Bayard became more politically active , speaking at a public meeting in September 1867 against constitutional proposals for ending racial discrimination in voting rights . The following year , he condemned the impeachment proceedings against President Andrew Johnson , who had succeeded to the presidency in 1865 after Lincoln 's assassination and had threatened the Republican Congress 's plans for Reconstruction of the Southern states . Both Bayards attended the 1868 Democratic National Convention and , although they were unenthusiastic about the nominee , Horatio Seymour , supported the unsuccessful ticket that year
Lincoln 's assassination
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Thomas F. Bayard