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The Impeachment of
Andrew Johnson |
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»Key Political Issues Affecting the Impeachment |
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by John Adler,
Publisher
The action of
President Johnson that led directly to his impeachment was his deliberate violation of the
Tenure of Office Act. By discharging Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton on February 21,
1868, Johnson intentionally defied Congress.The
Constitutionality of the Act was a major point of contention during the trial. Harpers
Weekly discussed the "obscurity of the law" in an April 17, 1869 editorial, "An Unsettling
Settlement", which was printed a month after Johnsons term ended.
The Tenure of Office Act was repealed in 1887. In
1926, the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional even though it had been
repealed almost 40 years before. The ruling came in the Myers v. U.S. case
that dealt with the ability of Congress to limit the removal powers of the President with
regard to postmasters.
Other Articles in this Section:
Reconstruction:
Radicalism versus Conservatism
Future Control of Congress
Personal Considerations Affecting the
Vote to Impeach |
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