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Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

A

Research Paper Prepared

For

Advanced Placement US History

(Mr. Daniel W. Bagby III)

By

Jason Perry

April 15, 1999

On December 19, 1998, William Jefferson Clinton became the 2^nd president to be impeached by the House of Representatives.¹ Many people, during the impeachment trial knew that the first president to be impeached was Andrew Johnson. Many people, however did not know what caused the impeachment of Andrew Johnson other than he was finally acquitted. What caused the impeachment of Andrew Johnson?

On April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theatre and Andrew Johnson became the 17^th President of the United States. From the get-go many Republicans did not like Andrew Johnson because they felt he had a hand in the assassination of Lincoln. Another reason for their dislike of Johnson was the fact he was a democrat. A third reason for their dislike of Johnson was Johnson’s reconstruction policies. Johnson believed that 10 percent of voters of the state wishing to be reintegrated into the Union must pledge allegiance to the United States. However, it did not set a guideline in how the new states’ governments were to be run. This allowed such laws as the Black Codes which forced blacks to living conditions that was sometimes worse than what they had as slaves.² The Republican proposal in Congress set guidelines for how the new state governments would be run. These clashes led Congress to enact laws that weakened the power of the presidency.

In February of 1866, Congress overrode Johnson’s veto of the Freedmen Bureau’s Bill, which extended the life of the Freedmen’s Bureau. In April of 1866 Congress overrode the veto of the Civil Rights Bill which granted citizenship to the ex-slaves.³ These to instances of Congress overriding a presidential veto showed just how little power Johnson had in Washington and how much he was despised by the radical Republicans. But the law that nearly lead to Johnson’s political death was about to be passed.

On March 2, 1867, Congress overrode Johnson’s veto of the Tenure of Office Act. This act stated that all federal officials whose appointment required Senate confirmation could not be removed without the consent of the Senate.⁴ On August 5, 1867, Johnson asked for the resignation of his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Stanton refused. Johnson fired Stanton and assigned Ulysses S. Grant to the post of Secretary of War.⁵ On January 3, 1868, the Senate voted 35-16 not to concur with the removal of Stanton. Johnson refused to accept this judgement. On February 21, 1868, Johnson appointed General Lorenzo Thomas to the post of Secretary of War.⁶ After hearing this, Stanton locked himself in his office and refused to leave. He eventually came out. Thus began the first impeachment of a president.

On February 24, 1868, the House of Representatives passed 11 articles of impeachment against President Johnson by a vote of 126-47.⁷ They charged him with violating the Tenure of Office Act, hindering Edwin Stanton from doing his job, and making fun of Congress. On March 30, 1868, the impeachment trial began.⁸ House manager Benjamin Butler gave opening arguments for the articles. Benjamin Curtis gave opening arguments for President Johnson. Over 60 witnesses testified for both side in April and the beginning of May. Thaddeus Stevens gave the Closing Argument for the house, while Attorney General Henry Stanbery gave the closing argument for President Johnson. On May 16, 1868, the Senate voted 34 to 18 on the 11^th Article of Impeachment, one short of the 2/3^rd majority needed to convict the president. On May 26, 1868, the Senate voted on the other 10 Articles of Impeachment, these also failed by one vote.⁹ Thus the trial of Andrew Johnson was over.

Andrew Johnson went on to finish his term but was severely weakened by the Congress and never accomplished much. A couple of years later, in a twist of irony, Johnson won a seat on the Senate floor. He died on July 31, 1875. In 1887, the Tenure of Office Act was repealed at the urging of then President Grover Cleveland.¹⁰

President Clinton’s impeachment trial had the shadows of the impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson all over it. The house managers were picked in the same fashion as in the trial of Andrew Johnson. The Senate kept the same rules as in the Johnson trial except in the Clinton trial Senators had to turn off their beepers. The political climate was very similar with Republicans trying to topple a president they don’t like.

In closing, the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson was never about the Tenure of Office Act, it was just the rationale. It was about one party’s disapproval of the president’s policies. They tried everything to weaken his power and the impeachment was just the next step. The impeachment of Andrew Johnson has bearings on our time with its ties to the just past impeachment trial of Bill Clinton. Now that’s we have seen this thing happen twice, will America ever impeach a president under similar circumstances? Only time and another Monica Lewinsky will tell.

1 David Goldstein, "Clinton Impeached", The Kansas City Star, 20 December 1998, A-1 2 Thomas A. Bailey and David M. Kennedy, The American Pageant: A History of the Republic, 9^th Ed. (Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991), Pgs. 483-5.

3 The Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/impeachmt.htm. (1 April 1999)

4 Ibid.

5 Ibid.

6 Ibid.

7 American Pageant. Pg. 494

8 Impeachment Trial.

9 Ibid.

10 Ibid.

Bailey, Thomas A. And Kennedy, David M., The American Pageant: A History of the Republic, 9^th Ed. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1991.

Castel, Albert E., The Presidency of Andrew Johnson. Lawrence, KS.: Regents Press of Kansas, 1979.

Rehnquist, William H., Grand Inquests: The Historic Impeachments of Justice Samuel Chase and President Andrew Johnson. New York: Morrow Publishing, 1992.

Thomas, Lately. The First President Johnson: The Three Lives of the 17^th President of the United States of America. New York: Morrow Publishing, 1968.

Golstein, David. "Clinton Impeached", The Kansas City Star, 20 December 1998, A-1

The Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/impeachmt.htm (1 April 1999).