Final answer:
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act to limit President Andrew Johnson's power and impeached him when he violated it by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Johnson was not convicted and remained in office, narrowly escaping removal by a single Senate vote.
Step-by-step explanation:
To punish President Andrew Johnson for the removal of his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, Congress initiated measures to restrict his powers and subsequently impeached him. Their steps included the passage of the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, which sought to prevent Johnson from removing civil officials without Senate approval.
This legislative move aimed to maintain Radical Republican influence in the cabinet, particularly to keep Stanton, who was aligned with them. Johnson's decision to dismiss Stanton and replace him with General Lorenzo Thomas directly led to his impeachment by the House of Representatives on February 24, 1867, for "high crimes and misdemeanors."
The trial took place in the Senate, presided over by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Although Johnson was impeached, he was not convicted, as the Senate voted to acquit him — missing just one vote for the required majority to remove him from office.