The Other Impeachment

The Other Impeachment

Once before in American history, during the turbulent era of Reconstruction that followed the Civil War, a President was impeached by the House and tried before the Senate–Andrew Johnson.

Facebook
Twitter
Email
Flipboard
Pocket

Once before in American history, during the turbulent era of Reconstruction that followed the Civil War, a President was impeached by the House and tried before the Senate–Andrew Johnson. Unlike today, Johnson’s impeachment arose from differences with Congress over the most fundamental questions of public policy: How should the country be reunited; who was entitled to the rights of American citizens; what should be the status of the emancipated slaves?

Johnson’s Reconstruction policy is often described as one of “leniency” toward the South. It was lenient enough to white Southerners, to whom Johnson quickly restored control over local affairs. To the 4 million emancipated slaves, however, Johnson’s lily-white plan of Reconstruction was extremely punitive. Johnson ordered black families evicted from land on which they had been settled by the US Army, and through the notorious Black Codes the Southern governments he created attempted to reduce blacks back to the condition of dependent plantation laborers.

Between 1865 and 1867 Northern Republicans slowly became convinced that Reconstruction must recognize blacks as citizens with equality before the law and, for men, the right to vote. Johnson, a thoroughgoing racist, opposed these policies. The 1866 Congressional elections, a sweeping victory for the Republicans, demonstrated that, unlike Clinton, Johnson had little popular support. Yet Johnson attempted to use the patronage and his command of the Army to obstruct Congressional policies.

The catalyst for Johnson’s impeachment was his flouting of the Tenure of Office Act, which forbade the dismissal of certain federal officials without Senate approval. Claiming the law was unconstitutional, Johnson removed Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. That action became the basis of the Articles of Impeachment.

In the end, even though Republicans commanded well above a two-thirds majority in the Senate, seven moderates voted to acquit, fearing damage to the separation of powers were Johnson removed and assured by Johnson’s attorneys that he would stop obstructing Congressional policy. The final vote was 35 to 19, one short of the two-thirds needed for conviction.

Today, few historians have a good word to say for Andrew Johnson. His political crimes were legion. But most consider his impeachment to have been a mistake. Both prosecution and defense accepted the premise that impeachment requires an unequivocal and serious violation of the law; incompetence, disregard of the popular will or even strenuous efforts to deny millions of black Americans their basic rights were not enough. If these did not justify Johnson’s impeachment, surely Clinton’s private behavior and efforts to conceal it do not meet the constitutional standard of “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

No one ever voted for Andrew Johnson for President of the United States. Bill Clinton was twice elected by the American people. For a partisan majority in Congress to remove him from office in the absence of persuasive evidence that his actions have damaged the body politic would do far more harm to American democracy than Clinton’s sordid deeds.

Thank you for reading The Nation!

We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.

Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.

For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.

Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.

Thank you for your generosity.

Ad Policy
x