1868 : IMPEACHMENT TRIAL OF ANDREW JOHNSON BEGINS:
For the first time in U.S. history, the impeachment trial of an
American president gets underway in the U.S. Senate. President Andrew
Johnson, reviled by the Republican-dominated Congress for his views on
Reconstruction, stood accused of having violated the controversial
Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress over his veto in 1867.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Johnson, a U.S. senator from
Tennessee, was the only senator from a seceding state who remained
loyal to the Union. Johnson's political career was built on his
defense of the interests of poor white Southerners against the landed
classes; of his decision to oppose secession, he said, "Damn the
negroes; I am fighting those traitorous aristocrats, their masters."
For his loyalty, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him military
governor of Tennessee in 1862, and in 1864 Johnson was elected vice
president of the United States.
Sworn in as president after Lincoln's assassination in April 1865,
President Johnson enacted a lenient Reconstruction policy for the
defeated South, including almost total amnesty to ex-Confederates, a
program of rapid restoration of U.S.-state status for the seceded
states, and the approval of new, local Southern governments, which
were able to legislate "black codes" that preserved the system of
slavery in all but name. The Republican-dominated Congress greatly
opposed Johnson's Reconstruction program and passed the "Radical
Reconstruction" by repeatedly overriding the president's vetoes. Under
the Radical Reconstruction, local Southern governments gave way to
federal military rule, and African-American men in the South were
granted the constitutional right to vote.
In March 1867, in order further to weaken Johnson's authority,
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over his veto. The act
prohibited the president from removing federal office holders,
including Cabinet members, who had been confirmed by the Senate,
without the consent of the Senate. It was designed to shield members
of Johnson's Cabinet like Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who was
appointed during the Lincoln administration and was a leading ally of
the so-called Radical Republicans in Congress. In the fall of 1867,
Johnson attempted to test the constitutionality of the act by
replacing Stanton with General Ulysses S. Grant. However, the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to rule on the case, and Grant turned the office
back to Stanton after the Senate passed a measure in protest of the
dismissal.
On February 21, 1868, Johnson decided to rid himself of Stanton once
and for all and appointed General Lorenzo Thomas, an individual far
less favorable to the Congress than Grant, as secretary of war.
Stanton refused to yield, barricading himself in his office, and the
House of Representatives, which had already discussed impeachment
after Johnson's first dismissal of Stanton, initiated formal
impeachment proceedings against the president. On February 24, the
House voted 11 impeachment articles against President Johnson. Nine of
the articles cited his violations of the Tenure of Office Act; one
cited his opposition to the Army Appropriations Act of 1867 (designed
to deprive the president of his constitutional position as commander
in chief of the U.S. Army); and one accused Johnson of bringing "into
disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the
United States" through certain controversial speeches.
On March 13, according to the rules set out in Section 3 of Article I
of the U.S. Constitution, the impeachment trial of President Johnson
began in the Senate. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
presided over the proceedings, which were described as theatrical. On
May 16 and again on May 26, the Senate voted on the charges brought
against President Johnson. Both times the vote was 35 for conviction
and 19 for acquittal, with seven moderate Republicans joining 12
Democrats in voting against what was a weak case for impeachment.
Because both votes fell short--by one vote--of the two-thirds majority
needed to convict Johnson, he was judged not guilty and remained in
office. Nevertheless, he chose not to actively seek reelection on the
Democratic ticket. In November, Ulysses S. Grant, who supported the
Republicans' Radical Reconstruction policies, was elected president of
the United States.
In 1875, after two failed bids, Johnson won reelection to Congress as
a U.S. senator from Tennessee. He died less than four months after
taking office at the age of 66. Fifty-one years later, the U.S.
Supreme Court declared the Tenure of Office Act unconstitutional in
its ruling in Myers v. United States.
history.com/tdih.do
American president gets underway in the U.S. Senate. President Andrew
Johnson, reviled by the Republican-dominated Congress for his views on
Reconstruction, stood accused of having violated the controversial
Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress over his veto in 1867.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Johnson, a U.S. senator from
Tennessee, was the only senator from a seceding state who remained
loyal to the Union. Johnson's political career was built on his
defense of the interests of poor white Southerners against the landed
classes; of his decision to oppose secession, he said, "Damn the
negroes; I am fighting those traitorous aristocrats, their masters."
For his loyalty, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him military
governor of Tennessee in 1862, and in 1864 Johnson was elected vice
president of the United States.
Sworn in as president after Lincoln's assassination in April 1865,
President Johnson enacted a lenient Reconstruction policy for the
defeated South, including almost total amnesty to ex-Confederates, a
program of rapid restoration of U.S.-state status for the seceded
states, and the approval of new, local Southern governments, which
were able to legislate "black codes" that preserved the system of
slavery in all but name. The Republican-dominated Congress greatly
opposed Johnson's Reconstruction program and passed the "Radical
Reconstruction" by repeatedly overriding the president's vetoes. Under
the Radical Reconstruction, local Southern governments gave way to
federal military rule, and African-American men in the South were
granted the constitutional right to vote.
In March 1867, in order further to weaken Johnson's authority,
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over his veto. The act
prohibited the president from removing federal office holders,
including Cabinet members, who had been confirmed by the Senate,
without the consent of the Senate. It was designed to shield members
of Johnson's Cabinet like Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who was
appointed during the Lincoln administration and was a leading ally of
the so-called Radical Republicans in Congress. In the fall of 1867,
Johnson attempted to test the constitutionality of the act by
replacing Stanton with General Ulysses S. Grant. However, the U.S.
Supreme Court refused to rule on the case, and Grant turned the office
back to Stanton after the Senate passed a measure in protest of the
dismissal.
On February 21, 1868, Johnson decided to rid himself of Stanton once
and for all and appointed General Lorenzo Thomas, an individual far
less favorable to the Congress than Grant, as secretary of war.
Stanton refused to yield, barricading himself in his office, and the
House of Representatives, which had already discussed impeachment
after Johnson's first dismissal of Stanton, initiated formal
impeachment proceedings against the president. On February 24, the
House voted 11 impeachment articles against President Johnson. Nine of
the articles cited his violations of the Tenure of Office Act; one
cited his opposition to the Army Appropriations Act of 1867 (designed
to deprive the president of his constitutional position as commander
in chief of the U.S. Army); and one accused Johnson of bringing "into
disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach the Congress of the
United States" through certain controversial speeches.
On March 13, according to the rules set out in Section 3 of Article I
of the U.S. Constitution, the impeachment trial of President Johnson
began in the Senate. U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase
presided over the proceedings, which were described as theatrical. On
May 16 and again on May 26, the Senate voted on the charges brought
against President Johnson. Both times the vote was 35 for conviction
and 19 for acquittal, with seven moderate Republicans joining 12
Democrats in voting against what was a weak case for impeachment.
Because both votes fell short--by one vote--of the two-thirds majority
needed to convict Johnson, he was judged not guilty and remained in
office. Nevertheless, he chose not to actively seek reelection on the
Democratic ticket. In November, Ulysses S. Grant, who supported the
Republicans' Radical Reconstruction policies, was elected president of
the United States.
In 1875, after two failed bids, Johnson won reelection to Congress as
a U.S. senator from Tennessee. He died less than four months after
taking office at the age of 66. Fifty-one years later, the U.S.
Supreme Court declared the Tenure of Office Act unconstitutional in
its ruling in Myers v. United States.
history.com/tdih.do
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