March 13 1868 Andrew Johnson Impeachment Trial Begins
On March 13th 1868, for the first time in US history, the impeachment trial of an American president got underway in the US Senate. President Andrew Johnson, reviled by the Republican-dominated Congress for his views on Reconstruction, stood accused of having violated the controversial Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress over his veto in 1867.
At the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Johnson, a US senator from Tennessee, was the only senator from a seceding state who remained loyal to the Union.
There is some excellent history here, that I was not aware of.
The Civil War was America's first great test (overlooking the War of 1812) and one it failed at miserably.
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