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Why did the House of Representatives decide to impeach President Johnson?
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The impeachment sprang from a long-running, bitter conflict between President Andrew Johnson and the Republican (especially Radical Republican) Congress over how to reconstruct the South after the Civil War. Congress thought Johnson was obstructing its Reconstruction program and endangering the rights of freedpeople; Johnson thought Congress was trampling presidential authority and making the states pay a price for rebellion.
Immediate trigger
- In February 1868 Johnson tried to remove Edwin M. Stanton, the Radical-aligned Secretary of War, and replace him (he later appointed Lorenzo Thomas). That action violated the Tenure of Office Act (passed by Congress in 1867), which restricted the president’s ability to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval. Congress viewed the dismissal as a deliberate illegal defiance of its authority.
Broader reasons
- Johnson had repeatedly vetoed or publicly fought key Reconstruction measures (Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Acts) and campaigned against the Radical program.
- He made inflammatory public speeches attacking Congress and its leaders and sought to undermine Congressional authority over Reconstruction policy and the occupation of the South.
- Congress and Radical Republicans believed his policies were restoring power to former Confederates and jeopardizing the civil and political rights of freedmen.
The House therefore voted to impeach (February 24, 1868), adopting articles that focused mainly on his violation of the Tenure of Office Act and on charges that he had attempted to usurp congressional powers and bring the government into contempt. The Senate later tried him and acquitted him by one vote.
Immediate trigger
- In February 1868 Johnson tried to remove Edwin M. Stanton, the Radical-aligned Secretary of War, and replace him (he later appointed Lorenzo Thomas). That action violated the Tenure of Office Act (passed by Congress in 1867), which restricted the president’s ability to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval. Congress viewed the dismissal as a deliberate illegal defiance of its authority.
Broader reasons
- Johnson had repeatedly vetoed or publicly fought key Reconstruction measures (Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Reconstruction Acts) and campaigned against the Radical program.
- He made inflammatory public speeches attacking Congress and its leaders and sought to undermine Congressional authority over Reconstruction policy and the occupation of the South.
- Congress and Radical Republicans believed his policies were restoring power to former Confederates and jeopardizing the civil and political rights of freedmen.
The House therefore voted to impeach (February 24, 1868), adopting articles that focused mainly on his violation of the Tenure of Office Act and on charges that he had attempted to usurp congressional powers and bring the government into contempt. The Senate later tried him and acquitted him by one vote.
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