Impeachment, Misdemeanors and High Crimes: Andrew Johnson Fights Congress

If anyone knows what Andrew Johnson was thinking on August 12, 1867, they have decided to keep quiet. To paraphrase one of his critics, Jackson either was incredibly stupid or thought everyone else was. Even before 1867, for over a year there had been talk (formally, and in Congress even) of impeaching the President, but no action yet due mainly to a lack of a true offense. Inexplicably, after cheating political death on a technicality, Andrew Johnson went and did the very thing that his prosecutors so badly wanted him to do: he willingly and deliberately broke the law, in the spotlight and for all to see. This action predisposed many people against Andrew Johnson well before the opening statement of his impeachment trial. For registered voters of that era, however, it wasn't totally about Andrew Johnson or the Reconstruction, whether they realized it or not. It was democracy in its Sunday best, publicly updated to current specifications thanks to a crisis. Many other rewards justified the impeachment of Andrew Johnson.

While it created healthy political controversy, America's first impeachment also incited and excited public interest in what was really going on in Washington, and how much more than previously supposed those events concerned the constituency. It is probably safe to say that the average American during Johnson's presidency was a bit less educated than the average American today. Joe Public in the 19^th century had less time for leisure than his counterpart in the 21^st, meaning an interest in politics probably took a backseat to other, more pleasurable hobbies during the short time people spent not working. But a President charged with "misdemeanors and high crimes?" An impeachment process that could kick the President's ass to the White House curb? These are the kinds of events that make people pay attention to the news and suddenly get interested in politics. These are the vehicles to a clearer understanding of the Constitution's contents and its impact on the lives of the American people. One cannot correct an error one is not aware of nor improve a document one has never read.