1868 impeachment of Andrew Johnson, 17th US president
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Copy of the House resolution to impeach President Johnson, adopted February 24, 1868
Accused
Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the United States
Date
February 24, 1868 (1868-02-24) to May 26, 1868 (1868-05-26)
Outcome
Acquitted by the U.S. Senate, remained in office
Charges
Eleven high crimes and misdemeanors
Cause
Violating the Tenure of Office Act by attempting to replace Edwin Stanton, the secretary of war, while Congress was not in session and other alleged abuses of presidential power
Key congressional votes
Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives
Accusation
High crimes and misdemeanors
Votes in favor
126
Votes against
47
Result
Approved resolution of impeachment
Voting in the U.S. Senate
Accusation
Article XI
Votes in favor
35 "guilty"
Votes against
19 "not guilty"
Result
Acquitted (36 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)
Accusation
Article II
Votes in favor
35 "guilty"
Votes against
19 "not guilty"
Result
Acquitted (36 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)
Accusation
Article III
Votes in favor
35 "guilty"
Votes against
19 "not guilty"
Result
Acquitted (36 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)
The Senate held a roll call vote on only 3 of the 11 articles before adjourning as a court.
This article is part of a series about
Andrew Johnson
Early life
Andrew Johnson and slavery
Legacy
Bibliography
15th Governor of Tennessee
Governorship
16th Vice President of the United States
Vice presidency
Drunk V.P. inaugural address
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
17th President of the United States
Presidency
Inauguration
Foreign policy
Cabinet appointment
Judicial appointment
Conclusion of Civil War
Reconstruction era
Reconstruction Acts
Civil Rights Act (1866)
Swing Around the Circle
Impeachment
First inquiry
Second inquiry
Trial
Managers investigation
Efforts
Timeline
Articles of impeachment
Vice presidential and Presidential campaigns
1864
National Union national convention
election
1868
Democratic National Convention
Post-presidency
Return to Senate
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Cemetery
Historic Site
Family
Eliza McCardle Johnson
Martha Johnson Patterson
Charles Johnson
Mary Johnson Stover
Robert Johnson
Frank Johnson
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The impeachment of Andrew Johnson was initiated on February 24, 1868, when the United States House of Representatives passed a resolution to impeach Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, for "high crimes and misdemeanors". The alleged high crimes and misdemeanors were afterwards specified in eleven articles of impeachment adopted by the House on March 2 and 3, 1868. The primary charge against Johnson was that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act. Specifically, that he had acted to remove from office Edwin Stanton and to replace him with Brevet Major General Lorenzo Thomas as secretary of war ad interim. The Tenure of Office Act had been passed by Congress in March 1867 over Johnson's veto with the primary intent of protecting Stanton from being fired without the Senate's consent. Stanton often sided with the Radical Republican faction and did not have a good relationship with Johnson.
Johnson was the first United States president to be impeached. After the House formally adopted the articles of impeachment, they forwarded them to the United States Senate for adjudication. The trial in the Senate began on March 5, with Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presiding. On May 16, the Senate voted against convicting Johnson on one of the articles, with its 35–19 vote in favor of conviction falling one vote short of the necessary two-thirds majority. A 10-day recess of the Senate trial was called before reconvening to convict him on additional articles. On May 26, the Senate voted against convicting the president on two more articles by margins identical to the first vote. After this, the trial was adjourned sine die without votes being held on the remaining eight articles of impeachment.
The impeachment and trial of Andrew Johnson had important political implications for the balance of federal legislative-executive power. It maintained the principle that Congress should not remove the president from office simply because its members disagreed with him over policy, style, and administration of the office. It also resulted in diminished presidential influence on public policy and overall governing power, fostering a system of governance which future-President Woodrow Wilson referred to in the 1880s as "Congressional Government".
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