Articles of Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Context

At the time of Lincoln's assassination, the country was just weeks from the end of the Civil War and beginning the initial steps of Reconstruction. While Lincoln also had problems with congressional Republicans, Johnson's were much worse: politically, he was a Democrat who opposed on principle many of the policies espoused by the Radical Republicans. Personally, he lacked both Lincoln's leadership ability and his willingness to compromise.

Within a month of assuming the presidency, Johnson decided to institute Lincoln's Reconstruction project. His timing coincided with Congressional recess, which was to last until December 1865, thus offending many members of Congress. Johnson invited Confederate states back into the Union, but his terms regarding former slaves infuriated Radical Republicans. Johnson wanted revolutionary southerners to maintain their political power, which entailed the further disenfranchisement of former slaves, in particular, their right to vote. Radical Republicans were in favor of giving freedmen voting privileges because they assumed they would vote for Lincoln's party, the Republican Party. This would ensure Republican power in the national government.

Johnson unilaterally readmitted the former Confederate states under terms that gave political power to leading Democrats, who did not want to give the newly freed slaves a role in their government. Once the southern states met the requirements Johnson established for their reintegration into the Union, they proceeded to hold their own elections and elected “Confederate heroes,” who severely limited the rights of freedmen.

On March 2, 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, forbidding the president to terminate any officer without the approval of the Senate. In the event the Senate was not in session, the president could suspend an officer only until the Senate could be heard. While Johnson vetoed the act, Congress had sufficient support to override his veto. The Tenure of Office Act was so vague that when it became law, questions still remained about its constitutionality and to whom it applied.

When Johnson tried to remove Stanton from his position as secretary of war and because of numerous disagreements, including Stanton's cooperation with Congressional Republicans and Stanton's refusal to implement Johnson's Reconstruction plans in the Confederate South, Congress considered impeaching Johnson—especially since Johnson not only suspended Stanton but also installed Ulysses S. Grant in the interim. When Congress returned to session in December, Johnson immediately provided its members with a justification for his removal of Stanton as secretary, as the Tenure of Office Act required. When the Senate reconvened, members decided that Johnson could not remove Stanton, and Stanton was thereby reinstated as secretary of war. When Johnson tried again to remove Stanton, Stanton “barricaded” himself inside the War Department (Solomon, p. 2922). At this point, the Radical Republicans sought more support for their opposition to the president.

On February 24, 1868, the House voted to impeach President Johnson. The congressional decision to impeach Johnson was perhaps “the defensive response of a Congress faced by an aggressive executive using his presidential powers in a way that appeared to subvert the Constitution of the United States” (Benedict, p. 495). The actual Articles of Impeachment were drawn up and then adopted by the House on March 2–3. The Radical Republicans insisted on impeachment, whereas the conservative Republicans actually wanted to work with the new president.

Ultimately, the impeachment of Johnson failed. On May 17, 1868, the New York Times began its coverage of the trial as follows: “The great impeachment drama is practically at an end, and the President stands acquitted of the principal charge. Nineteen votes against thirty-five—just enough, and no more, to turn the scale of verdict. Twelve Democrats and seven Republicans—that magical number of seven—against thirty-five Republicans!” (“Impeachment. Final Vote in the Senate on the Eleventh Article,” p. 1).