Department Of The West
Command and duties
Blair feud and corruption charges
Frémonts arrival brought an aristocratic air that raised eyebrows and general disapproval among the people of St. Louis. Soon after he came into command, Frémont became involved in a with , who was a member of the powerful and brother of Lincolns cabinet member. To gain control of Missouri politics, Blair complained to Washington that Frémont was extravagant and that his command was brimming with a horde of pirates, who were defrauding the army. This caused Lincoln to send Adjutant General to check in on Frémont, who reported that Frémont was incompetent and had made questionable army purchases.The imbroglio became a national scandal, and Frémont was unable to keep a handle on supply affairs. A Congressional subcommittee investigation headed by and a later Commission on War Claims investigation into the entire Western Department confirmed that many of Blairs charges were true.
Confederate capture of Springfield
Recaptured Springfield
Emancipation edict controversy
here is not a day to lose in disavowing emancipation or Kentucky is gone over the mill dam.
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Sen Rand Paul Of Kentucky
Paul announced at a GOP Lincoln Day dinner earlier this month that he would support the resolution, noting that Congress did not appropriate the funds Trump was looking to use for the border wall. If we take away those checks and balances, its a dangerous thing, the two-term senator said.
Paul has described his political views as libertarian, and has been known to break with his party on foreign policy and surveillance issues.;He was re-elected to the Senate in 2016 after a failed White House bid, and he will not face voters again until 2022.
Why Did President Johnson And The Radical Republicans Fight So Fiercely Over Reconstruction
The Radical Republicans opposed Lincolns plan because they thought it too lenient toward the South. Radical Republicans believed that Lincolns plan for Reconstruction was not harsh enough because, from their point of view, the South was guilty of starting the war and deserved to be punished as such.
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Early Life And Education
Stevens was born in Danville, Vermont on April 4, 1792. He was the second of four children, all boys, and was named to honor the Polish general who served in the American Revolution, Thaddeus Kociuszko. His parents were Baptists who had emigrated from Massachusetts around 1786. Thaddeus was born with a club foot which, at the time, was seen as a judgment from God for secret parental sin. His older brother was born with the same condition in both feet. The boys father, Joshua Stevens, was a farmer and cobbler who struggled to make a living in Vermont. After fathering two more sons , Joshua abandoned the children and his wife Sarah . The circumstances of his departure and his subsequent fate are uncertain; he may have died at the Battle of Oswego during the War of 1812.
Sarah Stevens struggled to make a living from the farm even with the increasing aid of her sons. She was determined that her sons improve themselves, and in 1807 moved the family to the neighboring town of Peacham, Vermont, where she enrolled young Thaddeus in the Caledonia Grammar School . He suffered much from the taunts of his classmates for his disability. Later accounts describe him as wilful, headstrong with an overwhelming burning desire to secure an education.
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Sen Marco Rubio Of Florida
Like many others, Rubio warned of the precedent set by Trumps national emergency.;A member of Senate Appropriations, he said in a February statement that while he agreed there was a crisis at the southern border, a future president may use this exact same tactic to impose the Green New Deal.
Rubio won re-election by 8 points in 2016 after an unsuccessful run for the GOP nomination for president. Trump carried Florida by just;1 point that year.
Republicans Vote Against Helping 9/11 First Responders
Only Republicans opposed helping those on the front lines of the 9/11 attack.
Legislation to reauthorize the 9/11 victims compensation fund overwhelming passed the House of Representatives on Friday, but 11 Republicans, along with a conservative independent, prevented the measure from being unanimous.
The measure passed the House 402-12.
Voting against the bill were Reps. Jodey Arrington , Andy Biggs , Mo Brooks , Ken Buck , Michael Cloud , Paul Gosar , Andy Harris , Jody Hice , Thomas Massie , Ralph Norman and John Rose .
Also voting against the victims was Rep. Justin Amash , a conservative who recently left the Republican Party because he supports impeachment hearings against Trump.
No Democrats voted against the bill.
“Today, we are honored to take this action to ensure that all people suffering from illnesses related to 9/11 or by the debris removal and cleanup efforts in the aftermath, and their families get the full rewards they have been promised,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a floor speech supporting the bill.
The fund, which pays for health care costs for 9/11 first responders, is set to expire in 2020. Despite a public outcry to help those who were on the front lines of the worst terrorist attack in American history, Republicans have been slow to help.
