The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
»Impeachment, Trial, and Acquittal

back to the Andrew Johnson Home Page


 
March - June 1868

go to the first article in this section

by John Adler, Publisher

After President Johnson notified Congress on February 21, 1868, that he had removed Edwin Stanton as Secretary of War and replaced him with Adjutant-General Lorenzo Thomas, it took the House of Representatives only three days to impeach him for "high crimes and misdemeanors." Meanwhile, Stanton refused to abandon his office and had Thomas arrested for attempting to exercise the duties of the Secretary of War.

Johnson’s trial in the Senate, which he did not attend, began on March 23 and was presided over by Chief Justice Salmon B. Chase. There were eleven articles of impeachment. On May 16, the Senate voted on the eleventh article, which included many of the charges contained in the preceding articles. Johnson was acquitted by one vote; the 35-19 count was just short of the necessary two-thirds majority.

Harper’s Weekly had its own artist, Theodore Davis, draw up many scenes of the impeachment process and drama; they included detailed illustrations, drawn to scale, of both the House and the Senate in session.

This section also includes many editorials and articles discussing various grounds for impeachment, as well as good summaries of the arguments made by both the prosecution and the defense. These pros and cons, along with the preceding ones going back to November 1866, have been specially indexed by topic.

Today’s politicians, students, faculty, press and general public will be able to get a good understanding of the issues as they were presented to 1868 readers by the most important national periodical of that time. Also included are key discussions about party loyalty vs. the need to vote one’s conscience which have just as much application today as they did 130 years ago.

Articles Related to the Impeachment, Trial, and Acquittal:

Impeachment of President Johnson
March 7, 1868, page 147

The President and the Law
March 7, 1868, page 146

The Situation (cartoon)
March 7, 1868, page 160

Impeachment (T. Stevens and J. Bingham) (illus)
March 14, 1868, page 161

The National Inquest
March 14, 1868, page 162

Impeachment
March 14, 1868, page 162

The Impeachment
March 14, 1868, page 163

A Brace of Dead Ducks (cartoon)
March 14, 1868, page 176

The Impeachment Managers
March 21, 1868, page 179

The Removability of Public Officers
March 21, 1868, page 178-179

Ribaldry as an Impeachable Offense
March 21, 1868, page 179

The Chief Justice and the Senate
March 21, 1868, page 179

Incidents of the Impeachment
March 21, 1868, page 179

Apathy of Congress
March 21, 1868, page 179

Mr. Steven’s Last Speech on Impeachment
March 21, 1868, page 179

The Race for the Wires
March 21, 1868, page 179

This Little Boy Would Persist… (cartoon)
March 21, 1868, page 192

George T. Brown, Sergeant-At-Arms of the Senate,
Serving the Summons on President Johnson. (illus)

March 28, 1868, page 193

The President’s Power over the Cabinet
March 28, 1868, page 194

The Precedent of Impeachment
March 28, 1868, page 194

The President’s Trial
March 28, 1868, page 195

The Impeachment Trial
March 28, 1868, page 195

The President and the Law
April 4, 1868, page 210

The Impeachment Trial
April 4, 1868, page 212

President Johnson Consulting with his Counsel (illus)
April 4, 1868, page 212

Fac-Simile of Ticket of Admission to the Impeachment Trial. (illus)
April 4, 1868, page 212
VI-32 

J.I. Christie, Messenger of the Senate, Receiving Tickets at the Entrance. (illus)
April 11, 1868, page 225

The Impeachment Trial
April 11, 1868, page 225

The Members of the House of Representatives Proceeding to the Senate Chamber (illus)
April 11, 1868, page 225

The Senate as a Court of Impeachment for the Trial of Andrew Johnson (illus)
April 11, 1868, pages 232-233

The President’s Usurpations
April 11, 1868, page 226

The Chief Justice Presiding
April 18, 1868, page 242

The Evidence against the President
April 18, 1868, page 242

The Opening of the President’s Counsel
April 25, 1868, page 258

The Impeachment Trial
April 18, 1868, page 244

The President’s Counsel
April 25, 1868, page 260

The President and the Law
May 2, 1868, page 274

Impeachment
May 2, 1868, page 275

The End of the Trial
May 9, 1868, page 290

Impeachment
May 9, 1868, page 291

Mr. Evarts and the Party
May 16, 1868, page 306

Impeachment
May 16, 1868, page 307

Impeachment
May 23, 1868, page 323

The Impeachment
May 30, 1868, page 350

Scene in the Senate Lobby
May 30, 1868, page 350

Scene in Newspaper Row
May 30, 1868, page 350

Effect of the Vote on the Eleventh Article of Impeachment (cartoon)
May 30, 1868, page 352

The New Secretary of War
June 13, 1868, page 372

The Decision
May 30, 1868, page 338

The Oath and the Evidence
May 30, 1868, page 338

Party Terrorism
May 30, 1868, page 338

Party Good Sense
May 30, 1868, page 339

The Dissenting Senators
June 6, 1868, page 354

Criticism of Public Men
June 20, 1868, page 386

Congress
August 1, 1868, page 483

A Party View
June 13, 1868, page 370

 

Website design © 1998-2005 HarpWeek, LLC
All Content © 1998-2005 HarpWeek, LLC
Please submit questions to webmaster@harpweek.com