Robert C. Dorn was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1868, he was the second person

tried In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal, w ...

by the

New York Court for the Trial of Impeachments The Court for the Trial of Impeachments, and the Correction of Errors was established by the New York State Constitution of 1777. It consisted then of the Lieutenant Governor of New York (who is ''ex officio'' President of the State Senate), the Cha ...

Life

He lived in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Y ...

. In January 1856, he was appointed Superintendent of Canal Repairs for Section 2 of the

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

, and then also for Sections 1, 3, 4 and 5 until the end of 1864, and continued with Sections 1, 2 and 3 in 1865. He was a

Canal Commissioner The Commission to Explore a Route for a Canal to Lake Erie and Report, known as the Erie Canal Commission, was a body created by the New York State Legislature in 1810 to plan the Erie Canal. In 1817 a ''Canal Fund'' led by ''Commissioners of the C ...

from 1866 to 1868, elected in

1865 Events January–March * January 4 – The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at Broad Street (Manhattan), 10-12 Broad near Wall Street, in New York City. * January 13 – American Civil War : Sec ...

on the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

ticket. In 1868, he was

impeached Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

by an unanimous vote of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

. The First Article charged him with "complicity in a combination made by contractors." Article Two charged him with "letting a contract to the highest instead of the lowest bidder." Article Four charged him with "letting contracts without advertising some." The trial before the Court of Impeachments opened on May 26 at Albany. On June 12, he was acquitted with a vote of 8 for conviction, among them

Martin Grover Martin Grover (October 20, 1811 Hartwick, Otsego County, New York – August 23, 1875 Angelica, Allegany County, New York) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician from New York. He served one term in the United States House of Representat ...

Theodore Miller Theodore Miller (May 16, 1816 – August 18, 1895) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. Life Born in Hudson, Columbia County, New York, he was admitted to the bar in 1837. He was District Attorney of Columbia County from 1843 to 1 ...

, and 19 against, among them

Ward Hunt Ward Hunt (June 14, 1810 – March 24, 1886) was an American jurist and politician. He was Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals from 1868 to 1869, and an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1872 to 1882. Early life Hunt was ...

Lewis B. Woodruff Lewis Bartholomew Woodruff (June 19, 1809 – September 10, 1875) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States circuit court, United States Circuit Courts for the Second Circuit. Education and career Born o ...

Charles Mason Charles Mason (April 1728 William J. Bacon William Johnson Bacon (February 18, 1803 – July 3, 1889) was an American politician and a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from New York. Early life Bacon was born on February 18, 1803, in Williamstown, Massachusett ...

Sources

''STATE AFFAIRS.; ...Canal Appointments''
in NYT on January 23, 1856
''Annual Report of the Canal Commissioners for 1865''
(1866)
''The Impeachment or Canal Commissioner Dorn''
in NYT on May 26, 1868
''NEW-YORK.; The Impeachment of Canal Commissioner R. C. Dorn - Organization of the Court''
in NYT on May 27, 1868
''The Dorn Impeachment Trial at Albany''
in NYT on June 13, 1868 Year of birth missing Year of death missing Politicians from Schenectady, New York Erie Canal Commissioners United States officials impeached by state or territorial governments {{NewYork-politician-stub