VOA新闻杂志2023--Andrew Johnson: Impeached

Andrew Johnson: Impeached²

Today we are talking about Andrew Johnson. Johnson was vice³ president under Abraham Lincoln, and became president in 1865 after Lincoln was killed.

His name sounds like that of an earlier president, Andrew Jackson, and also like a later president, Lyndon Johnson.

But Andrew Johnson served in the years just after the Civil War. You can remember Johnson this way: He was the first U.S. president to be impeached.

Early life

Andrew Johnson grew up in a poor family in the southern state of North Carolina.

As a child, Johnson had little formal education. Instead, he trained to be a tailor.

When he was a young man, Johnson moved to Tennessee, another southern state. He opened a tailoring business, where he made, repaired and sold clothing.

When he was 18 years old, he married. His wife, Eliza McCardle, was only 16. They went on to have five children together.

Eliza McCardle Johnson did not come from a wealthy family, either. But she was better educated than her husband, and she helped him develop his reading and writing skills.

She also supported his gift for public speaking. Johnson's speeches were especially popular with workers in their community. They liked his criticism of the state's wealthy planters.

The workers also liked his politics. At the time, Johnson supported measures that permitted slavery to expand across the country. He was clear in his speeches that he did not support equality between whites and African-Americans, whether enslaved or free.

In time, Johnson held many political offices: mayor, Tennessee's governor, state legislator, and member of the U.S. House of Representatives. When the Civil War began, he was a member of the U.S. Senate.

Although he was a Southerner, he did not believe the Southern states had a right to withdraw from the Union. When the other Southern senators resigned from the U.S. Congress, Johnson stayed.

As a result, most Southerners considered him a traitor⁴. But most Northerners considered him a hero.

Election of 1864

By 1864, the American Civil War was three years old. The conflict was becoming increasingly fierce and bloody⁵. That year, the states that remained in the Union held their presidential election.

The president, Abraham Lincoln, wanted to win re-election and continue directing the Union's war effort. But he was not sure that voters in the opposition⁶ Democratic Party would support him.

So he turned to Andrew Johnson to be his choice for vice president.

Johnson was a pro-slavery Democrat⁷. Lincoln was an anti-slavery Republican. In the U.S. tradition, presidential candidates do not usually choose someone from a different party to serve as vice president.

But in this case, Lincoln's Republicans did. They called the Lincoln-Johnson partnership⁸ the National Union Party.

Political leaders hoped Johnson would appeal to Democrats⁹ who supported the war effort, to workers and to small farmers. The plan – along with several military successes for the Union – helped carry the National Union Party to victory.

The swearing-in ceremony the following March, however, suggested some of the difficulties ahead. Johnson was sick. To feel better, he had a lot of alcoholic¹⁰ drinks the night before the ceremony. The next morning, he drank some more.

When Johnson stood to give his speech, he appeared unsteady. He talked about his poor family and his simple beginnings. Then he spoke¹¹ angrily about wealthy Southern planters who had withdrawn¹² from the Union. He became increasingly confused.

Other people in the crowd wrote later that they felt embarrassed by Johnson's behavior. And some Republicans began calling already for his resignation – or even impeachment¹³.

Those critics could not have predicted that in a few weeks, Johnson would be the president.

Presidency¹⁴

A few very important events happened in the weeks after Lincoln and Johnson were sworn-in.

In April, Lincoln was shot and killed. Johnson took office as the new president.

The following month, the Civil War officially ended. The Confederate States of America was no more.

And that December, a majority of states approved the 13th Amendment¹⁵ to the U.S. Constitution. That amendment ended slavery across the country.

President Johnson, therefore, guided the process of re-uniting the North and South, and supervised the transition of many African-Americans from slavery to freedom. That period in U.S. history is called Reconstruction¹⁶.

Members of Congress from the Northern states had been thinking for a long time about how to carry out Reconstruction. The most extreme lawmakers, the Radical¹⁷ Republicans, wanted to punish former Confederate officials and extend political and civil rights to African-Americans.

