Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

With the assassination of Lincoln, the presidency fell upon an old-fashioned southerner named Andrew Johnson. Although an honest and honorable man, Andrew Johnson was one of the most unfortunate Presidents. Over time there has been a controversial debate as to whether Johnson deserved to be impeached, or if it was an unconstitutional attempt by Congress to infringe upon the presidents authority. The impeachment of Andrew Johnson was politically motivated.

The spirit of the Jacksonian democracy inspired Andrew Johnson. From this influence he helped found the Democratic Party in his region and became elected to the town council in 1829. After serving in his town council for two years he was elected mayor in 1831. Johnson was a strict constructionist and an advocate of states' rights who distrusted the power of government at all levels. Following his term as Mayor Johnson won elections to the Tennessee State legislature in 1835, 1839, and 1841. After serving these terms he was elected to Congress in 1843. As a member of the US House, Johnson opposed government involvement in the nations economy through tariffs and internal improvements. "In 1852 Johnson lost his seat in th

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During Johnson's term General William H Emory was the commander of the Washington military district. The real issue was political- the president's use of the powers of his office to abstract the execution of laws that Congress had enacted. This plan would have left the

civil rights of former slaves completely under the auspices of former-slave

owners (Kennedy). In 1857, Johnson was then elected to represent Tennessee in the US Senate. "He felt that the Southern states were still in the union and only had to set up loyal governments to resume legitimate relations with the United States.

The Republicans who voted for conviction were concerned about their own and

their party's future, as well as the possibility that Johnson would allow the

former confederate leaders to regain their political power. At the instance of his lawyers, Johnson stayed away from the Senate chamber and refrained from making inflammatory public speeches while the trial was going on. Since the President could not guarantee black civil and political rights it caused opponents to pass the fourteenth Amendment in hope of securing them. The break became final when Johnson allied himself with pro-union Whigs to fight the Secessionist Democrats in his state for several months. " (Jackson) Following his loss he came back in 1853 to win a narrow victory for governor and served two terms. He served only five months before he passed away. With these two violations committed by Johnson the Judiciary Committee voted to submit a report recommending impeachment.

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