Johnson Vs. Radical Republicans: The Road to the First Impeachment

Illustration of Andrew Johnson receiving notice of his Impeachment.

When Andrew Johnson, president of the United States, was impeached by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1868, it was the near climax of the political battle that had been raging between Johnson and Republicans in Congress ever since Johnson had assumed office. Johnson had been a Senate Democrat from Tennessee, the only Southern Senator to stay with the Union, when he was selected to be Vice-President on President Lincoln's reelection ticket in 1864. Ascending to the presidency after Lincoln's assassination, Johnson faced the daunting task of uniting a nation that had been deeply divided after four years of war. The key issues in postwar Reconstruction were how to readmit the former Confederate states and how newly freed slaves would be given rights. 

Andrew Johnson

Only after a month in office, Johnson began to issue pardons to ex-Confederates, with the exception of former political, military leaders and wealthy plantation owners, allowed former rebels to reclaim confiscated property. Johnson also allowed the southern states to draft state constitutions which abided by the thirteenth amendment. These new southern governments then quickly began to implement "black codes" laws which largely deprived newly freed slaves of their rights. When Republicans in Congress resumed session in December, they expressed outrage over this turn of events.

Republican Senator Thaddeus Stevens

 Led by the so called "Radicals", Congressional Republicans sought to pass legislation in opposition to the president's Reconstruction policies. Republicans passed a bill in 1866 which would expand the power of the Freedmen's Bureau, only to have it vetoed by Johnson. That same year, Congress passed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866, which would declare ex-slaves to be citizens. This time, Republicans managed to override Johnson's veto, the first time in American political history. From that point, Republicans began to introduce their own Reconstruction strategy, that would divide the South into military districts and would strictly enforce rights for freed slaves. 

In 1867, over Johnson's veto, Republicans passed the Tenure of Office Act. This act, considered today to be unconstitutional, required the approval of the Senate when dismissing cabinet members. Johnson, in open and deliberate defiance of the act, fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who supported the Radical Republicans. Declaring Johnson to be in constitutional violation, House Republicans soon began impeachment proceedings against the president. 

Sources include:

http://www.crf-usa.org/impeachment/impeachment-of-andrew-johnson.html

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/imp_account2.html

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/imp_tenure.html