LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Andrew Johnson: President John
built 657 days ago
There were two attempts to remove President Andrew Johnson from office. The first occurred in the fall of 1867. On November 21, 1867, the House Judiciary committee produced a bill of impeachment that was basically a vast collection of complaints against him. After a furious debate, a formal vote was held in the House of Representatives on December 5, 1867, which failed 108-57.[16]
Source:
Johnson had been a heavy drinker for several years. Both his sons, Charles and Robert, were alcoholics. Charles Johnson died in April 1863 after falling from his horse. Colonel Robert Johnson, a member of the Union Army, was found to be drunk while on duty and was sent home in order to avoid further embarrassment to the Vice President.
Source:
Johnson's trial began in the Senate on March 30. Seven House members, including Thaddeus Stevens, served as the prosecutors of Johnson. Five able lawyers defended Johnson. The president himself never appeared in the Senate during his trial.
Source:
Johnson showed early on a profound loathing of the owners of immense plantations. He wanted to carve these landholdings up, give them to "free, industrious and honest farmers." But this did not include the newly-freed blacks (Johnson had owned slaves himself). Thus, according to Means, the president was a kind of racist Marxist: From the oligarchs according to their means, to the white workers according to their needs.
Source:
Not surprisingly, in 1868 the House voted to impeach Johnson, and the Senate convened to hear the case against him. The chief charge revolved around the president's alleged violation of the terms of the Tenure of Office act (by the removal of Stanton), but the real issue was political power. Eventually, in May, the Senate acquitted Johnson of the impeachment charges, but by then he was a greatly diminished leader. Yet he continued to veto congressional measures, including the admission of seven ex-Rebel states that had finally ratified the Fourteenth Amendment and sought to reenter the Union.
Source:
Regardless of how you feel about Andrew Johnson's legacy, you should visit the Andrew Johnson Historic Site in Greeneville -- a place that wonderfully puts in perspective his life and the era in which he lived. The "site" actually consists of several things, including a visitor's center, Johnson's tailor shop, the two homes in which he lived for most of his life (when he wasn't in Washington or Nashville), and his grave. One of the things that makes the site a treasure is the fact that, compared to most presidential homes, the things surrounding the properties haven't changed much in appearance since Johnson lived here (compared to, say, The Hermitage in Nashville). In Greeneville, you feel like it hasn't been that long since Andrew Johnson was there.
Source:
MORE ABOUT
President John