投票彈劾安德魯‧詹森 (Andrew Johnson) ：1868年5月16日

國會對總統提出彈劾 (指控總統犯罪或品行不端) 的決定相當嚴重。但是這在1868年卻發生了。那一年的二月，眾議院投票決定彈劾安德魯‧詹森總統。整個彈劾案的審判是在最高法院首席法官出席，以及參議員擔任陪審團的情況下，於3月30日正式展開。詹森被控違法失職，但是在1868年5月16日時，因為一票之差，美國參議院無法通過這項彈劾案來判決詹森有罪。第二次投票在十天之後舉行，彈劾案還是沒有通過：因為一票之差，而無法達到三分之二絕對多數的法定規則。詹森到底做了什麼，使得他會被國會提起彈劾，甚至可能遭到逮捕呢？


It's no small decision for Congress to impeach (accuse of a crime or misdemeanor) the president, but in 1868 that's exactly what happened. In February, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Andrew Johnson. His trial, with the chief justice of the Supreme Court presiding, began on March 30 with the Senate serving as jury. Johnson was accused of having broken the law, but on May 16, 1868, the U.S. Senate failed to convict him by one vote. A second vote taken 10 days later had the same result: one vote short of the two-thirds majority required to convict. What did Johnson do that led to his impeachment and near arrest?

1/3 頁