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投票彈劾安德魯‧詹森 (Andrew
Johnson) ：1868年5月16日
就在同一天，眾議院通過一項限制總統權限的法案。「總統任期法」 (The
Tenure of Office Act) 禁止總統在沒有得到參議院同意之下，開除任何政府官員，總統自己的內閣成員也包括在內。詹森認為這項法案違反憲法規定，所以是無效的。他開除了長久以來的政治對手：戰爭部部長愛德溫‧史坦頓 (Edwin
M. Stanton) ，而挑戰了眾議院通過的法案。
美國眾議院接著決定根據憲法規定之嚴重罪刑與不當行為，彈劾詹森。詹森被指控破壞法律以及其他的罪行。但是在參議院的審判裡 (根據憲法，這裡是舉辦彈劾聽證會的場所) ，這些指控都太為薄弱，所以有七位共和黨籍的參議員拒絕判決這位民主黨籍的總統有罪。於是，最後的投票結果因為一票之差，而無法達到三分之二的定罪規定。
詹森並沒有到庭聆聽宣判。當他知道審判結果後，也不禁潸然落淚。
That same day, Congress passed a law that limited the power of the president. The Tenure of Office Act prohibited the president from removing any government official, including his own cabinet members, without the Senate's approval. Johnson maintained the law was unconstitutional and thus invalid. He fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a political enemy, in open defiance of the law.
The House of Representatives then decided to impeach the president, charging him with "high crimes and misdemeanors" as required by the Constitution. Johnson was charged with breaking the law, among other things. During his trial before the Senate (where impeachment hearings are held, according to the Constitution), the charges were shown to be so weak that seven Republicans refused to convict the Democratic president. The votes thus fell one short of the two-thirds necessary for conviction.
Johnson did not attend his trial. When he heard the results, the president broke into tears.
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