Senate impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson

Senate impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson. The impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson was a pivotal political and constitutional crisis in the aftermath of the American Civil War. Conducted by the United States Senate from March to May 1868, it centered on Johnson's alleged violations of the Tenure of Office Act and his defiance of the Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction policies. The trial culminated in Johnson's acquittal by a single vote, preserving the presidency but leaving a lasting impact on executive-legislative relations.

Background

The roots of the impeachment lay in the bitter struggle between President Andrew Johnson and the Radical Republicans who dominated the 39th Congress following the American Civil War. Johnson, a Democrat from Tennessee who succeeded the assassinated Abraham Lincoln, favored a lenient approach to the former Confederate states outlined in his own Reconstruction plans. This clashed directly with the more punitive and reform-oriented agenda of legislators like Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, who sought to protect the rights of newly freed African Americans through measures like the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment. The conflict escalated with Congress's passage of the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, designed to curb the president's removal powers, and the Reconstruction Acts, which placed the South under military governance.

Impeachment by the House of Representatives

The immediate trigger for impeachment was Johnson's deliberate violation of the Tenure of Office Act by dismissing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a staunch ally of the Radical Republicans. This act followed a tumultuous period where Johnson had attempted to remove Stanton months earlier, leading to his temporary suspension under the Act. After the Senate, pursuant to the law, refused to concur in the dismissal, Johnson formally ordered Stanton removed in February 1868. The House of Representatives, led by the Judiciary Committee and radical leaders like Thaddeus Stevens, swiftly moved to impeach. On February 24, 1868, the House voted 126–47 to adopt eleven articles of impeachment, principally focusing on the violation of the Tenure of Office Act and bringing the office of the President of the United States into "disgrace, ridicule, hatred, contempt, and reproach."

Trial in the Senate

The trial commenced in the Senate Chamber on March 5, 1868, with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding over the proceedings as required by the Constitution. The House appointed seven managers, including John Bingham and Benjamin Butler, to prosecute the case, while Johnson was defended by a team of prominent attorneys like William M. Evarts and Henry Stanbery. The prosecution argued that Johnson's defiance of the Tenure of Office Act constituted a "high misdemeanor," while the defense challenged the law's constitutionality and framed the trial as a partisan attack. Key witnesses included Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas and former Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. The trial was closely watched nationwide, with intense political pressure, including from groups like the Grand Army of the Republic, influencing the senators.

Verdict and Aftermath

On May 16, 1868, the Senate voted on the eleventh article of impeachment, considered the strongest charge. The result was 35 votes for conviction and 19 for acquittal, falling one vote short of the two-thirds majority required by the Constitution. Key swing votes, such as those of Edmund G. Ross of Kansas, Joseph S. Fowler of Tennessee, and James W. Grimes of Iowa, secured Johnson's survival. Votes on two additional articles days later yielded the same tally, prompting the trial's adjournment. Johnson served the remainder of his term, but his political power was broken; he failed to receive the Democratic nomination for the 1868 election, which was won by Ulysses S. Grant. The acquittal allowed Johnson to complete his term, but it did little to heal the deep fractures over Reconstruction, which continued under Congressional dominance.

Constitutional Implications

The trial established significant precedents regarding the scope and meaning of impeachable offenses. While it affirmed that impeachment was a political process, the narrow acquittal set a high bar for removing a president, suggesting that policy disagreements or minor statutory violations might not alone constitute "high crimes and misdemeanors." The episode also led to the eventual repeal of the Tenure of Office Act in 1887 and its later invalidation by the Supreme Court in Myers v. United States (1926). It served as a primary historical reference point for subsequent impeachment inquiries, including those against Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, highlighting the enduring tension between Congressional oversight and presidential independence.

Category:Andrew Johnson Category:Impeachment in the United States Category:1868 in American politics Category:Reconstruction era