What led to the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and what was the outcome?

• A. He removed Edwin Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office Act; he was impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate by one vote.
• B. He dissolved Congress and ruled by decree.
• C. He was impeached by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors and convicted.
• D. He resigned before the trial.

Answer: (A)

The question tests how presidential impeachment played out during Reconstruction and why Johnson’s case mattered. The crucial point is that Johnson was impeached because he removed Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War, in violation of the Tenure of Office Act, which required Senate approval for certain removals. That act was designed to curb presidential power and protect Radical Republicans in Congress as they reshaped Reconstruction policy. The House voted to impeach him on those grounds, but when the Senate held the trial, they did not convict him—falling just one vote short of the two-thirds needed to remove him from office. So he remained president after the trial.

This isn’t about dissolving Congress or resigning, and it isn’t that he was convicted; the key sequence is the impeachment for violating the Tenure of Office Act and the Senate’s acquittal by a single vote.