MIKE GRACIA
On this day in 1998, President Clinton denied having an affair with a former White House intern, saying "I did not have sexual relations
with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." Denial of the affair lead to Clinton being only the second president to be impeached in US history.
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President Jimmy Carter, in his first day in office, fulfilled a campaign
promise by announcing the pardoning of draft dodgers.
On January 21, 1977, U.S. President Jimmy Carter granted an unconditional
pardon to hundreds of thousands of men who evaded the draft during the
Vietnam War by fleeing the country or by failing to register. The executive
order left many people furious, while others saw it as a bold show of
compassion.
In total, some 100,000 young Americans went abroad in the late 1960s and
early 70s to avoid serving in the war. Ninety percent went to Canada, where
after some initial controversy they were eventually welcomed as immigrants.
Still others hid inside the United States. In addition to those who avoided
the draft, a relatively small number–about 1,000–of deserters from the U.S.
armed forces also headed to Canada. While the Canadian government
technically reserved the right to prosecute deserters, in practice they left
them alone, even instructing border guards not to ask too many questions.
This 1867 drawing by Alfred Waud, “The First Vote,” depicts Black
men waiting in line to cast ballots in Southern states.
On January 8, 1867, African American men gained the right to vote in the
District of Columbia despite the veto of President Andrew Johnson. The
Republican-controlled senate overrode Johnson by a vote of 29-10
three years before a constitutional amendment granted the right to
vote to all men regardless of race.
As evidenced by his veto, Johnson valued reconciliation with the former Confederacy over racial equality and also opposed the Fourteenth
Amendment, which made freed slaves citizens. His opposition to
the Republicans’ views on Reconstruction would define his presidency
and lead to his becoming the first president ever to be impeached.
Though Johnson was unable to stop Congress from granting voting
rights to the African Americans of D.C., he spent much of his term in
office vetoing the bills of the so-called Radical Reconstructionist.
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875)
Johnson was the 17th U.S. president,
assumed office after the assassination
of Abraham Lincoln.
MIKE GRACIA
The Senate meeting to consider the Articles of Impeachment against
President William Clinton. Chief Justice William Rehnquist presiding.
President Clinton went on trial before the Senate on this day in 1999. It was
only the second time in U.S. history that an impeached president had gone
to trial. Clinton was acquitted February 12 of perjury and obstruction of
justice charges.
Hillary Clinton stood next to Bill Clinton as he delivered his
strongest public denial of allegations that he had an affair
with Monica Lewinsky, during a press conference at the
White House.
