v For what reasons should the Senate have impeached Andrew Johnson?
v For what reasons should the Senate have acquitted Andrew Johnson?
v Who would benefit from Andrew Johnson’s impeachment?
v Who would not benefit from Andrew Johnson’s impeachment?
v How does Andrew Johnson’s trial compare to other impeachments since then?
v How do you think the “Andrew Johnson decision” influenced later impeachment decisions?
Task One: Understanding the timeline/events
The first task involves brief questions that you will need to answer the questions to gain background on the situation. Each question corresponds to the date when the answer occurred. You can use this information to help you to answer the question. You should begin on the www.law.umkc.edu website.
1864: Why did Abraham Lincoln select Andrew Johnson to run as his Vice President?
1866: Whose plan for Reconstruction had the most support, Johnson’s or the Radical Republicans?
1866: When a bill is vetoed it is usually forgotten; why are these two bills that Johnson vetoed in 1866 significant? (What were they? What did they do? What happened to them?)
1866: Why were the race riots in Memphis and New Orleans significant? (What did they signal about Andrew Johnson to the American public?)
1867: On August 12th Andrew Johnson suspended Edwin M. Stanton (Secretary of War) and replaced him with Ulysses S. Grant. Congress was not in session at this time, but when they returned in January 1868 they overturned the suspension. At this time Johnson dismissed Stanton and replaced him with Lorenzo Thomas. What (legal) steps had Congress specifically taken (in 1867) to prevent actions like this from occurring?
1868: In May of 1868 the Senate acquitted (found him not guilty) Johnson of the charges. By how many votes did he miss being removed?
Task Two: Understanding the Issues
Use the Harper’s Weekly website to fill in the table below.
Andrew Johnson’s
Reconstruction Plan
Congress’s
Reconstruction Plan
Radical or
Conservative?
Slow & Cautious or
Quick & Lenient
Favored States rights or
favored Federal rights?
1. Now that you have figured out some of the key differences between the two plans, which plan was followed most closely?
2. One of the issues of Reconstruction was “control of congress”. How might the rights of Freedmen effect who holds power in Congress?
3. The major element of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment was the “Tenure of Office Act”. What has been the fate of this law since Johnson’s impeachment and subsequent acquittal?
4. One of the reasons often cited for Johnson’s impeachment was that he was personally detested by many in Congress and poorly behaved on occasion. How did personal issues then serve to help Johnson and ultimately lead to his acquittal? (Hint: Who was Benjamin Wade?)
Task Three: Understanding Primary Sources
Directions: Find the section on the Harper’s Weekly website with the political cartoons. Choose a cartoon and examine it. Write the citation information on the following blanks and answer the questions below to analyze your cartoon. Print out a picture of your cartoon and attach it to your packet.
Date: __________ Page/s: _______ Subject (who or what): _______________________
1. What event or issue is the cartoon addressing?
2. Does the cartoon suggest Johnson is a good President or a bad President?
3. What does the cartoon suggest about Johnson’s personal view of his role in power?
4. How do you think a cartoon like this would influence the public’s opinion of Andrew Johnson?
Task Four: Impeachment: relating the past to the present
Directions: Using the Pittsburgh Law website answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. In the history of the United States sixteen officials have been impeached, of those 16 only 7 have been removed from their positions. What did all those seven people have in common?
2. Only two US Presidents have been impeached. The first was ____________________
in 1868 and the second was ________________ in 1998. Neither President was removed from
office for their crimes. In 1974 __________________ resigned from office, avoiding
impeachment and what many thought would be the first ever removal of a President from office.
3. What were the articles of impeachment from the cases in 1974 & 1998?
4. What are some arguments against impeaching an official while they are in office? Why might it be important to impeach an official while they are in office (as opposed to waiting until the end of their term to prosecute them for crimes committed?
5. What are some CURRENT impeachment proceedings today and where are they taking place?
1. What were some of the characteristics of 19th century communities?
2. How did these communities promote the ideas of transcendentalism?
3. Along with transcendentalism, what were some other movements that were occurring during the time period 1820-1860?
4. What does it mean to be a “utopian community”? Where did the idea come from? What might be some goals that utopian communities would try to accomplish?
5. What were some of the most famous Utopian communities from 1820-1860? Select one to focus your research on.
NAME OF YOUR Chosen COMMUNITY:
How did your Community reflect this utopian principle?
NATURE AS INSPIRATION
INDIVIDUALITY & SELF RELIANCE
PREOCCUPATION WITH THE CHARISMATIC LEADER
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS THAT DEFINED YOUR COMMUNITY
SUMMATIVE ACTIVITY:
Write a LETTER OR JOURNAL ENTRY as someone who has adopted this lifestyle trying to convince an outsider to join the community. THE MORE DETAILS AND PERSUADING YOUR ENTRY IS, THE BETTER YOUR GRADE WILL BE.
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete sentences. Go in order, and use the links provided.
Put yourself back in time to the War of 1812...
Great Britain is blockading our coast and stopping all ships. They are seizing American ships that are in route to trade with France. Great Britain is also supplying Native Americans with guns and encouraging them to attack us on the frontier.
1. Opinion: There are many people demanding war with Great Britain at this point. Do you support the war hawks and their demand for a declaration of war or will you speak out against war with Great Britain and join the doves? Why?
H. England and America have tried to start peace discussions as early as 1813, but without much success. In August 1814, when British government officials expect results from their powerful concentration of forces in Canada, they appoint commissioners to meet with the American negotiators at Ghent.
15. Individual Opinion: Now that you know how the war of 1812 took place and turned out would you still defend your original position of a hawk or a dove, why or why not?