Articles of Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Audience

The audience for the Articles of Impeachment of Andrew Johnson was primarily the members of the Senate who would vote on Johnson's guilt or innocence of the charges advanced in the eleven articles. On a broader scale, however, the audience was the American public. In fact, the document begins as follows: “Articles exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States, in the name of themselves and all the people of the United States, against Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, in maintenance and support of their impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors” (emphasis added).

On February 25, 1868, the New York Times reported that visitors “rushed to the galleries” to witness the proceedings (p. 1). In fact, “the visitors' gallery filled and emptied according to the drama of the arguments” and “Johnson's presidency was picked apart in public” (Sachs, A22). The Senators did not debate the issue in front of the public assembled in the gallery. Instead, they went to the ladies' parlor adjacent to the Senate floor or asked that all visitors be escorted out so that they could discuss matters freely. Audience members had been observed applauding and hissing and were escorted out by police and ushers.