A JOINT RESOLUTION to pardon william w. holden from the JUDGMENT imposed upon him by the senate on march 22, 1871, on conviction of articles of impeachment.
Whereas, Governor William W. Holden was first elected following the ratification of the 1868 Constitution of North Carolina; and
Whereas, Governor William W. Holden supported political equality for newly emancipated North Carolinians; and
Whereas, Governor William W. Holden dispatched the State militia to Alamance and Caswell counties to stop the violence being caused by the Ku Klux Klan; and
Whereas, Governor William W. Holden's steadfast resistance to the Klan led to his being impeached and removed from office; and
Whereas, the vote to impeach was along party lines to remove the Republican governor from any other public service; and
Whereas, Governor William W. Holden was the first governor in the United States to be removed from office; and
Whereas, the power of pardon is inherent in the State, and since the Constitution does not delegate the power of pardon of an impeachment to the Governor, it remains available for exercise by the General Assembly; and
Whereas, the power of impeachment by the House and conviction by the Senate is not evidenced by passage of legislation but by assignment of this power to the legislative branch, it is an inherent internal power of the legislative branch to reverse; Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
SECTION 1.  William W. Holden is pardoned from the judgment imposed upon him March 22, 1871, by the Senate, sitting as a court of impeachment.
SECTION 2.  This resolution is effective upon ratification.