A Brief Overview of Johnson's Impeachment
Andrew Johnson's presidency is one of the most poorly received by
historians, who rank his tenure as one of the worst on record. Certainly,
this impression is strongly supported by the fact that he was the first-and
until Bill Clinton over a century later, the only-U.S. president to see the
articles of impeachment brought before him. In consideration of this
impeachment and trial from a fully objective standpoint, though, we find
that it serves less as a window into the failures of his presidency and
more into the politicization which stimulated the invocation of his
impeachment.
Certainly, the challenges of division were heavily incumbent upon
Johnson, who came into office under the worst of circumstances. Upon the
armistice ending the bloody Civil War and the subsequent assassination of
Abraham Lincoln, vice president Johnson was sworn in to office in 1865. As
a lone Southern Democrat remaining on the side of the Union during the war,
he used his middling role to bridge the emotional gap between the North and
South. The tactic backfired on him as Northern Republicans viewed with
hostility his interest in reconciling fast and returning the south to
viability. Bitter northerners felt this denoted a suspect allegiance and
brutally attacked his policies, especially his effort to create a cabinet
more sympathetic to his interest in reconciliation.
By outcome, his opponents amongst northern republicans struck
preemptively. "Sensing vulnerability, Congress moved against Johnson by
passing the Tenure of Office Act, which limited Johnson's ability to remove
cabinet officials without congressional approval." (Bacon, 1) When the
inevitable struck and Johnson attempted to remove a divisive secretary of
war, fringe elements of congress rallied for his impeachment. Though his
presidency was preserved by one vote, his fate as a divider and a president
made impotent by political opposition was sealed.
Works Cited:
Bacon, D.C. et al. (1995). History of the United States Congress. New
York: Simon & Schuster.
