Andrew Johnson: The Controversial Tenure Of Office Act
The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Born in North Carolina in 1808 to impoverished parents, Andrew Johnson had no formal education. He became a tailor’s apprentice at age fourteen. He later moved to Greenville, in eastern Tennessee, where he established a thriving tailor shop and went into local politics. Andrew Johnson was a lifelong Democrat and slave owner who won a place alongside Abraham Lincoln on the 1864 Republican ticket, in order to gain the support of pro-war Democrats.
Their election was closer in the popular than in the electoral columns; in the end they pulled off a victory. Lincoln received fifty-five percent of the popular, and ninety-one percent of the electoral votes. Johnson became vice-president. During the time period between …show more content…
Without the Senate’s consent, the president no longer had the power to remove from office those whom he has appointed. Convinced that the Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional, Johnson removed the secretary of war, Edwin, and replaced him with a general named Lorenzo Thomas. When he did this, he acted under a provision of the Tenure of Office Act; however, he was immediately accused with violation of the law. Congressional leaders claimed that he was guilty of a “high crime and misdemeanor” such as demanded by the Constitution as a qualification for removal. Although Johnson’s arguments were reasonable, and he did a good job defending him self, the Senate was not inclined to take sides with the …show more content…
The Senate met on May 16th to discuss the verdict. They felt that voting seemed to be their best chance for obtaining a conviction. The vote results were thirty-five to nineteen in favor of conviction; these results were one vote shy of the two-thirds majority needed for impeachment. The final vote 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 office. But it did not mean that the President retained governing power. For the rest of his term, Johnson was a cipher without influence on public
Born in North Carolina in 1808 to impoverished parents, Andrew Johnson had no formal education. He became a tailor’s apprentice at age fourteen. He later moved to Greenville, in eastern Tennessee, where he established a thriving tailor shop and went into local politics. Andrew Johnson was a lifelong Democrat and slave owner who won a place alongside Abraham Lincoln on the 1864 Republican ticket, in order to gain the support of pro-war Democrats.
Their election was closer in the popular than in the electoral columns; in the end they pulled off a victory. Lincoln received fifty-five percent of the popular, and ninety-one percent of the electoral votes. Johnson became vice-president. During the time period between …show more content…
Without the Senate’s consent, the president no longer had the power to remove from office those whom he has appointed. Convinced that the Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional, Johnson removed the secretary of war, Edwin, and replaced him with a general named Lorenzo Thomas. When he did this, he acted under a provision of the Tenure of Office Act; however, he was immediately accused with violation of the law. Congressional leaders claimed that he was guilty of a “high crime and misdemeanor” such as demanded by the Constitution as a qualification for removal. Although Johnson’s arguments were reasonable, and he did a good job defending him self, the Senate was not inclined to take sides with the …show more content…
The Senate met on May 16th to discuss the verdict. They felt that voting seemed to be their best chance for obtaining a conviction. The vote results were thirty-five to nineteen in favor of conviction; these results were one vote shy of the two-thirds majority needed for impeachment. The final vote 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 office. But it did not mean that the President retained governing power. For the rest of his term, Johnson was a cipher without influence on public