Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson

On February 24th, 1868, the impeachment of the United States' seventeenth president was initiated. Democrat Andrew Johnson was accused of high crimes and misdemeanors that were detailed in eleven articles of impeachment and faced trial before the United States Senate. Andrew Johnson took office after John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln on April 15th, 1965. After months of Johnson and the Senate butting heads, oftentimes with Johnson defying the Senate and doing whatever he wanted, the final straw came when Johnson fired his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton. The eleven-week trial began on March 4th, 1868, and ended with the president escaping removal from office by just one vote. In this detailed look at the birth of the impeachment process and the seventeenth president's historical term, listeners will learn about one of the most vital tools available to the United States government.