Editing Tenure of Office Act (1867) (section)

==Stanton and impeachment of Johnson==
The Tenure of Office Act restricted the power of the president to suspend an officer while the Senate was not in session. At that time, Congress sat during a relatively small portion of the year. If, when the Senate reconvened, it declined to ratify the removal, the president would be required to reinstate the official.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/imp_tenure.html |title=The Tenure of Office Act of 1867 |access-date=2006-04-01 |archive-date=2006-04-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060427102956/http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/impeach/imp_tenure.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In August 1867, with the Senate out of session, Johnson made his move against Stanton, suspending him pending the next session of the Senate. When the Senate convened on January 13, 1868, it refused, however, to ratify the removal by a vote of 35–6.<ref>Wineapple, Brenda (2019). ''The Impeachers: The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation''. pp. 234–235.</ref> Notwithstanding the vote, on February 22, 1868, President Johnson attempted to replace Stanton with [[Lorenzo Thomas]] because he wanted, by such action, to create a case through which to challenge the legitimacy of the Act before the Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite book| last=Trefousse| first=Hans L.| title=Andrew Johnson: A Biography| publisher=W. W. Norton & Company| location=New York City| date=1989| isbn=978-0-393-31742-8| page=[https://archive.org/details/andrewjohnson00hans/page/306 306]| url=https://archive.org/details/andrewjohnson00hans/page/306}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |first=Gene |last=Smith |title=High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson |location=New York |publisher=William Morrow |year=1977 |page=[https://archive.org/details/highcrimesmisdem00smit/page/221 221] |isbn=0-688-03072-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/highcrimesmisdem00smit/page/221 }}</ref> Proceedings began within days to move toward the [[Impeachment of Andrew Johnson|impeachment of Johnson]], the first impeachment of a United States President. After [[Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson|a three-month trial]], Johnson narrowly avoided removal from office by the Senate by a single vote. Stanton resigned in May 1868.

It was unclear whether Johnson had violated the Tenure of Office Act which led up to the impeachment. The act's phrasing was murky, and it was not clear whether his removal of Stanton (a holdover from the Lincoln administration whom Johnson had not appointed) violated the Act. While the Act, by its terms, applied to current office holders, it also limited the protection offered to Cabinet members to one month after a new president took office.