House Impeaches Johnson for Defying Reconstruction Legislation

The House impeached President Andrew Johnson on February 24, 1868, primarily for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who was protecting Reconstruction policy implementation. The Senate trial ended in acquittal by one vote on May 16, 1868. The impeachment struggle was fundamentally about control over Reconstruction: Johnson had systematically undermined military commanders, restored ex-Confederate state authority, and blocked Black rights at every opport