Plausibility Check: Abraham Lincoln impeached post-Civil War

Don't know if this kind of thing has been asked before, but was curious none the less. And the full question was kinda hard to fit into the title slot.

This is from an ATL WI where Lincoln was never assassinated.

Since Lincoln, after winning the Civil War, was on a platform of a smoother reconstruction/recovery with the South, with less punishments and whatnot, than most of his colleagues were, (who wanted to royally spank the South for it's actions) would this have created a rift between him and his party had he not been assassinated? And if so, would it possibly lead to him being threatened with impeachment??

Is this a plausible scenario, or just a buncha ASB-poo?
 
When a president is assassinated a halo of martyrdom (remember saintly Garfield?) descends upon and we pretty much forget all the bad stuff he ever did. One can look at the legacy of John F. Kennedy some see only Camelot and others see the cracks in the walls and the fake facade.

In regards to Lincoln I suspect it would be hard to really consider impeachment likely since we have built such a myth about him that we really disregard material that comes into conflict with the 'Lincoln Myth'. However, keeping an open mind, I would consider it likely that the Radical Republicans would impeach Lincoln for going soft on the South. Impeached probably but not likely removed from office. Lincoln would have won the war and then lost the peace.
 
Probably quite possible, since it was done to Johnson and Lincoln wouldn't have the aforementioned aura of near-sainthood and mythology around him. His opponents also wouldn't have forgotten the suspension of due process during the war. Johnson essentially tried to continue Lincoln's post-war policies.
 
ASB, for one simple reason -- Congress has never, and will never, impeach a President from they're own party.

Seriously, unless the Democrats somehow collapse as a political force before 1868, Congressional Republicans absolutely are not going to shoot themselves in the foot like this.
 
ASB, for one simple reason -- Congress has never, and will never, impeach a President from they're own party.

Seriously, unless the Democrats somehow collapse as a political force before 1868, Congressional Republicans absolutely are not going to shoot themselves in the foot like this.

Hmmm, good point. But I'm sure a rift would still be created, for the percieved "softness" towards the South.

So no impeachment, but he'd probably lose some support. Maybe.

Thanks guys for the replies
 
While I do see much stress and strife between Lincoln and radical Republicans, I find it hard to imagine that they'd turn on him to this degree (impeachment). Regardless, as David suggested above, the legacy of Lincoln after 8 years in office might very well be "He won the war but lost the peace."
 
Hmmm, good point. But I'm sure a rift would still be created, for the percieved "softness" towards the South.

So no impeachment, but he'd probably lose some support. Maybe.

Plausible, I suppose -- though I myself would never bet against Abraham Lincoln, particularly as a politician, and especially as a coalition builder.
 
Plausible, I suppose -- though I myself would never bet against Abraham Lincoln, particularly as a politician, and especially as a coalition builder.


I don't see why they have to clash that seriously. Lincoln is unlikely to challenge Congress head-on the way Johnson did. Most likely he goes for something like William-M-Stewart's proposal, of a modified 14th Amendment granting universal amnesty , but requiring that all laws and (future) voter qualifications be colour-blind. This plan was sometimes referred to as "Universal Amnesty and Universal Suffrage" though the latter part wasn't entirely true as it allowed existing 1860 voters to be exempted from literacy etc tests imposed on new voters. Some Radicals would havwe grumbled that it was too soft on the South, but most Republicans would probably have swallowed it.
 
Suppose some events occured to radicalize Lincoln, Mary murdered in the attempt to kill the President, other officials also killed and some really well publicized nasty massacre of freedmetn + white Unionists in the South.

Had Lincoln decided to push a radical programe might conservatives Republicans and Democrats try to unite against him and even threaten impeachment
 
You would need a big event happening to get a Lincoln impeachment. The radical Reps would be able to override a Lincoln veto if he did do that on certain policies and as said Lincoln was a much more astute and saavy politician than Johnson and would not have gone loggerheads with the congress.

Sure Lincoln and the Radicals wouldn't have been happy with each other on numerous issues but unless some big even happened or some different personalities entered congress in 1866 I doubt impeachment would have happened.
 
You would need a big event happening to get a Lincoln impeachment. The radical Reps would be able to override a Lincoln veto if he did do that on certain policies and as said Lincoln was a much more astute and saavy politician than Johnson and would not have gone loggerheads with the congress.

Sure Lincoln and the Radicals wouldn't have been happy with each other on numerous issues but unless some big event happened or some different personalities entered congress in 1866 I doubt impeachment would have happened.

Union victory puts Lincoln on a pedestal so high that the likes of Thaddeus Stevens (frex) couldn't reach the soles of Lincoln's shoes with a four story fire ladder.
 
ASB, for one simple reason -- Congress has never, and will never, impeach a President from they're own party.

Seriously, unless the Democrats somehow collapse as a political force before 1868, Congressional Republicans absolutely are not going to shoot themselves in the foot like this.

they did it to andrew johnson
 
they did it to andrew johnson

Johnson was a special case. A once and future Democrat turned nominally "Unionist" (ie Rep) his Southern policies led to him being more or less read out of the party so that his impeachment would give the White House to a "real" Republican. It would have been impossible to do this to Lincoln, who in any case was far too smart to get into a situation where two-thirds of the Senate wanted him out.
 
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