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will ill OHM enter ll|ioli 1 - i,r tin: 



Tin Secretary of War has licon Instrnotcd to tranifer to 



you :ill tlin records, lunik-. |MII. rs, anil other pul-lie property 

 mm- i:. 



v M . Washington, D. C. 



Tlu- i '!': >w'ing communication was received from 

 Mr. Stair 



WAR PEPAKI > 



WASHINGTON CITY, Auyimt 12, 1S6T. $ 



this date has been received. Informing 

 i liy virtue of tin- ptiwersand authority vested In you. 

 -i'leiit, by tin- Constitution un.l United 



States, I am suspended from office as Secretary of War, and 

 will fc:i<r tn t-x -i-cise any and all functions pcrtainiiii: to the 

 mil al-o directing mo at omv t.) transfer it. '. 

 -- S. Grant, who has this dny been authorized and em- 

 . il to act as Secretary of War ad intf.rim, all r 

 book*, papers, and other public property, now in my eus- 



inil char_-i-. 



Under a sense of public duty, I am compelled to deny 



your rWit, under the Constitution and laws of the United 



without tin' advice and consent of the Senate, and 



without lej/iil cause, to euspend me from office as Secretary 



of War. or the cxeroice of any or all functions pertaining to 



the same, or without such advice and consent to compel me 



iler to any person the records, books, papers, and pub- 



lic property, in my custody as Secretary. 



But, inasmuch as the General commanding the armies of 

 the United States has been appointed ad interim, and has 

 luitilied me that he has accepted the appointment, I have no 



i n but to submit, under protest, to superior force. 

 To the PEESIDENT. 



Tho suspension has not been revoked, and the 



ss ot the War Department is conducted by the 



Secretory ad interim. Prior to the date of this sus- 



Eensionj I had come to the conclusion that the time 

 ad arrived when it was proper Mr. Stanton should 

 retire from my Cabinet. The mutual confidence and 

 general accord which should exist in such a relation 

 had ceased. I supposed that Mr. Stanton was well 

 advised that his continuance in the Cabinet was con- 

 trary to my wishes, for I had repeatedly given him so 

 to understand by every mode short ot an express 

 request that he should resign. Having waited full 

 time for the voluntary action of Mr. Stanton, and sec- 

 ing no manifestation on his part of an intention to re- 

 siirn. 1 addressed him the following note on the 5ih 

 of August : 



SIB : Public considerations of a high character constrain 

 me to say that your resignation as Secretary of War will be 

 accepted. 

 To this note I received the following reply : 



WAR DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, August 5, 1867. 



SIK: Your note of this day has been received, staling that 

 public considerations of a high character constrain you to 

 say that lay resignation as Secretary of War will be ac- 

 oeptod. 



In reply, I have the honor to say that public considera- 



tions of a high character, which alone have induced me to 



continue at tne head of this department, constrain me not to 



' ho otBce of Secretary of War before the next muetlng 



of Congress. 



This reply of Mr. Stanton was not merely a declina- 

 tion of compliance with the request for his re 

 tion; it was a defiance, and something more. Mr. 

 Stanton does not content himself with assuming that 

 public considerations bearing upon his contiin 

 in ottice form as fully a rule of action for himself 

 as for the President, and that upon so delicate a 

 question as the fitness of an officer tor continuance in 

 his office, the officer is as' competent and us impartial 

 to decide as hij superior who is responsible lor his 

 conduct ; but he goes further, and plainly intimates 



what he moons by " public eonnlderatiotui of a high 

 character;" and ihi- is nothing tine than hi* IOM 



in lii Mijierior. Hi- :. th.it those 



public eniiMilenit' 

 tilllle : ' 



rain me iiol 



U ill" Ill-Tun- the I 



This Ian/ tit. Mr. Stanton 



holil.i the i>Mti'>ii unwillingly, lie i-- n ad} : 

 when it is sale to leave, and as the danger which hu 

 a]>i>rchcnd> Troin hi* removal then will no 

 when ' rained to remain 



the interim. What, then, is that danger 

 which can only IK: averted ! <:Uce of Mr. 



n or of Congress t Mr. Stanton does not say 

 that "public considerations of a hii/li character" con- 

 strain him to hold on to the office indefinitely, lie 



.t say that no other than himself con at any 

 time be found to take his place and perform his 



. On the contrary, ho expresses a desire to 



: lie office at the earliest moment < onsistent with 

 these high public considerations. 



He says m etl'cct, that while Congress is away he 

 must remain, but that when Congress is here, he* can 

 g". In oilier w.irds, lie has lost confidence in the 

 President. 1 Ie is unwilling to leave the War Depart- 

 nii-nt in liis hands, or in the hands of any one the 

 I 'resident may appoint or designate to perform its 

 duties. If he resigns, the President may appoint a 

 Secretary of War that Mr. Stanton dpes not approve. 

 Therefore, he will not resign. But,' when Congress 

 is in session, the President cannot appoint a Secretary 

 of War which, the Senate does not approve. Con- 

 sequently when Congress meets, Mr. Stanton is ready 

 to resign. 



Whatever cogency these "considerations" may 

 have had upon Mr. Stanton, whatever right lie may 

 have had to entertain such considerations, wl 

 propriety there might be in the expression of them 

 to others, one thing is certain, it was official in' 

 duct, to say the least of it, to parade them before hia 

 superior officer. 



Upon the receipt of this extraordinary note, I only 

 delayed the order of suspension .long enough to make 

 the necessary arrangements to fill the office. If this 

 were the only cause for hia suspension it would be 

 ample. Necessarily it must end our most important 

 official relations, for I cannot imagine a degree of ef- 

 frontery which would embolden the head of a depart- 

 ment to take his seat at the council-table hi the 

 utive mansion after such an act. Nor con I imagine 

 a 1 'resident so forgetful of the proper respect and dig- 

 nity which belong to his office as to submit to such 

 intrusion. I will not do Mr. Stanton the wrong to 

 suppose that ho entertained any idea of offering to 

 act as one of my constitutional advisers after that 

 note was written. There was an interval of a week 

 between that date and the order of suspension, during 

 which two Cabinet meetings were held. Mr. Stanton 

 did not present himself at either ; nor was he ex- 

 pected. 



On the 12th of August Mr. Stanton was notified 

 of his suspension, and that General Grant had been 

 authorized to take charge of the department. In his 

 answer to this notification, of the some date, Mr. 

 Stanton expressed himself ns follows: "Under a 

 sense of public duty I am compelled to deny your right, 

 under the Constitution and laws of the United Bl 

 without the advice and consent of the Senate, to sus- 

 pend mo from office as Secretary of \\'ar, or the ex- 

 ercise of any o- all functions pertaining to the same, 

 or without such advice and consent to compel mo to 

 transfer to any person the records, books, papers, 

 and public property in my custody as Secretary. Butj 

 inasmuch as the General commanding the armies or 

 the United States has been appointed ad interim, and 

 has notified me that lie lias accepted the appointment, 

 1 have no alternative but to submit, under protest, to 

 superior force." 

 It will not escape attention that, in his note of Au- 



