PEOPLE POWER
The One-Vote Acquittal of Andrew Johnson
In 1868, seven Republicans refused to remove a president they opposed, wary of the precedent Congress might set and the man who would replace him.
Andrew Johnson’s first-of-its-kind impeachment trial ended one vote short of conviction. The result kept him in office but did little to resolve the struggle over Reconstruction.
In May 1868, Washington crowded the Senate galleries to watch the first impeachment trial of an American president. The Senate printed admission tickets to manage the demand. At stake was whether Andrew Johnson would be removed from office—and what power Congress would have over a president it opposed. [1][3]
On May 16, senators voted first on Article XI, the charge House managers considered their strongest. Conviction required 36 votes. The tally was 35 guilty and 19 not guilty: one vote short. [1][3]
Kansas Republican Edmund G. Ross cast one of the votes for acquittal, and his name became closely tied to the outcome. But Johnson did not survive because of one senator alone. Seven Republicans joined the Senate’s Democrats in voting not guilty. Their decision halted the immediate effort to remove a president whose approach to Reconstruction many of them opposed, while limiting the use of impeachment as a response to policy disagreement alone. [2][5]
The Cabinet Fight Behind the Impeachment
Johnson’s impeachment grew out of the struggle over Reconstruction. After Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, Johnson favored a comparatively lenient restoration of Southern state governments. Congressional Republicans pressed for stronger federal action during Reconstruction, and the two branches repeatedly collided.
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over Johnson’s veto in 1867. The law restricted a president’s ability to remove certain Senate-confirmed officials without Senate approval. Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton became the focus of the conflict.
Johnson suspended Stanton in August 1867 and appointed Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on an interim basis. When the Senate declined to approve Stanton’s suspension in January 1868, Grant stepped aside and Stanton returned to office.
On February 21, Johnson removed Stanton and named Maj. Gen. Lorenzo Thomas secretary of war ad interim. Johnson intended the move to test the constitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act in court. Stanton refused to surrender the office, turning a dispute over one Cabinet post into a constitutional confrontation. [4]
Three days later, on February 24, the House voted 126–47 to impeach Johnson. It later adopted 11 articles of impeachment, most connected to the Stanton dispute and the Tenure of Office Act. The articles did not simply charge Johnson with holding objectionable views on Reconstruction, even though the wider conflict over Reconstruction drove the impeachment effort. [1]
A Trial in the Senate
The Senate organized itself as a court of impeachment on March 5, 1868. Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase presided, while senators served as the body that would decide Johnson’s fate. [1][2]
The House managers included Thaddeus Stevens, Benjamin F. Butler, and John A. Bingham. Butler opened the prosecution’s arguments on March 30. Johnson’s defense team included former Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Robbins Curtis and William M. Evarts; Curtis began the defense case on April 9. [2]
The defense argued that Stanton was not protected by the Tenure of Office Act in the way the House maintained, and that Johnson could challenge a law he regarded as unconstitutional. The case raised a larger question for senators: could a president be removed over a contested legal and political confrontation, or would that make impeachment resemble a congressional vote of no confidence? [2][4]
The Problem of Benjamin Wade
The possible successor to Johnson added another complication. Under the presidential succession law then in effect, Senate President pro tempore Benjamin Wade of Ohio would become president if Johnson were removed. Wade was a leading Radical Republican, and his possible elevation gave moderate Republicans another reason to hesitate. [5]
On May 16, Article XI failed by the 35–19 vote. Ross was among seven Republican senators who voted to acquit, along with William Pitt Fessenden of Maine, James W. Grimes of Iowa, John B. Henderson of Missouri, Lyman Trumbull of Illinois, Joseph S. Fowler of Tennessee, and Peter G. Van Winkle of West Virginia. [1][5]
The result was not a simple story of a single senator defying his party. House managers investigated allegations that patronage or bribery had influenced members of the acquittal bloc, but the inquiry did not establish a straightforward account of bought votes. Political assurances, constitutional concerns, and fear of a Wade presidency all shaped the calculations around acquittal. [5]
An Acquittal Without a Settlement
The Senate did not vote on all 11 articles. After the May 16 vote, it recessed for 10 days. On May 26, Articles II and III each failed by the same 35–19 margin. The Senate then adjourned as a court of impeachment without considering the remaining articles. Stanton resigned immediately after the final acquittal votes. [1]
Johnson remained president until his term ended in March 1869. His acquittal did not resolve the fight over Reconstruction. Congressional Republicans continued to shape Reconstruction policy, while the conflict left enforcement of federal protections politically uncertain for formerly enslaved people in the former Confederate states.
The trial’s constitutional significance was also lasting. The Senate’s refusal to convict helped establish that impeachment was not simply a way for Congress to replace a president over a policy dispute. [2]
The statute at the center of the crisis did not endure. In *Myers v. United States* in 1926, the Supreme Court held congressional restrictions on the president’s power to remove executive officials unconstitutional. [2]
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Andrew Johnson impeached in 1868?
The House impeached Johnson after he removed Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and attempted to replace him with Lorenzo Thomas. The articles focused largely on alleged violations of the Tenure of Office Act, though the dispute emerged from the broader conflict over Reconstruction. [1][4]
How many votes short of conviction was Johnson?
Johnson was one vote short of conviction. On May 16, the Senate voted 35–19 on Article XI, while conviction required 36 votes. Articles II and III later failed by the same margin. [1]
Which Republicans voted to acquit Andrew Johnson?
The seven Republican senators were Edmund G. Ross, William Pitt Fessenden, James W. Grimes, John B. Henderson, Lyman Trumbull, Joseph S. Fowler, and Peter G. Van Winkle. They joined the Senate’s Democrats in voting for acquittal. [5]
What happened to the Tenure of Office Act?
The law became central to Johnson’s impeachment, but its restrictions on presidential removal power did not last. In *Myers v. United States* in 1926, the Supreme Court held such restrictions unconstitutional. [2]
TIMELINE
Key moments
Sources
- Impeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson, 1868 - Senate.gov — United States Senate Historical Office
- The Impeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson — Library of Congress
- President Johnson's Impeachment Trial - Pieces of History — National Archives and Records Administration
- Why Was Andrew Johnson Impeached? — National Park Service (Andrew Johnson National Historic Site)
- The man whose impeachment vote saved Andrew Johnson — National Constitution Center
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