Why was William Sebastian's Senate Expulsion reversed?

[zev_steinhardt]

In the period of 1861-1862, fourteen United States Senators were formally expelled from the Senate for supporting the Confederates in the Civil War.

However, in 1877, former Arkansas Senator William Sebastian’s expulsion was formally revoked - but I’ve never seen any explaination of why his expulsion was revoked but none of the other thirteen.

Any ideas?

Zev Steinhardt

[zev_steinhardt]

Upon further review, I see that Wikipedia’s article on Sebastian states that he took no active part in the rebellion. I don’t know if that’s the reason or not, but it sounds plausible.

Does anyone have any further info?

Zev Steinhardt

[Captain_Amazing]

As near as I can tell, he was the only expelled senator not to serve in either the government or military of the Confederacy after he was expelled. So that might be why.

[samclem]

From a newspaper story at the time

The Senate Committee on Elections today, in reporting the decision of the heirs of the late Senator Sebastian, of Arkansas, say they find, from unquestionable evidence, that the charges of disloyalty and conspiracy against the government, on which the resolution expelling him and nine other Senators was based, were as regards regards Sebastian, merely a matter of suspicion and inference, and wholly unfounded as to fact, except as to his absence during the preceding seven days, which is proved to have been unavoidable, as was not of itself an expulsory offense. They found also that he was an earnest opponent of secession, and remained devoutedly loyal to the United States, during his entire lifetime. As a partial preparation for the injury done him, they therefore recommend the annulment of his expulsion and the payment of his salary for the balance of his term.

–ed. He got his back pay

[Freddy_the_Pig]

When the first round of states seceded in the winter of 1860-61, the Senate simply declared their seats vacant. The second round of states seceded after Fort Sumter, and when the Senate next reconvened in July, 1861, passions were running a little higher. The Senate determined to expel the members from the newly-seceded states who hadn’t shown up–assuming that the reason they hadn’t shown up was that they supported secession and the Confederacy.

The mass expulsion took place on July 11 and included both members from North Carolina, Virginia, Arkansas, and Texas, plus one (Andrew Johnson excepted) from Tennessee.

In the case of every member except Sebastian, the assumption that they were Confederates was correct. Sebastian was more or less neutral; after his expulsion he withdrew from public life and he died in 1865. Had he not been expelled, would he have pulled an Andrew Johnson and continued to serve despite secession? I don’t know, but the Senate was in a mood of sectional reconciliation in 1877 and gave him the benefit of the doubt.