Answer:
President Andrew Johnson was impeached because he violated the Tenure of Office Act by illegally removing Edwin M. Stanton from office as Secretary of War and replacing him with Lorenzo Thomas.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Reconstruction Acts, a series of laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1867, aimed to rebuild and reconstruct the Southern states that had seceded from the Union during the Civil War and to establish new standards of governance and civil rights for former slaves. The acts also provided for military rule and the establishment of military districts to govern the South until new state governments could be established.
President Andrew Johnson, who had succeeded Abraham Lincoln after his assassination, opposed the Reconstruction Acts and took several actions to veto the legislation and undermine its implementation. This led to a confrontation with Congress, which was dominated by Republicans who supported the Reconstruction Acts.
In 1868, Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives on the grounds of "high crimes and misdemeanors," specifically for violating the Tenure of Office Act, a law designed to limit the president's power to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval. Johnson was accused of illegally removing Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, from office and replacing him with Lorenzo Thomas.
The impeachment proceedings against Johnson were controversial and deeply divided the country, but the Senate ultimately fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required to remove him from office. Nevertheless, the impeachment proceedings against Johnson served as a warning to future presidents about the limits of executive power and the importance of upholding the rule of law.