Real Crime Stories/Paranormal Hauntings/Conspiracy Theories Book II

The Impeachment of 17th U.S. President Andrew Johnson

The impeachment of Andrew Johnsonwas initiated on February 24, 1868, when the United States House ofRepresentatives resolved to impeach Andrew Johnson, the 17thpresident of the United States, for "high crimes andmisdemeanors," which were detailed in 11 articles ofimpeachment. The primary charge against Johnson was that he hadviolated the Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress in March 1867,over his veto. Specifically, he had removed from office Edwin M.Stanton, the secretary of war—whom the act was largely designed toprotect—and attempted to replace him with Brevet Major GeneralLorenzo Thomas. (Earlier, while the Congress was not in session,Johnson had suspended Stanton and appointed General Ulysses S. Grantas secretary of war ad interim.)

Johnson became the first Americanpresident to be impeached on March 2–3, 1868, when the Houseformally adopted the articles of impeachment and forwarded them tothe United States Senate for adjudication. The trial in the Senatebegan three days later, with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding.On May 16, the Senate did not convict Johnson on one of the articles,with the 35–19 vote in favor of conviction falling short of thenecessary two-thirds majority by a single vote. A 10-day recess wascalled before attempting to convict him on additional articles. OnMay 26, the Senate did not convict the president on two articles,both by the same margin, after which the trial was adjourned withoutconsidering the remaining eight articles of impeachment.

The impeachment and trial of AndrewJohnson had important political implications for the balance offederal legislative-executive power. It maintained the principle thatCongress should not remove the president from office simply becauseits members disagreed with him over policy, style, and administrationof the office. It also resulted in diminished presidential influenceon public policy and overall governing power, fostering a system ofgovernance which Woodrow Wilson referred to in the 1870s as"Congressional Government."

Background

Tensions between the executive andlegislative branches had been high prior to Johnson's ascension tothe presidency. Following Union Army victories at Gettysburg andVicksburg in July 1863, President Lincoln began contemplating theissue of how to bring the South back into the Union. He wished tooffer an olive branch to the rebel states by pursuing a lenient planfor their reintegration. The forgiving tone of the president's plan,plus the fact that he implemented it by presidential directivewithout consulting Congress, incensed Radical Republicans, whocountered with a more stringent plan. Their proposal for Southernreconstruction, the Wade–Davis Bill, passed both houses of Congressin July 1864, but was pocket vetoed by the president and never tookeffect.

The assassination of Abraham Lincoln onApril 14, 1865, just days after the Army of Northern Virginia'ssurrender at Appomattox, briefly lessened the tension over who wouldset the terms of peace. The radicals, while suspicious of the newpresident and his policies, believed, based upon his record, thatAndrew Johnson would defer, or at least acquiesce to their hardlineproposals. Though a Democrat from Tennessee, Johnson had been afierce critic of the Southern secession. Then after several statesleft the Union, including his own, he chose to stay in Washington(rather than resign his U.S. Senate seat), and later, when Uniontroops occupied Tennessee, Johnson was appointed military governor.While in that position he had exercised his powers with vigor,frequently stating that "treason must be made odious andtraitors punished". Johnson, however, embraced Lincoln'smore lenient policies, thus rejecting the Radicals, and setting thestage for a showdown between the president and Congress. During thefirst months of his presidency, Johnson issued proclamations ofgeneral amnesty for most former Confederates, both government andmilitary officers, and oversaw creation of new governments in thehitherto rebellious states – governments dominated byex-Confederate officials. In February 1866, Johnson vetoedlegislation extending the Freedmen's Bureau and expanding its powers;Congress was unable to override the veto. Afterward, Johnsondenounced Radical Republicans Representative Thaddeus Stevens andSenator Charles Sumner, along with abolitionist Wendell Phillips, astraitors. Later, Johnson vetoed a Civil Rights Act and a secondFreedmen's Bureau bill; the Senate and the House each mustered thetwo-thirds majorities necessary to override both vetoes, setting thestage for a showdown between Congress and the president.