Why was Andrew Johnson impeached?
The impeachment of President Andrew Johnson was a result of political conflict and the rupture of ideologies in the aftermath of the American Civil War. It rose from uncompromised beliefs and a contest for power in a nation stuggling with reunity. Before Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, he had formulated a plan of reconstruction that would be lenient toward the defeated South as it rejoined the Union. He planned to grant a general amnesty to those who pledged an oath of loyalty to the United States and agreed to obey all federal laws pertaining to slavery. (The exclusion to the general amnesty would be high-ranking Confederate officials and military leaders.) Lincoln’s plan also stated that when a tenth of the voters who had taken part in the 1860 election had agreed to the oath within a particular state, then that state could formulate a new government and start sending representatives to Congress. Andrew Johnson was intent on carrying out this plan when he assumed the Presid
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, was one of the most dramatic events in the political life of the United States during Reconstruction. Johnson was impeached for the charge of High Crimes and Misdemeanors on February 24, 1868 of which one of the articles of impeachment was violating the Tenure of Office Act. He had removed Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, from office and replaced him with Adjutant General Lorenzo Thomas. Johnson wanted to replace Stanton for numerous reasons. Stanton had taken control of the country after Lincoln’s assassination and controlled departments other than the War Department. Most notably, Stanton was involved in running the State Department which was officially headed by Secretary of State William H. Seward. Stanton even used the Secret Service to spy on Johnson and other members of the cabinet.
