Articles of Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Glossary

• high crimes criminal acts committed against the government
• impeachment Congressional procedure intended to unseat a public officer
• misdemeanor a lesser offense than “high crimes” but still a cause for impeachment and removal of a president
• reconstruction period ranging from approximately 1865 to 1877 when leaders debated ways in which to solve various social, economic, and political issues related to the eleven Confederate seceding states
• An act regulating the tenure of certain civil office act (also called simply the Tenure of Office Act) that was made law on March 2, 1867, even though it was vetoed by President Andrew Johnson; it attempted to prevent the president from removing members of his cabinet in whom he had no confidence and who are actually originally employed by Lincoln