Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson) Ross

author

Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson) Ross

1826–1907

Best remembered for casting the pivotal vote that spared President Andrew Johnson from conviction, this printer-turned-politician led a life shaped by journalism, antislavery activism, war service, and public office on the American frontier. His career stretched from Bleeding Kansas to the governorship of New Mexico Territory.

1 Audiobook

History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives, and his trial by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 1868

History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives, and his trial by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors in office, 1868

by Edmund G. (Edmund Gibson) Ross

About the author

Apprenticed to the printer’s trade as a boy in Ohio, he worked in newspapers in the Midwest before moving to Kansas in the years of fierce conflict over slavery. There he became part of the free-state cause, helped publish antislavery papers, and later served in the Union Army during the Civil War, rising to the rank of major.

He entered national politics as a U.S. senator from Kansas and became famous in 1868 for voting against convicting President Andrew Johnson in the impeachment trial. The vote was deeply unpopular with many in his party and effectively ended his Senate career, but it made him a lasting figure in American political history.

Later, he moved to New Mexico, returned to journalism, and eventually served as governor of the New Mexico Territory from 1885 to 1889. He died in Albuquerque in 1907, remembered as a newspaperman, soldier, senator, and one of the most debated political figures of his era.