, and in any event to use him in
his strife with Congress to defeat the purpose of the law. While the
Senate had Stanton's case under consideration in January, 1867, Grant
was called into a cabinet meeting and questioned regarding what he would
do. He said that he was not familiar with the law, but would examine it
and notify the President. The next day he notified him that he would
obey the law. Therefore, when the Senate disapproved of the reasons
assigned for the removal of Stanton, Grant at once vacated the office,
to the intense mortification and anger of the President, who made a
public accusation that Grant had promised to stay in office and oppose
Stanton's resumption of it.

The charge made a great scandal, but it did not seriously impair
Grant's good repute. Johnson was not believed, and the testimony of the
members of his cabinet, regarding what happened, was so conflicting that
it failed to convince anybody who did not seek to be convinced.

There is reason to believe that Johnson never contemplated retaining
Grant in the office, except to use his name and fame to break down the
tenure-of-office act. General Grant's plain common sense delivered him
from the snare spread for him by wily and desperate politicians. On
February 3, he closed an unsatisfactory correspondence with President
Johnson, with these severe words: "I can but regard this whole business,
from the beginning to the end, as an attempt to involve me in the
resistance of law, for which you hesitated to assume the responsibility
in orders, and thus to destroy my character before the country. I am, in
a measure, confirmed in this conclusion by your recent order, directing
me to disobey orders from the Secretary of War, my superior and your
subordinate, without having countermanded his authority to issue the
orders I am to disobey."

When Johnson was impeached by the House of representatives, General
Grant might, if he had chosen to do so, have contributed much to
embarrass the President; but he held aloof, discharging his duties as
general-in-chief with constant devotion. He was instrumental in
instituting many economies and improvements of army management. He
greatly advanced the work of reconstruction, and civil governments were
firmly established on the congressional plan in a majority of the
Southern States before he became the chosen leader of the Republican
party.

Grant had not yet distinctly committed himself as between the Democratic