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===Andrew Johnson (1868)===

===Andrew Johnson (1868)===

President [[Andrew Johnson]], a Democrat elected vice president in 1864 on a national unity ticket with Republican [[Abraham Lincoln]] at the height of the [[Civil War]], was in conflict with [[Radical Republicans]] who controlled Congress. Radical Republicans were called radical because the advocated full [[civil rights]] for [[blacks]] and wanted to punish Southern slaveholders and Confederate soldiers who engaged in rebellion against the United States.  Johnson handed out numerous pardons to former slaveholders, Confederate officers, and soldier.  This brought him into conflict with the [[Secretary of the Army]] who was approved by Senate, vowing to carrying the Republicans civil rights reforms for Blacks in occupied military districts after the war was over.

President [[Andrew Johnson]], a Democrat elected vice president in 1864 on a national unity ticket with Republican [[Abraham Lincoln]] at the height of the [[Civil War]], was in conflict with [[Radical Republicans]] who controlled Congress. Radical Republicans were called radical because the advocated full [[civil rights]] for [[blacks]] and wanted to punish Southern slaveholders and Confederate soldiers who engaged in rebellion against the United States.  Johnson handed out numerous pardons to former slaveholders, Confederate officers, and soldier.  This brought him into conflict with the [[Secretary of War]] who was approved by Senate, vowing to carrying the Republicans civil rights reforms for Blacks in occupied military districts in [[the South]] after the war was over.

President Johnson vetoed their legislation and even called their leaders "traitors". Flush from winning the war, the Republican Senators Thaddeus Stevens (PA) and Charles Sumner (MA) were not about to back down. Sumner in 1856 delivered an unconscionably disrespectful speech against elderly South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, author of the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] which legalized slavery in Western territories north of the [[Mason-Dixon Line]], whereupon his outraged nephew Preston Brooks beat Sumner senseless with a cane.<ref>The Senate floor speech accused proponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of "rape of virgin territory."</ref>

President Johnson vetoed Republican civil rights legislation and even called their leaders "traitors". Flush from winning the war, Republican Thaddeus Stevens (PA) and Charles Sumner (MA) were not about to back down. Sumner in 1856 delivered an unconscionably disrespectful speech against elderly South Carolina Senator Andrew Butler, author of the [[Kansas-Nebraska Act]] which legalized slavery in Western territories north of the [[Mason-Dixon Line]], whereupon his outraged nephew Preston Brooks beat Sumner senseless with a cane.<ref>The Senate floor speech accused proponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of "rape of virgin territory."</ref>

When the House of Representatives impeached President Johnson by an overwhelming vote of 126 to 47, his ouster appeared to be a ''fait accompli''. President Johnson had violated the Tenure in Office Act by dismissing the Secretary of War. The key issue was if a President had the power to fire cabinet secretary approved by the Senate without the Senate's consent. Johnson was also intemperate in his name-calling of key senators. In addressing the jury of 54 senators, the prosecutor referred to President Johnson as an "accidental Chief" and "the elect of an assassin." Witnesses testified for both the prosecution and the defense.

When the House of Representatives impeached President Johnson by an overwhelming vote of 126 to 47, his ouster appeared to be a ''fait accompli''. President Johnson had violated the Tenure in Office Act by dismissing the Secretary of War. The key issue was if a President had the power to fire cabinet secretary approved by the Senate without the Senate's consent. Johnson was also intemperate in his name-calling of key senators. In addressing the jury of 54 senators, the prosecutor referred to President Johnson as an "accidental Chief" and "the elect of an assassin." Witnesses testified for both the prosecution and the defense.