Judge Humphreys at the beginning of the Civil War had engaged actively in the secession movement, but had not resigned his position as judge of the Federal District Court for Tennes see. In May 1862, the House preferred against him seven articles of impeachment, based on a secession speech made by him at Nashville, 29 Dec. 1860, on his acceptance of office under the Confederacy, and on his action in the arrest and imprisonment of W. G. Brownlow, a citizen of the United States, in violation of his rights. Humphreys made no defense and on 26 June 1862 he was convicted by unanimous vote of the Senate. The proceeding was merely a formal means of declaring his office vacant.
Justice Samuel Chase of the Supreme Court appointed by President Washington in 1796. an able but partisan judge who frequently indulged in political harangues in his jury charges, and who had incensed the Jeffersonian Republicans of the House by his conduct in certain trials under the Sedition Law, was impeached before the Senate in December 1804 on eight charges relating to arbitrary and unjust conduct, and to highly indecent and extra-judicial reflections upon the government of the United States be fore the Maryland grand jury. He was found not guilty, probably because it was believed that this conduct had been rather a violation of the principles of politeness than of the principles of law; rather the want of decorum than the com mission of high crime and misdemeanons Judge J. A. Peck of the Federal District Court for Missouri was impeached in 1830 on the charge of unduly punishing, for contempt of court, an attorney who had published a criticism of a decision of the judge in a land case (1827). He was acquitted by a vote of 24 against 21.
The case of William Blount, senator from Tennessee, seems to have settled that senators and representatives are not impeachable, on the ground that they are not civil officers. On 7 July 1797, the House, having evidence that Senator Blount was conspiring to transfer New Orleans and adjacent territory from Spain to Great Britain, by means of a hostile military expedition from the territory of the United States, decided to impeach him. Two days later, he was expelled from the Senate, and soon thereafter he was elected to the Tennessee senate. In December 1798, the House managers presented the case before the Senate of the United States for trial. Blount did not appear, but his counsel (Jared Ingersoll and A. J. Dallas) entered a plea that the Senate had no jurisdiction, since a senator is not a scivil offi cers of the United States. The Senate sus
tained his plea and Blount was discharged for want ofjurisdiction. The defense also made the plea that Blount, having been expelled, was no longer a senator, and could not be punished after he was out of office for acts done while he was in office.
It is still an open question whether an officer can escape impeachment and trial before the Senate by resignation or dismissal from office. This subject was discussed in the case of Wil liam W. Belknap, who was impeached in 1876 for using his position as Secretary of War as a means of securing bribes from an Indian agent whom he had appointed at Fort Sill. A few hours before his impeachment he resigned his office and his resignation was accepted by the President. Belknap's counsel made the plea that the House had no power to impeach anyone who by resignation or otherwise had ceased to be sa civil officer of the United States.° By a vote of 37 to 29 the Senate decided that Bel knap was amenable to trial by impeachment. On most of the articles 36 senators voted and 25 voted snot guilty?) and thus Belknap was acquitted. More than one-third of the Senate refused to vote for conviction, on the ground of lack of jurisdiction over an officer who had resigned. This precedent may not be regarded in future cases, however.
The most prominent case of impeachment in our history was that of President Andrew Johnson. It was the result of the violent con troversies concerning policies of reconstruction, and was inspired largely by party motives. The President vetoed some of the most important measures of Congress and belligerently con demned its policy of reconstruction. Congress passed all important measures over his veto, and sought to reduce his power and influence in other ways, especially by the Tenure of Office Act of March 1867. Johnson denounced Con gress in very intemperate language, and by de manding the resignation of Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War, attempted to ignore the Tenure of Office Act which had stripped from him the power to remove executive officials. The House was thoroughly aroused, and on 3 March 1868 brought articles of impeachment against him, on 11 charges, principally of a political nature and based chiefly on his alleged violation of the Tenure of Office Act. The event was considered, so momentous that the Senate in accord with the conviction of the chief justice who presided, drew up and adopted its own formal rules of procedure.