Final answer:
The impeachment articles against Andrew Johnson were drafted due to his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, reflecting a conflict between Presidential authority and Congressional power during Reconstruction. Johnson was impeached for dismissing Secretary of War Stanton without Senate approval, but the Senate acquitted him by a single vote, reducing his presidential power.
Step-by-step explanation:
The impeachment of Andrew Johnson in 1868 was driven by his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, which was passed by Congress to restrict his ability to remove officeholders. This act was an attempt by the Radical Republicans to prevent Johnson from removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Radical Republican, from his cabinet, which would have allowed the Radicals to preserve their Reconstruction policies.
Johnson's dismissal of Stanton without Senate approval gave Congress the grounds to draft articles of impeachment. The impeachment process was also a power struggle between the Presidency and Congress, as the Radicals sought to suppress the Presidential authority and bolster Congressional power during Reconstruction.
Despite his impeachment by the House of Representatives, Johnson was acquitted in the Senate, which served as the court for the impeachment trial, with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding. The vote for his removal was 35 to 19, just one vote shy of the necessary two-thirds majority required for conviction. Although Johnson remained in office, the impeachment effectively weakened his power, turning him into a lame-duck president, unable to oppose Congressional initiatives.