The Fathers and Saviors of Our Country: A Presidential Sale

4 3/4 x 3 in. printed admission ticket with stub attached. (Very minor marginal toning, old tape with accompanying residue to verso.)

THE FIRST PRESIDENTIAL IMPEACHMENT IN UNITED STATES HISTORY.

On 24 February 1868, Andrew Johnson became the first president in United States history to be impeached by Congress, in this instance for violating the 1867 Tenure of Office Act by attempting to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from his position and replacing him with Lorenzo Thomas. This act was roundly condemned as an usurpation of Congressional power by the executive branch; in defense, Johnson simultaneously claimed that the Tenure of Office Act, in and of itself, was unconstitutional and that his intent in firing Stanton was to force the Supreme Court to test the law's constitutionality during its next term. The defense also argued that the president should not be removed from office for political misdeeds, as that was the people's responsibility during elections. The Senate ultimately failed to convict Johnson by a single vote. None of the Republican senators who voted for Johnson's acquittal would ever again serve in public office. In the immediate aftermath, Stanton sent Johnson a letter officially tendering his resignation as Secretary of War despite his having already been removed. In later years, it was alleged that the vote in favor of Johnson's acquittal, cast by Senator Edmund G. Ross of Kansas, was bought by Johnson's supporters.

The Senate galleries were mostly filled to capacity during the trial. One thousand color-coded tickets were issued for each day. Although Johnson was the first president to be impeached, he was not the last, with Bill Clinton impeached in 1998 for lying to Congress, Donald Trump impeached in 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and in 2021 for incitement of insurrection.