With Donald Trumpâs second impeachment trial only a couple weeks away, letâs take a few (long) minutes out of our day to learn about a one Mr. William Worth Belknap.
William Belknap was an American citizen who lived from 1829-1890. Born in New York, he graduated from law school and practiced as a lawyer until the civil war broke out in 1861. Having had some previous military experience, he joined the union army and quickly ascended the ranks. He took part in numerous engagements, including Shiloh and Corinth, served as a regimental, brigade, division, and corps commander, and served in high-level staff positions. By the end of the war, Belknapâs career was that of a decorated war hero. He was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers, and finally received a promotion to major general.
His career continued when in 1869, president Ulysses S. Grant appointed him as the United States Secretary of War, a cabinet position responsible for overseeing part of Americaâs military forces. Mr. Belknap held this position for over 6 years, during which he helped provide aid after the Great Chicago Fire, instructed his forces to try members of the Ku Klux Klan in coordination with the justice department, and participated in various other engagements and agreements during the reconstruction era. His accomplishments as secretary of war are nothing incredibly special or historic. What is, however, is how he left his job.
See, William Belknap was well known for throwing very extravagant, luxurious parties. He and his wife indulged the politicians in DC with lavish get-togethers that featured expensive jewelry, high end drinks, and fancy clothes. They earned a reputation of being Washingtonâs high rollers; the stereotypical rich and powerful couple whose parties were attended by anyone whoâs who.
So it came as quite a surprise to some when in 1876, word got out that William Belknap had received tens of thousands of dollars in bribes, equal to hundreds of thousands in todayâs money. As Secretary of war, his annual salary was only about $8,000 a year, much less than what you would expect of someone whoâs known for throwing extravagant bangers. So an investigation was opened into his role at the department of war, and after mounting sufficient evidence that illicit bribes were accepted by him and his wife, the United States House of Representatives moved to introduce articles of impeachment against William Belknap.
William, aware that impeachment would ruin his reputation as a war hero and possibly subject him to criminal prosecution, got word of the Housesâ resolution to impeach him before the articles were introduced. In an attempt to prevent the impeachment processes from continuing, he raced to the White House to submit his resignation to President Grant before the articles of impeachment were passed. He succeeded, and Grant accepted his resignation on March 2nd, 1876, at 10:20am.
At around 11:00am that day, the House of Representatives was informed of Belknapâs resignation. This caused quite a commotion in the House; they were not sure whether or not impeachment could be applied to someone who was not holding office, and there was no precedent for such an occasion. After hearing arguments from both committee members and lawyers representing Belknap, and referring to Englandâs original process of impeachment, the House of Representatives concluded that since the crimes were committed while William was holding office, they still had the constitutional authority to impeach him. So they did.
On March 2nd, 1876, five articles of impeachment charging William Belknap with bribery were introduced and voted on by the House of Representatives, after he had resigned his post as secretary of war. All five articles passed the House of Representatives with a unanimous vote, and William Belknap became the first private citizen to be impeached by the House of Representatives for crimes committed in an office he no longer held.
The articles of impeachment were sent to the senate, where a debate over whether or not they could even hold a trial ensued. Belknapâs lawyers argued that the senate did not have the jurisdiction to hold an impeachment trial of a private citizen. House managers argued that they did. A vote was held, and the senate voted 37-29 to hold the trial of William Belknap. During the trial, the senate heard from over 40 witnesses. Although there was unanimous agreement that he was guilty of the crimes outlined in the articles of impeachment, many senators still believed that they did not have the authority to convict him of the charges. The final vote on conviction was 35 guilty and 25 not guilty, five short of the two-thirds majority needed to return a guilty verdict. William Belknap was acquitted of all charges, and it is widely believed that his quick resignation prevented a guilty verdict and any subsequent prosecution.
Williamâs story as the secretary of war marks an important precedent in the power of impeachment within the federal government. His entire impeachment and trial, from the time the articles were introduced until the vote to aquit, happened while he did not hold any office. His charges of bribery and resulting acquittalïżŒ is proof that a person can be impeached by the House after they leave office, and they can stand trial in the Senate as a private citizen on charges of impeachment. That is a precedent that still stands today, and will be reinforced in the coming weeks.
And yet, no government official since William Belknap has been impeached and tried after they have left office. Impeachment is incredibly rare, with only 21 instances since the creation of America. The constitution is annoyingly vague when it comes to impeachment; it does not explicitly say whether or not a person must be in office to be impeached. And since cases of impeachment have no appeals, and cannot be transferred to the judicial branch, there is no official court ruling on whether or not post-term impeachments are valid.
That takes us to today, the end of January, 2021. Former President Donald Trump was impeached a little over a week ago, while he was still the president of the United States. It was historical in just about every single aspect of American impeachment. Not only was he the first president to be impeached for âinciting an insurrectionâ, and not only was he the first president who was impeached twice, but he will become the first private citizen since William Belknap to stand trial in the United States Senate, and the first as a former president.
The first as a former president, but not the first as a private citizen.
The United States Senate was given the power to try impeachments and convict on a 2/3 vote, with the direction that a guilty verdict results in âdisqualification to hold and enjoy any Office of honor, Trust or Profit under the United Statesâ. And itâs on this basis, emboldened by the historical precedent of William Belknap, that Donald Trumpâs trial will be held. Not to remove from power a president that has been charged with wrongdoing, but to prevent a private citizen from ever running for office again.
There are going to be a lot of parallels between the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump and the impeachment trial of William Belknap. Arguments will be made that itâs a waste of time to impeach someone that is not in office. Some will say itâs unconstitutional. There will be debates about whether or not the senate can convict a private citizen. Already, before the trial has begun, Republican members of congress are setting up Donald Trump to ram home the defense that a post-term impeachment is a moot point, and therefore heâs innocent. And history tells us that strategy works. William Belknap was acquitted because members of congress didnât think they had the authority to try and convict him, and if Donald trump can convince enough senators thatâs the truth, then he will probably be acquitted as well.
But history also tells us the impeachment trial of William Belknap disgraced his name and ruined his image for the rest of his life. Andra Belknap, a descendant of William, wrote that âhis civil war heroism, however, has been largely forgotten by history- even forgotten by his own family. His impeachment is what remains in the history booksâ. After his acquittal, he tried and failed at running for president in 1880, with the stench of impeachment following him wherever he went. He ended up quitting politics and returned to New York to work as a lawyer, never to serve in public office again.
History has yet to write what will happen to Donald Trump after his second impeachment trial. We will all come to find out whether he is the first president to be impeached and found guilty, or the first president who was impeached and acquitted twice. And it willl be even longer still until we fully understand how much of a hit he took to his reputation, his image, and, most importantly, his political standing.
But one thingâs already certain: almost everybody has forgotten the name William Belknap. Nobody will ever forget the name Donald Trump, and what happens at his second senate impeachment trial.
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