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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 ...
United States (1926) affirmed the ability of the president to remove a postmaster without congressional approval, and the dictum in the majority opinion stated "that the Tenure of Office Act of 1867...was invalid". [120] Butler's subpar performance as a prosecutor has often been cited as a factor that contributed to Johnson's acquittal. [121]
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.
[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]
Acting under the clause in the Tenure of Office Act granting the Senate a veto over dismissals of Senate-confirmed officers that are made by the president during congressional recesses, the Senate votes overwhelmingly to reinstate Edwin Stanton (who Johnson had suspended as secretary of war on August 12, 1867).
Technically, the United States was again a united country. [40] To ease tensions, Grant signed the Amnesty Act of 1872 on May 23, 1872, which gave amnesty to former Confederates. This act allowed most former Confederates, who before the war had taken an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States, to hold elected public office.
John Bingham countered Logan's argument by claiming that, in the eight precedents of federal impeachment cases in the United States, all but one had seen the matter referred to the Judiciary Committee, and that the one exception had led to a ridiculous blunder. After this debate, an overwhelming majority voted to reject the proposed amendment.