Impeached: The Trial Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy

The vengeful impeachment of Lincoln's successor by the House of Representatives and Senate, for
high crimes and misdemeanors, fails to reach the required two-thirds vote for conviction.

Q: Why was President Andrew Johnson Impeached in 1868?
Many in the former Confederacy were worried that as president, Johnson would enact their hard line Reconstruction policies of protection for newly freed slaves and punishment for former slave owners, government, and military officials. In the early stages of Presidential were actually pleased with President Johnson… WHY?

1. President Johnson offers pardons to former Confederate officials. How many? What percentage?

2. Former leaders of the Confederacy are elected back into power in Southern State legislatures Example?

3. New elected state legislatures begin passing laws designed to recreate conditions close to slavery. Examples?

4. President Johnson goes back of his pledge to redistribute former plantation acreage to freed slaves and poor whites Examples?

5. President Johnson allows newly formed Southern state legislatures to elect representatives to Congress

Context: Johnson vetoes legislation that extended civil rights and financial support for the former slaves. Congress was able to override 71% his vetoes, setting the stage for a confrontation between Congress and the president

Conflict The final blow came after the passage of the Tenure of Office Act in 1867. This law made it impossible for the president to dismiss important government officials without the permission of the Senate. In a move than infuriated Congressmen, Johnson defied the act.

Conclusion: In the end, 35 of the 54 senators voted “guilty”—just one shy of the number needed to oust Johnson. Ten Republican senators joined their Democratic colleagues in voting for acquittal. Some did so out of concern that the president had not technically committed a “high crime or misdemeanor”—the constitutional qualification for removal. Others may have acted out of personal or political motivation. But Johnson was, by then, a lame duck. He served out the remaining months of his term before leaving the White House in the care of Ulysses S Grant, a stalwart Republican and supporter of Reconstruction.

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