excellency" and "your capital."
Although his few defenders pointed out if anything, he was only culpable for his indiscretion and his bad timing but the Republican opposition went forth with the fact, obvious to all, that he had defiled and violated his oath to defend the Constitution against foreign and domestic enemies.
Response of the Senate
The Judiciary Committee reported to the Senate on January
13, 1862, that it found the charges were not sufficient to justify expulsion. Most
significantly, however, one committee member, Lafayette Foster (R-CT), later
changed his vote and supported expulsion with the reasoning being that he had
voted against expelling Bright for a letter written on March 1, 1861, because
he had followed the precedent set by the Senate when it declined on March 14 to
expel Jefferson Davis and other senators from the South, and just declared that
their seats were "vacant."
Debate began January 20 and continued off and on until February 5, 1862, the most injurious speech made by the abolitionist Massachusetts Republican Senator Charles Sumner, demanding that the Senate purge itself of all traitors. The vote came February 5.
During the five hour session, Bright summed up his case. "From the hour this war actually commenced, I have had in view . . . one single object--the reunion of these States." Commenting that the Republicans had already made the final decision, he declared that he was only setting forth his case for posterity. After his remarks, Bright picked up his belongings from his desk and left the Senate Floor, followed by the Senate by a vote of 32 to 14, expelling him, the fourth non-southern senator, after Breckinridge, Johnson, and Polk, to be kicked out during the war. Bright returned to Indiana and sought reelection to the balance of his Senate term, but the state legislature, which was under Democratic control, refused to return him to Washington. Bright then moved to Kentucky and was elected to that state's legislature. In 1874 he moved to Baltimore, where he died in 1875.
Source: U.S. Senate Historical Office, United States Senate Election, Expulsion and Censure Cases: 1793-1990 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1995), pp. 106-108.
>>>>>>>>>>
Taking the hint to resign: Sen. Robert Packwood, R-Ore resigned in 1995 after facing expulsion stemming from Senator Mitch McConnell-led Senate Ethics Committee investigation into sexual harassment charges, and Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, resigned under expulsion threat following his 2007 arrest at a Minneapolis airport bathroom in an undercover sex sting. Sen. John Ensign., R-Nev., resigned from the Senate in 2011 the wake of a financial and sex scandal.
>>>>>>>>>>
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
1
1
