but dickson needed a villain who a mulatto to have mistress, and was a prime architect of the black plague. obviously, the focus is not on ross. it's on johnson. in fact, ross does not even appear. acknowledges that it's medium requires taking certain liberties. for instance, even though johnson didn't appear at his own trial, in the film he comes in and gives a stirring defense. the film produces drama by pitting johnson against stevens, who's played in a wheelchair by and gives a stirring defense. lionel barrymore, who is perfectly cast. he had just played a villain. they have lots of similarities, but there are different stakes in their betrayals. for kennedy, what was at stake was the checks and balances of government. the independence of the executive office as a coordinated branch of government was on trial. dixon agrees with that. he has a chapter called the supreme test. he says almost the same as kennedy. if i partisan majority in congress could remove the executive and define the supreme courts, stability of civic institutions was at an end. but the real question was, will the u.