The Impeachment of President Johnson
This is not the way the President is supposed to be treated. This is
the thought that must have been going through President Andrew
Johnson’s head as he was about to be impeached by the United States
Senate. How could it possibly come down to this-a President of United
States possibly being removed from office?
It was no secret that President Johnson didn’t get along with the
Radical Republicans who controlled power in Congress. Led by Thaddeus
Stevens, Radical Republicans had divided the South into 5 military districts, and also increased the rights
of freed slaves throughout the United States. President Johnson had been opposed to all of these actions,
and was very vocal about his displeasure. In fact, Johnson’s plan for Reconstruction was even more
forgiving then Lincoln’s, as he offered pardons to high ranking Confederate officials if they personal swore
their allegiance to the Constitution.
Stevens and the Radical Republicans realized that President Johnson was a roadblock in the road to
freedom and equality for African Americans and for punishing the South. In 1867, Congress passed the
Tenure of Office Act. This act stated that the President needed the approval of Congress to fire any member
of Cabinet. This was done in the hopes that President Johnson would make the mistake and try to fire one
of the members of the presidential Cabinet.
President Johnson would make this mistake the following year (1868). Johnson never felt connected
to the members of his Presidential Cabinet, because of the fact that they were appointed by Abraham
Lincoln. Johnson soon came into conflict with Secretary of War Edward Stanton. Eventually Johnson fired
Stanton, which in turn violated the Tenure of Office Act. This meant that President Johnson had just
violated the constitutional, as well as his Oath of Office. Led by Thaddeus Stevens, the Congress began the
process of impeaching the President.
The first step was getting the House of Representatives to investigate whether or not there needed
to be an impeachment. They stated that it was unconstitutional for Johnson to have fired Secretary Stanton.
After that, the impeachment proceeded and went to the Senate, who now acted as the jury and had to
decide whether or not President Johnson was guilty. If he was found guilty (which means that 2/3 of the
Senate found him guilty), Johnson would have been the first President removed from office.
However this would not happen. The Senate missed removing Andrew Johnson from office by only 1
vote! Kansas Republican Edmund G. Ross voted that there was insufficient evidence to remove the
President from office. This angered the Radical Republicans so much that eventually Ross was run out of
the Senate. President Johnson, however, was grateful to Ross for looking at the evidence, and not just going
along with what other Republicans said. While his job was safe, President Johnson never recovered from
this event. He continued to be the President for the next few months, but wasn’t re-elected the following
term. In 1868, the country elected Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant to become the 18th President of the
United States. The time of Andrew Johnson had gone as fast as it came.
Name:
Homework: The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Date:
Use the article, “The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson”, to answer the following questions:
1. Why did the Radical Republicans and the President Johnson come into conflict with each other?
2. Define the Tenure of Office Act.
3. How did President Johnson violate the Tenure of Office Act?
4. Describe what the job of the House of Representatives and the Senate are during an impeachment
proceeding.
5. Was President Johnson removed from office? What happened to him after the Impeachment?
6. Describe the impact that Jackson’s impeachment had on Reconstruction.