Impeachment is front and center today. It’s only happened three other times in our history—1868 (Johnson), 1974 (Nixon) and 1998 (Clinton). Most government officials, reporters and pundits spend much of their time discussing the Nixon and Clinton impeachments, which is understandable. Both happened in the past 46 years. But I think we should really spend at least a little time looking at the Johnson impeachment because there is an important parallels between the Congresses of 1868 and 2020.

Andrew Johnson was a Democrat from Tennessee who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1857. Though Tennessee seceded from the Union on June 8, 1861, Johnson stayed in Washington, and in 1862, Abraham Lincoln made him the Military Governor of Tennessee. In the election of 1864 Lincoln was looking for a national unity running mate rather than a staunch Republican, and Johnson, known as a War Democrat or Southern Unionist, filled the bill. Lincoln and Johnson were inaugurated on March 4, 1865, but with Lincoln’s assassination on April 14, 1865, Johnson became our 17th president.

Like many presidents, Johnson had a short honeymoon period. The war was over—much of the country simply wanted things to return to normal. However, “normal” meant something different to Andrew Johnson than it did to the Republican majority. Johnson felt that the best way to heal the nation was to move toward reconstruction as rapidly as possible. That included allowing each individual state to decide its own laws for former slaves. The Republican had a different take on what should happen to the South. They wanted the national government to apply strong standards, including the 14th Amendment, to the entire country, while severely limiting the rights of the former secessionists.

The friction between the Executive and Legislative branches ratcheted up quickly, not only because Johnson vetoed a number of bills, but because he was a Democrat. The conciliatory Lincoln was gone. As far as the current Republicans (many of whom had been abolitionists) were concerned, the Democrats had caused the war and they should be punished. Johnson had to go! But how? They started by over-riding Johnson’s veto of the 1867 Tenure of Office Act. Simply put, under the Constitution, specific individuals such as cabinet members, ambassadors, certain judges, etc. had to have the advise and consent of the Senate. Under the new law, when the President wanted to remove any of those people, the Senate would again need to pass their advice and consent. (That is no longer the case!!) Then they waited to see what Johnson would do. It didn’t take long.

Many in Congress were well aware that Johnson wanted to force Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War under Lincoln, to resign. They hoped that if he fired Stanton without the new advice and consent of the Senate, that would be enough to impeach the President. Initially Johnson suspended Stanton and put Gen. Ulysses Grant in his place—but the Senate reinstated Stanton and Grant, who was already planning to run for the Presidency in 1868, bowed out gracefully. Johnson was infuriated and fired Stanton outright, putting Gen. Lorenzo Thomas in his place. Stanton arrested Thomas and impeachment was on its way.

The Republicans hoped to do two things at the same time. Keep the Tenure of Office Act, which would give more power to the Senate, and impeach Johnson who they had come to loathe. Led by the aged Thaddeus Stevens, the House quickly put together an impeachment committee, drafted 11 articles, approved seven managers, passed it on a strictly party vote (126-47) and on February 24, 1868, shipped it off to the Senate.

Presided by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Samuel Chase, the trial began on March 5, 1868. First came the House prosecutors (managers) explaining the reasons for their articles. The five members Johnson’s defense then argued that Johnson had done nothing to cause any injury, and that since he hadn’t appointed Stanton (Lincoln had), the Tenure of Office Act had nothing to with him. The Senate required a 2/3 majority, or 36 votes, to impeach the President. On May 26, 1868, the Senate had a roll-call vote. It was 35-19—Johnson was acquired.

Ultimately the Senate had to decide whether Johnson had, in fact, engaged in treason, bribery or a high crime or misdemeanor as defined in the Constitution, or did they just detest him so much that they wanted to get rid of him in any way possible—even though the next presidential race was well underway. In later years, two Senators explained their thoughts. James Grimes of Iowa commented, “I cannot agree to distracting the harmonious working of the Constitution for the sake of getting rid of an Unacceptable President.” Similarly, Senator Edmund G. Ross of Kansas wrote that had they impeached Johnson they would have “revolutionized our political fabric into a partisan Congressional autocracy.” A few months after the trial, a man much more to congressional liking, won. Think long and hard about what Grimes and Ross said as we watch what is going on before our eyes.

**The Tenure of Office Act was rescinded in 1887.