The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-03-15
Lessons from JohnsonIsm.


Andrew Johnson found the Office of
powerful executive position n any free
nation in the civilized world. He will
leave it the weakest. During the late
civil war Christian men philosophically !
drew from its sad vicissitudes lessons
of patience and fortitude, and in the 1
end saw clearly of " hat invaluable |
benefit many OF these very calamIlies
were in strengthening the spirit of the
republic, and developing those high he
roic qualities that led to the ever-glort-
Gus result. During the past two years
these men have been somewhat at u
loss to hit upon the lesson Providence
designed to teach us by inflicting upon
us a President like Johnson. But
gradually the refulgent light is break
ing upon us all. 1t needed such an in
Fiction TO teach US the terrible necessity
uf curtailing the enormous powers of
that Presidential office, which, so use
ful when directed by the hands OF
Washington, a Jefferson, or "A Lincoln,
were so fearful when lapsing into the
grasp of a Pierce, "a Buchanan or a
johnson.
| The treachery and uSurpation OF this
| accidental President have shown US
how dangerous were the vast executive
sway and patronage that had been
! trustfully left to that office, when in
tine hour of our grandest and most me-
mOrable triumph we could all be hu-
INFLATED through its agency, when by
its exclusive favor bloody aud ram
pant rebellion, fresh from hundreds of
fields of slaughter and all CORY with the
blood of the murdered Lincoln, could
be suddenly lifted into the dominant
element again, to dictate laws to the
very people who had made such un-
precedented sacrifices to crush out
sla very and rebellion. We find men in
the Republican ranks who so little APP
preciate the revolution through which
we are passing AS to fancy that the acts
we are piling up now to destroy the
autocracY that has caused us so much
trouble, will be repealed us soon as
johnson shall give place to Republic
can President We pity the under
sta ndings of such men. If they wait
for the repeal of these immortal statutes
they will wait in vain. They have been
pla ced upon our statute books in earn
est and there they must remain. It
will take nothing short of "A great polit-
ical revolution to remove them.
In truth, the free people of this re-
public want no more of aristocracy.
They owe nothing of their greatness to
it. What the nation is, IL has been
made by its own MASSES of intelligent
freemen. The Presidential autocracy
was always an anomaly in our institu-
DespOtism of any kind must have
neither lot nor part in our reconstruct
ed republic, and the men who now cast
upon our reconstruction measures the
reproach of irresponsible power, must
he confronted by the indisputable facts,
that out of these very measures will
spring the freest, most intelligent and
progressive democratic republican
| governments.
Another and not less important
lesson derived from the record OF the
last two years. is, that but for the ex-
hibition OF rebel insolence and iutoler-
ence ut the south, under the fostering
policy of johnson, we might have let
these rebel States come back into Con-
GresS to play OH tteir old game again
for political predominence, and we GER
tainly should nos have obtained the
firm establishment of the civil and pO-
IItiCal rights OF tho freedmen and the
creation OF a strong Republican party
a. the south. TIE c4lamiIies Of john
sonIsn, therefore, have thsiE uses.