Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

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
Personal Early life 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 Death 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 Edwin Stanton from the position of Secretary of War 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 had 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 to 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".