A Courageous
Man
Who was
United States Senator Edmund G. Ross of Kansas? I suppose you could call him a
"Mr. Nobody." No law bears his name. Not a single list of Senate
"greats" mentions his service. Yet when Ross entered the Senate in
1866, he was considered the man to watch. He seemed destined to surpass his
colleagues, but he tossed it all away by one courageous act of conscience.
Let's set
the stage. Conflict was dividing our government in the wake of the Civil War.
President Andrew Johnson was determined to follow Lincoln's policy of
reconciliation toward the defeated South. Congress, however, wanted to rule the
downtrodden Confederate states with an iron hand. Congress decided to strike
first. Shortly after Senator Ross was seated, the Senate introduced impeachment
proceedings against the hated President. The radicals calculated that they
needed thirty-six votes, and smiled as they concluded that the thirty-sixth was
none other than Ross'. The new senator listened to the vigilante talk. But to
the surprise of many, he declared that the president "deserved as fair a
trial as any accused man has ever had on earth." The word immediately went
out that his vote was "shaky." Ross received an avalanche of
anti-Johnson telegrams from every section of the country. Radical senators
badgered him to "come to his senses."
The fateful
day of the vote arrived. The courtroom galleries were packed. Tickets for
admission were at an enormous premium. As a deathlike stillness fell over the
Senate chamber, the vote began. By the time they reached Ross, twenty-four
"guilties" had been announced. Eleven more were certain. Only Ross'
vote was needed to impeach the President. Unable to conceal his emotion, the
Chief Justice asked in a trembling voice, "Mr. Senator Ross, how vote you?
Is the respondent Andrew Johnson guilty as charged?" Ross later explained,
at that moment, "I looked into my open grave. Friendships, position,
fortune, and everything that makes life desirable to an ambitions man were
about to be swept away by the breath of my mouth, perhaps forever." Then,
the answer came -- unhesitating, unmistakable: "Not guilty!" With
that, the trial was over. And the response was as predicted.
A high
public official from Kansas wired Ross to say: "Kansas repudiates you as
she does all perjurers and skunks." The "open grave" vision had
become a reality. Ross' political career was in ruins. Extreme ostracism, and
even physical attack awaited his family upon their return home. One gloomy day
Ross turned to his faithful wife and said, "Millions cursing me today will
bless me tomorrow...though not but God can know the struggle it has cost
me." It was a prophetic declaration.
-----
Twenty years later
Congress and the Supreme Court verified the wisdom of his position, by changing
the laws related to impeachment. Ross was appointed Territorial Governor of New
Mexico. Then, just prior to his death, he was awarded a special pension by
Congress. The press and country took this opportunity to honor his courage
which, they finally concluded, had saved our country from crisis and
division.
Source: Jon Johnston, Courage - You Can Stand
Strong in the Face of Fear, SP Publications, pp. 56-58.
Whatever you do, you need courage. Whatever course you decide upon,
there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong. There are always
difficulties arising that tempt you to believe your critics are right. To map
out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same
courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men
and women to win them. -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
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