Changes

After the [[Civil War]], although the fighting had ended, the country remained deeply divided, with emotions running high. The big questions remained over empowering recently freed slaves, and what to do with those who had engaged in rebellion against the United States.  President [[Andrew Johnson]], a Democrat elected vice president in 1864 at the height of the war on a national unity ticket with Republican [[Abraham Lincoln]], was in conflict with the [[Radical Republicans]] who controlled Congress.  The [[media]] called Republicans "radical" because they advocated full equality and [[civil rights]] for [[blacks]], and wanted to punish Southern slaveholders and Confederates who engaged in open rebellion.  Johnson handed out numerous pardons to former slaveholders, Confederate officers, and the rank and file.  This brought him into conflict with the [[Secretary of War]], who had been approved by the Senate, vowing to carry out the Republicans' civil rights efforts for Blacks in occupied military districts of [[the South]] when the war was over.

After the [[Civil War]], although the fighting had ended, the country remained deeply divided, with emotions running high. The big questions remained over empowering recently freed slaves, and what to do with those who had engaged in rebellion against the United States.  President [[Andrew Johnson]], a Democrat elected vice president in 1864 at the height of the war on a national unity ticket with Republican [[Abraham Lincoln]], was in conflict with the [[Radical Republicans]] who controlled Congress.  The [[media]] called Republicans "radical" because they advocated full equality and [[civil rights]] for [[blacks]], and wanted to punish Southern slaveholders and Confederates who engaged in open rebellion.  Johnson handed out numerous pardons to former slaveholders, Confederate officers, and the rank and file.  This brought him into conflict with the [[Secretary of War]], who had been approved by the Senate, vowing to carry out the Republicans' civil rights efforts for Blacks in occupied military districts of [[the South]] when the war was over.

President Johnson vetoed Republican civil rights legislation and even called their leaders "traitors". Flush from winning the war, Republican Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (PA) and Sen. Charles Sumner (MA) were not about to back down on the agenda of delivering equality for former black slaves. 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 Butler's outraged nephew Preston Brooks beat Sumner senseless with a cane inside the Capital.<ref>Sumner's 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 Rep. Thaddeus Stevens (PA) and Sen. Charles Sumner (MA) were not about to back down on the agenda of delivering equality for former black slaves and puishing Democrats who ripped society apart and tried to destroy the Union. 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 Butler's outraged nephew Preston Brooks beat Sumner senseless with a cane inside the [[U.S Capital]].<ref>Sumner's Senate floor speech accused proponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of the "rape of virgin territory" by bringing slavery into Kansas.</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 a 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 a 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.