Efforts to impeach Andrew Johnson

This article is part of a series about Andrew Johnson
Personal Early life Slavery Legacy Bibliography 15th Governor of Tennessee Governorship 16th Vice President of the United States Vice presidency Drunk V.P. inaugural address Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 17th President of the United States Presidency Inauguration Foreign policy Cabinet appointment Judicial appointment Conclusion of Civil War Reconstruction era Reconstruction Acts Civil Rights Act (1866) Swing Around the Circle Impeachment First inquiry Second inquiry Trial Managers investigation Efforts Timeline Articles of impeachment Vice presidential and Presidential campaigns 1864 National Union national convention election 1868 Democratic National Convention Post-presidency Return to Senate Death Cemetery Historic Site Family Eliza McCardle Johnson Martha Johnson Patterson Charles Johnson Mary Johnson Stover Robert Johnson Frank Johnson
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During his presidency, Andrew Johnson, the 17th president of the United States, saw multiple efforts during his presidency to impeach him, culminating in his formal impeachment on February 24, 1868, which was followed by a Senate impeachment trial in which he was acquitted.

The Radical branch of the Republican Party was eager to impeach Johnson long before the moderates in the party were willing to. After a number of efforts to impeach Johnson failed, the House Committee on the Judiciary was authorized in January 1867 to run the first formal impeachment inquiry, which lasted until November. This inquiry saw the committee initially vote 4–5 against supporting impeachment in June 1867, reversing course in November 1867 with a 5–4 recommendation for impeachment. Despite this recommendation, the House voted 57–108 against impeachment on December 7, 1867. On January 25, 1868, a second impeachment inquiry was launched. After a February 13, 1868 committee vote to table an impeachment resolution, impeachment momentarily appeared unlikely.

After Johnson appeared to violate the Tenure of Office Act on February 21, 1868, the United States House of Representatives voted to impeach him on February 24, 1868. He was acquitted by the United States Senate in the subsequent impeachment trial.