By: History.com Editors

1868

Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson of impeachment charge

History.com Editors

Published: November 16, 2009

Last Updated: January 24, 2025

On May 16, 1868, the U.S. Senate votes against impeaching President Andrew Johnson for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He would not be fully acquitted of all charges until 10 days later, on May 26, 1868.

In February 1868, the House of Representatives charged Johnson with 11 articles of impeachment for vague “high crimes and misdemeanors.” (For comparison, Presidents Trump and Clinton were each charged with two articles of impeachment. In 1974, Nixon faced three charges for his involvement in the Watergate scandal.) The main issue in Johnson’s trial was his staunch resistance to implementing Congress’ Civil War Reconstruction policies. The War Department was the federal agency responsible for carrying out Reconstruction programs in the war-ravaged southern states and when Johnson fired the agency’s head, Edwin Stanton, Congress retaliated with calls for his impeachment.

Andrew Johnson's Efforts to Undermine Lincoln's Legacy

After Abraham Lincoln's death, President Andrew Johnson did everything he could to undermine the legacy of his predecessor.

Of the 11 counts, several went to the core of the conflict between Johnson and Congress. The House charged Johnson with illegally removing the secretary of war from office and for violating several Reconstruction Acts. The House also accused the president of hurling slanderous “inflammatory and scandalous harangues” against Congressional members. On February 24, the House passed all 11 articles of impeachment and the process moved into a Senate trial.

The Senate trial lasted until May 26, 1868. Johnson did not attend any of the proceedings and was not required to do so. After all the arguments had been presented for and against him, Johnson waited for his fate, which hung on one swing vote. By a vote of 35-19, Johnson was acquitted and finished out his term. Presidents Johnson, Clinton and Trump are the only presidents for whom the impeachment process went as far as a Senate trial. Nixon resigned before the House of Representatives could vote on impeachment.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on May 16th

1717

Satirical writer Voltaire is imprisoned in the Bastille

Writer Francois-Marie Arouet, better known as Voltaire, is imprisoned in the Bastille on May 16, 1717. The outspoken writer was born to middle-class parents, attended college in Paris, and began to study law. However, he quit law to become a playwright and made a name for himself with classical tragedies. Critics embraced his epic poem, […]

1769

Virginia’s House of Burgesses criticizes taxation without representation

On May 16, 1769, Virginia’s House of Burgesses passes a resolution calling Britain’s taxes on the American colonies illegal. Though Virginia’s royal governor promptly fired back by disbanding the House of Burgesses, the dissenting legislators were undeterred. During a later meeting held at the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia’s delegates gave their support to the […]

1770

French dauphin, Louis, marries Marie Antoinette

At Versailles, Louis, the French dauphin, marries Marie Antoinette, the daughter of Austrian Empress Maria Theresa and Holy Roman Emperor Francis I. France hoped their marriage would strengthen its alliance with Austria, its longtime enemy. In 1774, with the death of King Louis XV, Louis and Marie Antoinette were crowned king and queen of France. […]

1777

Georgia Patriot Button Gwinnett is fatally wounded in duel

On May 16, 1777, British-born Georgia Patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence Button Gwinnett receives a bullet wound in a duel with his political rival, Georgia city Whig Lachlan McIntosh. Three days later, Gwinnett died as a result of the gangrenous wound. McIntosh was also shot in the duel, but the wound was […]

1916

Britain and France conclude Sykes-Picot agreement

On May 16, 1916, representatives of Great Britain and France secretly reach an accord, known as the Sykes-Picot Agreement, by which most of the Arab lands under the rule of the Ottoman Empire are to be divided into British and French spheres of influence with the conclusion of World War I. After the war broke […]

1918

U.S. Congress passes Sedition Act

On May 16, 1918, the United States Congress passes the Sedition Act, a piece of legislation designed to protect America’s participation in World War I. Along with the Espionage Act of the previous year, the Sedition Act was orchestrated largely by A. Mitchell Palmer, the United States attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson. The Espionage […]

1929

First Academy Awards ceremony

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hands out the first Oscars at a dinner party for around 250 people held in the Blossom Room of the Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood, California.

1943

Warsaw Ghetto uprising ends

In Poland, the Warsaw Ghetto uprising comes to an end as Nazi soldiers gain control of Warsaw’s Jewish ghetto, blowing up the last remaining synagogue and beginning the mass deportation of the ghetto’s remaining dwellers to the Treblinka extermination camp. Shortly after the German occupation of Poland began, the Nazis forced the city’s Jewish citizens […]

1960

U.S.-Soviet summit meeting collapses after U-2 spy plane shot down

In the wake of the Soviet downing of an American U-2 spy plane on May 1, 1960, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev lashes out at the United States and President Dwight D. Eisenhower at a Paris summit meeting between the two heads of state. Khrushchev’s outburst angered Eisenhower and doomed any chances for successful talks or […]

1980

Basketball great Magic Johnson plays center as a rookie, wins championship

On May 16, 1980, Los Angeles Lakers point guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson steps in for injured center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and scores 42 points, leading the Lakers to a four games-to-two series win over the Philadelphia 76ers for their first championship since 1972. In 1979, Magic had led Michigan State to the NCAA title over Larry […]

1985

Discovery of Ozone Hole announced

In the scientific journal Nature on May 16, 1985, three scientists from the British Antarctic Survey announce their detection of abnormally low levels of ozone over the South Pole. Their discovery, commonly known as the Ozone Hole, became a palpable example of mankind’s ability to damage the Earth’s atmosphere as well as one of the […]

2014

Pioneering TV journalist Barbara Walters signs off

On May 16, 2014, broadcast journalist and TV personality Barbara Walters retires from ABC News and as co-host of the daytime program “The View.” In a landmark career that spanned some 50 years on air, the 84-year-old Walters blazed a trail for women in TV news. On Walter’s May 16th “View” sendoff, Oprah Winfrey, Diane […]

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Citation Information

Article title
Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson of impeachment charge
Website Name
History
Date Accessed
March 25, 2025
Publisher
A&E Television Networks
Last Updated
January 24, 2025
Original Published Date
November 16, 2009

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