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The Tenure of Office Act was a United States federal law, in force from 1867 to 1887, that was intended to restrict the power of the president to remove certain office-holders without the approval of the U.S. Senate. The law was enacted March 2, 1867, over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. It purported to deny the president the power to ...
[18] [20] [57] [75] The first article specifically alleged that Johnson's February 21, 1868, order to remove Stanton was made with intent to violate the Tenure of Office Act. The second and third articles argued that the appointment of Thomas as secretary of war ad interim was similarly done with intent to violate the Tenure of Office Act. The ...
Like many of the other articles, the third article related to Johnson violating the Tenure of Office Act by attempting to dismiss Secretary of War Stanton. [6] [15] [35] [41] [58] Like the second article, the third article alleged that the appointment of Thomas as secretary of war ad interim was done with intent to violate the Tenure of Office Act.
While the Tenure of Office Act was repealed by Congress in 1887, subsequent opinion by the Supreme Court of the United States appear to support the position that Johnson was constitutionally entitled to fire Stanton without congressional approval. The Supreme Court's ruling on a similar piece of later legislation in Myers v.
[34] [49] [50] The primary charge against Johnson was that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act by removing Stanton from office. [49] Johnson was narrowly acquitted in his Senate trial, with the Senate voting 35 to 19 votes in favor of conviction, one vote short of the necessary two-thirds majority. [51]
February 6, 1867: The House Committee on the Judiciary holds the first (closed-door) hearings of its impeachment inquiry, hearing testimony from Lafayette C. Baker. [11] March 2, 1867: The House and the Senate vote to enact the Tenure of Office Act, overriding a veto by President Johnson issued earlier that
On December 5, 1867, the House brought the Committee on the Judiciary's impeachment recommendation to the floor for consideration, and discussion was thereafter held on the impeachment resolution reported by the Judiciary Committee, with George S. Boutwell presenting a case for impeachment and James F. Wilson presenting a case against it.
In February 1867, both houses of Congress passed the Tenure of Office Bill, purporting to restrict Johnson in the removal of presidential appointees. [170] Johnson suspended, then fired, Stanton over Reconstruction policy differences, leading to the president's impeachment for allegedly violating the Tenure of Office Act.