Even as the first responders lobbied on Capitol Hill for the bill to pass, McConnell told reporters in June he “hadn’t looked at that lately.”
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Republican Party Presidential Candidate
In 1856, Frémont was the first presidential candidate of the new . The Republicans, whose party had formed in 1854, were united in their opposition to the Pierce Administration and the spread of slavery into the West. Initially, Frémont was asked to be the Democratic candidate by former Virginia Governor and the powerful Preston family. Frémont announced that he was for Free Soil Kansas and was against the enforcement of the 1850 . Republican leaders , , and were able to get Frémont to join their political party. Seeking a united front and a fresh face for the party, the Republicans nominated Frémont for president over other candidates, and conservative of New Jersey, for vice president, at their June 1856 convention held in Philadelphia. The Republican campaign used the slogan Free Soil, Free Men, and Frémont to crusade for free farms and against the . Frémont, popularly known as The Pathfinder, however, had voter appeal and remained the symbol of the Republican Party. The Democratic Party nominated .
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Why Did Lincoln And Johnsons Plans Fail
The Radical Republicans opposed Lincolns plan because they thought it too lenient toward the South. Radical Republicans believed that Lincolns plan for Reconstruction was not harsh enough because, from their point of view, the South was guilty of starting the war and deserved to be punished as such.
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But ultimately some of Trumps staunchest supporters in the Republican party couldnt shake concerns that Trumps decision to defy Congress, which had appropriated just over $1 billion for border security in January, at best would upset the balance of power between Congress and the president and, at worst, would be unconstitutional.
I regret that we were not able to find a solution that would have averted a challenge to the balance of power as defined by the Constitution. The system of checks and balances established by the Founders has preserved our democracy. It is essential that we protect this balance even when it is frustrating or inconvenient, Wicker said in his statement.
Did Democrats Once Support Border Wall
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney made an apples-to-oranges comparison when he said he couldnt understand why Democrats opposed supplemental funding for a border wall since many of them were for it back in 2006.
Mulvaney is referring to the Secure Fence Act of 2006, which construction of 700 miles of fencing and enhanced surveillance technology, such as unmanned drones, ground-based sensors, satellites, radar coverage and cameras. Sen. Chuck Schumer and then-Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were among a bipartisan majority that voted in favor of the legislation, and it was signed into law by President George W. Bush.
In a very general sense, the Democrats named by Mulvaney supported a bill to build more border fencing in 2006, and Trump is now asking for money to build a wall and fencing.
But the scope and political context of the two efforts are quite different.
Schumer and other Democrats said funding for the wall was a nonstarter, and they vowed to oppose a funding bill with that in it.
We dont understand why the Democrats are so wholeheartedly against it, Mulvaney said. They voted for it in 2006, then-Senator Obama voted for it. Senator Schumer voted for, Senator Clinton voted for it. So, I dont understand why Democrats apply in politics just because Donald Trump is in office.
Its an apples-to-oranges comparison, agreed;Edward Alden, an expert on immigration policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
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The 26 Republicans Whove Voted Against Trumps Border Wall Emergency
Last week, with a 53-36 vote , the U.S. Senate failed to get the two-thirds necessary to override President Trumps veto of a resolution reversing his February 15 national emergency . That declaration, coming after Trump failed to force Congress to pay billions for his border wall demands, would take more than $6 billion from the Defense Department budget and Treasury seized-asset funds, and plow it into border wall construction.
A quick rundown:
- 2019 started with much of the U.S. government shut down because Congress would not pass a budget giving Trump the $5.7 billion he wanted for his border wall.
- Finally, after a 35-day shutdown, Trump caved and signed a budget with far less wall funding.
- On February 15, using power he claimed that the 1976 National Emergencies Act gives him, Trump declared an emergency at the border requiring him to move money out of defense accounts and into wall-building.
- Court challenges to this emergency declaration are ongoing. In July, the Supreme Court allowed wall-building to proceed while judicial deliberations continue. In mid-October, though, a federal judge in El Paso froze much of the Defense Department money.
Twice nowin February-March and September-OctoberCongress has passed joint resolutions to take down Trumps emergency declaration. Both times, Trump has vetoed the resolutions. Both times, a strong majority, but not the necessary two-thirds, has voted to override the veto.
