The House of Representatives voted 126-47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson on this date in 1868. The New York Times report on the vote begins:
The first act in the great civil drama of the nineteenth century is concluded. Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, stands impeached of “high crimes and misdemeanors.” It is of no use to argue whether his acts were right or wrong, whether the law he violated is constitutional or otherwise, or whether it is good or bad policy to proceed to this extreme. The House of Representatives, with a full realization of all the possible consequences, has solemnly decided that he shall be held to account in the manner prescribed by the Constitution for his alleged misdemeanors, and, be the result what it may, the issue is made. It must be met without delay, and the first step is already complete.
As the War ended in 1865, there were essentially two different approaches to Reconstruction. The first, shared by Lincoln and Johnson, was that the southern states had not left the Union. There had simply been a rebellion by their citizens. The Union’s purpose in the war had been to end the rebellion, replace the southern leaders and restore the state governments, albeit with freedom for all, black and white. The second approach took the view that the south was a conquered nation to be governed by the federal government. This view was held by many Republicans in Congress.
Johnson was a Democrat and slave-owner from Tennessee selected to run with the Republican Lincoln in 1864 in hopes of attracting pro-Union, pro-war Democratic votes. Johnson was far less inclined than Lincoln to support the former slaves or demand much from the new southern governments. He vetoed Freedmen’s Bills (which were passed over his vetoes) and he openly opposed the Fourteenth Amendment. The Reconstruction Act of 1867 was also passed over Johnson’s veto. It established military governments in the south.
Ultimately, when Johnson attempted to remove Secretary of War Stanton (the official charged by Congress with carrying out the Reconstruction Act) the House voted to impeach.
The trial was held in the Senate in the spring of 1868. The Senate voted 35-19 to remove Johnson from office, but 36 votes were required. He completed his term as President (until March 1869) and was elected U.S. Senator from Tennessee in 1875, but served only five months before he died.
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson has contemporary reports from Harper’s Weekly.