The House of Representatives votes 126-47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson on February 24, 1868—the first presidential impeachment in American history. The precipitating event is Johnson’s February 21 attempt to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and replace him with Lorenzo Thomas in …
Andrew JohnsonEdwin StantonU.S. House of RepresentativesRadical RepublicansLorenzo Thomas+1 morereconstruction-sabotagepresidential-corruptioninstitutional-capturedemocratic-erosion
President Andrew Johnson vetoes legislation to extend and expand the Freedmen’s Bureau, shocking Republican supporters and demonstrating his commitment to sabotaging Reconstruction. Illinois Senator Lyman Trumbull introduced the bill on January 5, 1866, to expand the Bureau’s power to …
Andrew JohnsonLyman TrumbullRepublican CongressFreedmen's Bureaureconstruction-sabotagepresidential-corruptioninstitutional-captureracial-injustice
President Andrew Johnson issues his first amnesty proclamation on May 29, 1865, beginning a systematic campaign to pardon Confederate leaders and restore their political power—directly undermining Reconstruction and enabling the restoration of white supremacist control in the South. Johnson’s …
Andrew JohnsonConfederate LeadersRepublican Congressreconstruction-sabotageinstitutional-capturepresidential-corruptionracial-injustice