North Carolina History: Governor Impeached and Convicted
In 1870, Republican North Carolina Governor William Woods Holden (1818-1892) was impeached by the North Carolina House of Representatives. In his 1871 trial in the North Carolina Senate he was convicted and removed from office.
While the proceedings generally were partisan, he was not convicted by a strict party-line vote. A few Democrats voted not guilty on one article of impeachment [Article 1], and a few Republicans voted guilty on other articles of impeachment [Articles 5 and 6].
At the time, the North Carolina Senate was comprised of 50 senators. During the Holden impeachment proceedings one senator was absent (Republican Jesse Blythe from Northampton County). A two-thirds majority was required to convict (33 senators).
Here are the eight articles of impeachment and the vote:
1. Unlawfully, wickedly, corruptly and falsely proclaimed and declared the county of Alamance to be in a state in insurrection. [30/19: not guilty]
2. Unlawfully, wickedly, corruptly and falsely proclaimed and declared the county of Caswell to be in a state in insurrection. [32/17: not guilty]
3. Unlawfully ordered and procured the arrest of Josiah Turner of Orange County. [37/12: guilty]
4. Unlawfully ordered and procured the arrest of John Kerr and other citizens of Caswell County. [33/16: guilty]
5. Unlawfully sent an armed force [Kirk's troops] to Alamance County and there arrested A. G. Moore, and refused to obey a writ of habeas corpus issued on Moore's behalf. [40/9: guilty]
6. Unlawfully sent an armed force [Kirk's troops] to Caswell County and there arrested John Kerr and others, and refused to obey a writ of habeas corpus issued on their behalf. [41/8: guilty]
7. Unlawfully recruited an armed force [Kirk's troops] and ordered the State Treasurer to pay $70,000 for the services of this army. [36/13:guilty]
8. Unlawfully disregarded and disobeyed a writ of injunction issued by Judge Anderson Mitchell forbidding the payment of any money out of the State Treasury for Kirk's army. [36/13:guilty]
Deposed and removed from office and forever disqualified from holding office under the State of North Carolina. [36/13: removed from office]
Had Republican Senator Blythe been present and voted along party lines, it is likely that Holden would have been found not guilty of Article 4 involving Caswell County. However, had the other votes remained the same his absence would not have affected the overall outcome.
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