President Schuyler Colfax

John Wilkes Booth's conspiracy included assassinating President Lincoln (which he succeeded in doing), Vice President Andrew Johnson, and Secretary of State William H. Seward. George Atzerodt, the intended assassin for Andrew Johnson got drunk that night and did not fulfill his role. Had Atzerodt assassinated Andrew Johnson, Speaker of the House Schuyler Colfax would have assumed the presidency. Colfax was controversial as Grant's vice president because he was caught up in so many scandals. When Grant ran for reelection, he replaced Colfax with Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson.
 
Actually, President pro tempre Lafeyette S. Foster would have become acting president in this case. The speaker did not become second in the line of succession until the 1880s.
 
Actually, President pro tempore Lafayette S. Foster would have become acting president in this case. The speaker did not become second in the line of succession until the 1880s.
Thank you for clarifying that with me. When I was reading another recent thread about the same subject, I assumed one of the posters were skipping Speaker of the House in the Presidential Line of Succession or that Schuyler Colfax was for some reason ineligible to assume the presidency.
 
Actually, President pro tempre Lafeyette S. Foster would have become acting president in this case. The speaker did not become second in the line of succession until the 1880s.

No, what happened in the 1880's is that both the President Pro Tempore *and* the Speaker were taken out of the line of succession by the 1886 Act. "In 1886, following the death of Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks in the previous year, a new Presidential Succession Act was adopted,[4] replacing the President "pro tempore" of the United States Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the list with the members of the Presidential Cabinet. The order of succession was determined by the order in which each cabinet department had been created—with the Secretary of State being first in line after the Vice President." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Succession_Act It was only with the 1947 Act that the Speaker became next in line after the vice-president.

All this of course doesn't mean that Schuyler Colfax couldn't become POTUS. All it requires is for President Grant to have a fatal disease or accident (or be assassinated) between 1869 and 1873.
 
Actually, President pro tempre Lafeyette S. Foster would have become acting president in this case. The speaker did not become second in the line of succession until the 1880s.

And in any case there was no Speaker in April 1865, as the new HoR had not yet met. Colfax was not chosen until Congress assembled in December.

This raises a point I can't recall seeing in scenarios like this. Had Johnson been killed and Foster become president (actual or Acting) then should anything happen to him he would have no legal successor. So I think we may assume that in such a situation he would call at least one chamber into session, either the HoR to allow a Speaker to be chosen, or the Senate so that in the event of his death it could immediately choose another Pres Pro-Tem.

However, it is at least conceivable that he might go further than that. Can we imagine him summoning both Houses, to allow passage of a new Act extending the line of succession further - most likely to Cabinet officers - to make the situation completely secure.

One possible butterfly. If Congress is back, it might find other things to do. One obvious possibility would be an amendment repudiating the Confederate debt and barring compensation for slaves - IOW Sec 4 of the 14th Amt, but as "stand alone" article. If this happened, would there be votes enough later to pass the rest of the 14th iirc it cleared the Senate with only three votes to spare.

Alternatively, Congress might go for the full 14A a year early - but then it comes up a year early, while the South is still reeling from defeat. , and they probably won't reject it as OTL. Either way, interesting results.
 

Bulldoggus

Banned
This raises a point I can't recall seeing in scenarios like this. Had Johnson been killed and Foster become president (actual or Acting) then should anything happen to him he would have no legal successor. So I think we may assume that in such a situation he would call at least one chamber into session, either the HoR to allow a Speaker to be chosen, or the Senate so that in the event of his death it could immediately choose another Pres Pro-Tem.
Pro-Tem is the longest-serving guy in the majority party.
 
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