The House responded to President Johnson's challenge by taking a vote to impeach him. Johnson was charged of violating the Tenure of Office Act and bringing "the high office of the President of the United States into contempt, ridicule, and disgrace, to the scandal of all good citizens." During trial in the Senate, the President's lawyer had said that the only crime that Johnson had committed was to oppose Congress. They warned that if this was a considered a crime, no future president could disagree with a majority in Congress. Johnson ad escaped being removed from the office by one vote, but he had lost his power.
|