Which president was accused of violating the tenure of office act in 1867?

Answer 1

Only two presidents in United States history have been impeached. Andrew Johnson and William J. Clinton. Clinton was impeached for purjury, obstruction of justice, and abuse of power. That leaves Johnson, who was, indeed, impeached for violation of the Tenure of Office Act.


President Andrew Johnson was impeached for defying the Tenure of Office Act, which was a congressional effort to limit executive power; however, the Senate did not convict him by the first famous one vote margin.

Answer 2

Andrew Johnson was the president who ran afoul of this act. The law sought to protect officials appointed with Senate consent "until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed and duly qualified." Cabinet officers were to remain in place "for and during the term of the President by whom they may have been appointed, and for one month thereafter."

The latter provision appeared to be aimed at protecting Secretary of War who had allied himself with the congressional position on Reconstruction. Since the U.S. Army was the chief enforcement agency for federal policy in the South, control of the army, through the War Department, was vitally important to both andrew-johnsonand Congress. Johnson vetoed the measure as unconstitutional; Congress overrode the veto on 2 March 1867.

In February 1868, Johnson appeared to violate the act by removing Stanton from office. . The House of Representatives impeached Johnson, citing his violation of the Tenure of Office Act as one reason. At the trial, the president's defense team raised serious questions about the statute's constitutionality. They also raised doubts that it even applied to Stanton, who had been appointed not by Johnson but by abraham-lincoln. These doubts, together with other considerations, caused enough senators to vote not guilty that Johnson escaped conviction by a single vote. Efforts to repeal the law began in 1869 and succeeded in 1887. In 1926, the Supreme Court, reviewing the presidential removal power in Myers v. United States, held unconstitutional the Tenure of Office Act and an 1876 successor.