Question

What is impeachment and conviction. about Andrew Johnson

Answer 1

Short answer
- Impeachment is the House of Representatives bringing formal charges (like an indictment) against a federal official. Conviction is the Senate finding the official guilty at the trial and removing them from office (and possibly also disqualifying them from future federal office).
- Andrew Johnson (the 17th U.S. president) was impeached by the House in 1868 mainly for violating the Tenure of Office Act by attempting to remove Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and for related alleged “high crimes and misdemeanors.” The Senate held a trial, but Johnson was acquitted—he fell one vote short of the two‑thirds majority needed for conviction and removal—so he remained in office.

A bit more detail
- Constitutional process: The House votes articles of impeachment by simple majority. The Senate then holds a trial presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States for a president. Conviction requires a two‑thirds vote of Senators present; conviction removes the official from office.
- Context for Johnson: After Lincoln’s assassination Johnson became president and clashed with the Republican Congress over Reconstruction policy. Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act (1867) to restrict Johnson’s power to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval. Johnson tried to suspend and then remove Edwin Stanton; the House charged him with breaching that law among other accusations.
- Outcome and significance: The House approved articles of impeachment in 1868; the Senate trial (presided over by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase) ended with acquittal—Johnson was not removed. The case was the first presidential impeachment in U.S. history and remains an important example of the political (not strictly criminal) nature of impeachment. The Tenure of Office Act was later seen as constitutionally questionable and was repealed; later court rulings curtailed congressional restrictions on removal power.