Reconstruction Era | Impeachment | 3
American History Tellers
Andrew Johnson's Defiance of the Reconstruction Acts
President Andrew Johnson had long wanted to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office. He was a holdover from the Lincoln administration and a fierce ally of the radical Republicans in his role at the War Department. In March 1867 Congress sought to protect Stanton's position by passing the tenure of office act over the President's veto. This law prohibited the removal of cabinet officers without the Senate's consent. On August 12 while Congress was in recess Johnson suspended Stanton and named General Ulysses S. Grant as his replacement. His defiance enraged Republicans when Congress reconvened in December The Senate promptly voted to reinstate Stanton Grant who disliked Johnson and privately opposed his policies willingly resigned. But this time it was
