The first impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson was launched by a vote of the United States House of Representatives on January 7, 1867, to investigate the potential impeachment of the President of the United States, Andrew Johnson. It was run by the House Committee on the Judiciary.
The vote authorizing the inquiry was viewed as giving Republicans an opportunity to register their disdain for Johnson without formally impeaching him. Most congressmen had expected that the sentiments in House Committee on the Judiciary would side against impeachment. However, surprising many, the committee voted 5–4 on November 25, 1867, to recommend impeachment (after having held a preliminary vote against it months prior). Despite this recommendation, the House voted 57–108 on December 7, 1867, against impeaching Johnson, with more Republicans voting against impeachment than for it.
This impeachment inquiry preceded the second impeachment inquiry into Andrew Johnson (launched in January 1868), which played a role in the lead-up to Johnson's impeachment on February 24, 1868.
Background
Some Radical Republicans had entertained the thought of impeaching President Andrew Johnson since as early as 1866. However, the Republican Party was divided on the prospect of impeachment, with moderates in the party, who held a plurality, widely opposing it at this point. The radicals were more in favor of impeachment, as their plans for strong reform in reconstruction were greatly imperiled by Johnson. Among of the first Radical Republicans to explore impeachment was House Territories Committee chairman James Mitchell Ashley. Ashley was convinced of a baseless conspiracy theory that faulted Johnson for involvement in conspiring in the assassination of Lincoln. Thus, Ashley had strong personal motivation for wanting to remove Johnson from office. Ashley quietly began researching impeachment. Federal impeachment was rare in the United States.
Several attempts were made by Radical Republicans to initiate impeachment, but these were successfully rebuffed by moderate Republicans in party leadership. After the December 1866 meeting of the House Republican caucus, in an effort to block any further efforts to impeach Johnson, the moderate Republicans leading the party's caucus passed a rule for the Republican caucus which required that both a majority of House Republicans and a majority of members on the House Committee on the Judiciary would be required to approve any measure regarding impeachment in party caucus prior to it being considered in the House. Radical Republicans continued to seek Johnson's impeachment. They disobeyed the rule put in place for the Republican caucus. Radicals proposed a number of impeachment resolutions, which the moderate Republicans often stifled by referring to committees.
By the start of the year 1867, on a daily basis, Congress was receiving petitions demanding the removal of Johnson. These petitions came primarily from the Midwestern states. The petitions were the result of an organized campaign to demand Johnson's removal. The number of signatures on these petitions varied, as some had as few as three signatures, while other petitions had as many as three hundred signatures.
By the December 1866 start of the lame-duck third session of the 39th Congress, a number of Radical Republicans were demanding the creation of a select committee to investigate the prospect of impeaching Johnson, but this still faced resistance within the Republican Party caucus. On December 17, 1866, James Mitchell Ashley attempted to open a house impeachment inquiry, but his motion to suspend the rules to consider his resolution saw a vote of 88–49, which was short of the needed two-thirds majority to suspend the rules. Nevertheless, Ashley agreed with Thaddeus Stevens to again bring an impeachment resolution before the full House.
House passage of the resolution authorizing the inquiry
On January 7, 1867, Benjamin F. Loan, John R. Kelso, and James Mitchell Ashley each introduced three separate impeachment resolutions against Johnson. The House refused to hold debate or vote on either Loan or Kelso's resolutions. However, they did allow a vote on Ashley's impeachment-related resolution. Unlike the other two impeachment bills introduced that day (which would have outright impeached Johnson), Ashley's bill offered a specific outline of how an impeachment process would proceed, and it did not start with an immediate impeachment. Rather than going to a direct vote on impeaching the president, his resolution would instruct the Judiciary Committee to "inquire into the official conduct of Andrew Johnson", investigating what it called Johnson's "corruptly used" powers and "usurpation of power", including Johnson's political appointments, use of his pardon powers (alluding to his pardons for ex-Confederates), vetoes of legislation, selling of confiscated property, and alleged interference with elections. While it gave the general charge of "high crimes and misdemeanors" and named numerous instances of alleged corruption, Ashley's resolution did not specify what the high crimes and misdemeanors Johnson had committed were. The grievances listed in the resolution amounted largely to political grievances which Ashley had against Johnson.
The resolution read,
The resolution passed in the House 108–39. It was seen as offering Republicans a chance to register their displeasure with Johnson, without actually formally impeaching him. Many Republicans believed that, in the Judiciary Committee, any impeachment resolution would die a quiet death. Of the 108 members of the House that are recording as having voted in favor of the resolution, 1 was a Democrat, 99 were Republicans, and 7 were Unconditional Unionists, 1 was an independent Republican. Of the 6 to vote against it, 25 were Democrats, 6 were Republicans, 3 were Unconditional Unionists, and 5 were Unionists. 44 members of congress were absent (14 Democrats, 28 Republicans, 2 and Unconditional Unionists). Additionally, Speaker Schuyler Colfax (a Republican) did not vote, as House rules do not require the speaker to vote during ordinary legislative proceedings, unless their vote would be decisive or if the vote is being cast by ballot.
The official record shows Democrat John Winthrop Chanler as voting in favor of the resolution (thus, this article lists him as having voted so). However, the New-York Tribune, following the vote, strongly suspected that this was a clerical error.
Vote on the impeachment inquiry resolution January 7, 1867 Party Total votes Democratic Republican Unconditional Union Unionists Independent Republican Yea 1 99 7 0 1 108 Nay 25 6 3 5 0 39