Civil Rights Act Of 1875
The was one of the last major acts of Congress and Grant to preserve Reconstruction and equality for . The initial bill was created by Senator . Grant endorsed the measure, despite his previous feud with Sumner, signing it into law on March 1, 1875. The law, ahead of its times, outlawed discrimination for blacks in , schools, transportation, and selecting juries. Although weakly enforceable, the law spread fear among whites opposed to interracial justice and was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1883. The later enforceable borrowed many of the earlier 1875s laws provisions.
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These 12 Republicans Defied Trump And Voted To Overturn His Declaration Of An Emergency At The Border
Twelve Republican senators defied President Trump on Thursday, rebuffing his public and private pleas for GOP unity and voting for a resolution overturning his declaration of a national emergency at the border.
The vote marked congressional Republicans first significant defection from Trump in more than two years. Throughout his presidency, he has enjoyed almost universal support from his party save for a few GOP lawmakers who bucked him in big moments like the repeal of the Affordable Care Act and some foreign policy issues.
But this was a rejection of Trump on his signature campaign promise. Since the day he announced his candidacy for president, Trump spoke about ending illegal immigration and building a wall along the southern border that he originally said would be paid for by Mexico. It is the defining issue among his core supporters. Build the wall is a Trump rallying cry.
The Senate Republicans who voted to block Trumps ability to unilaterally circumvent Congress and shift money to build his wall were swift to point out they still supported the wall, but they were voting to preserve the constitutional separation of powers.
To make clear, a border fence, a border barrier is a policy that I support, wholeheartedly, unequivocally, said Sen. Mike Lee on the Senate floor, in announcing his support for the resolution.
Senate Votes To End Trump National Emergency As 12 Republicans Join In Rebuke
WASHINGTON The Senate voted 59-41 on Thursday to cancel President Donald Trump’s national security declaration to fund a wall on the border, as 12 Republicans joined Democrats in an unusual rebuke of the president.
Trump has vowed to veto the measure, which would block him from making an end run around Congress to obtain billions of federal dollars that have been set aside for other purposes to build the wall he has promised along the border with Mexico.
The vote could play a role in coming lawsuits challenging the emergency declaration. Before the vote, nine Republican senators said they would support the measure: Jerry Moran of Kansas, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Rob Portman of Ohio, Mike Lee of Utah, Mitt Romney of Utah, Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Susan Collins of Maine.
The number of GOP defections grew when the final votes were tallied to include Marco Rubio of Florida, Roy Blunt of Missouri and Roger Wicker of Mississippi. Moran and Alexander have announced that they don’t plan to seek re-election next year, while Collins is up for re-election in 2020.
After the measure passed, Trump tweeted simply:
VETO!
The measure, passed by the House of Representatives in February, now heads to Trump’s desk. It would be the first veto of his presidency.
Earlier at the White House, the president told reporters that the result of the vote didn’t matter.
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Sen Patrick J Toomey Of Pennsylvania
The conservative Pennsylvania Republican has occasionally broken with the president in the past, particularly on Trumps use of tariffs. Toomey told the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday that he supports Trumps effort to build a border wall, but the declaration of a national emergency was a very important separation of powers issue.
Toomey narrowly won re-election in 2016 when Trump won Pennsylvania by less than a point.
Sen Mitt Romney Of Utah
Although Romney is a freshman senator, he entered the chamber with a high profile as his partys 2012 presidential nominee and the former governor of Massachusetts. Romney has been critical of Trump in the past, and said before Thursdays vote that he would support the resolution.
Before Trump officially made his move, Romney said that he did not believe declaring a national emergency was the right approach, and that he would also expect the president stay within statutory and constitutional limits. Romney won the open Utah Senate race in 2018 by 32 points, and he is not up for re-election again until 2024.
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Dems Want To Negotiate But Pelosi Wont Let Them
As it is, neither the Republican nor the Democrat-backed bill passed amid the ongoing partisan stalemate.
The GOP-backed bill failed 50-47, while the Democratic measure failed 52-44, the Daily Caller reported. The funding bills require 60 votes to pass.
This shutdown, the longest in our history, must come to an end, Collins said on the Senate floor Thursday . It has already caused far too much harm to 800,000 dedicated federal employees and their families.
Many Democrat lawmakers have expressed a willingness to negotiate in good faith with President Trump to fund the wall. But Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; the highest-ranking Democrat in the US; wont let them.
In fact, 30 Democrats urged Pelosi to give Trump a vote on wall funding if he re-opens the government.
30 is not an insignificant number.
Bret Baier
