Why wasn’t Johnson convicted in his impeachment trial? The vote famously fell 1 vote short. Why? Because several Republican’s, despite thinking that Johnson was guilty, did not want the President Pro-Tem of the Senate, Benjamin Wade to be President.
Wade joined other Radical Republicans to contravene President Johnson’s Reconstruction policies and attempt to oust him from office. Wade’s position as president pro tem of the Senate made him next in line to succeed to the Presidency. That caused several Moderate and Conservative Republicans to resist the movement to impeach and remove Johnson because they considered Wade to be a dangerous demagogue and opposed his stance on other issues, especially his support of "soft money." Wade died in Jefferson, Ohio.
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