Johnson had different ideas. In the first months of his presidency, before Congress had met, Johnson pardoned many former Confederate officials.

He also let Southerners rebuild their state governments as they wished. Those governments quickly passed laws called Black Codes.

Black Codes restricted the freedom and rights of African-Americans. They permitted white land owners to control African-Americans' labor¹⁸, much as they had when the workers were slaves. The laws were enforced by all-white police and militia¹⁹.

Radical Republicans in Congress – as well as African-Americans – objected strongly to the Black Codes. When Congress finally did meet, Republican lawmakers voted for a measure to help and protect formerly²⁰ enslaved people.

But Johnson vetoed the measure. He said the bill would give the federal government too much power.

Johnson's veto was one move in a political war between the president and many Republicans.

In time, lawmakers got the upper hand. The Republican Congress soon took control of Reconstruction. Against Johnson's wishes, they succeeded in passing several major pieces of legislation.

One was the Civil Rights Act of 1866. It recognized that everyone born in the United States – including African-Americans, although not Native Americans – was a citizen.

Another was the extension of the Freedman's Bureau Act, the measure that Johnson had earlier vetoed. For two more years, the federal government was authorized²¹ to help people displaced by the Civil War.

Finally, lawmakers passed a measure barring the president from dismissing any top officials without the approval of Congress.

President Johnson ignored the measure. When he believed the secretary of war did not treat him respectfully, the president ordered that man's dismissal.

In answer, members of the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach¹ Johnson. In other words, they charged him with a crime. It was the first time in U.S. history that a president has been impeached.

But "impeached" does not always mean removed from office. The case moves to the Senate. There, senators act as a jury. They decide whether the president is guilty. Two-thirds of the Senate must agree to convict the president.

In the case of Andrew Johnson, 54 senators considered his case. For him to be removed from office, 36 would need to find him guilty. But only 35 did. His position was saved by a single vote.

Legacy²²

Although Johnson survived impeachment, he was not nominated as a candidate for president in the next election. Instead, he returned to his home in Tennessee, then competed for a seat back in Congress.

On the third try, he succeeded. Johnson is the first and only – so far – former president to serve as a senator.

He did not stay in the position long, however. A few months after returning to Congress, Johnson died suddenly after suffering a stroke. He was 66 years old.

Today historians have mixed feelings about his presidency. Johnson's supporters approve of his limits on the federal government and belief in a firm separation of powers among Congress, the president and Supreme²³ Court.

But most historians believe Johnson's Reconstruction policies were extremely damaging. They did not help re-unite the North and South. And they extended the suffering of African-Americans and the country's history of racial oppression.

I'm Kelly Jean Kelly.

Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Editor's note: The original story mistakenly said that 20 senators had to find Johnson guilty for him to be removed from office, but only 19 did. In fact, a majority at that time would have been 36 senators. Only 35 found Johnson guilty.

Words in This Story

impeached - adj. charged a public official with a crime while in office

formal - adj. received in a school

tailor - n. a person who makes clothes

ticket - n. a list of the candidates supported by a political party in an election

unsteady - adj. not standing²⁴ or moving in a steady and balanced way

embarrassed - adj. made uncomfortable by foolish behavior

transition - n. a change from one state or condition to another

convict - v. to prove that someone is guilty of a crime in a court of law

stroke - n. a serious illness caused when a blood vessel in your brain suddenly breaks or is blocked

1 impeach   

v.弹劾；检举

参考例句：

• We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
• The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。

2 impeached   

v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议

参考例句：

• Elected officials can be impeached. 经过选举产生的官员可以被弹劾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The judge was impeached for taking a bribe. 这个法官被检举接受贿赂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

4 traitor   

n.叛徒，卖国贼

参考例句：

• The traitor was finally found out and put in prison.那个卖国贼终于被人发现并被监禁了起来。
• He was sold out by a traitor and arrested.他被叛徒出卖而被捕了。

5 bloody   

adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染

参考例句：

• He got a bloody nose in the fight.他在打斗中被打得鼻子流血。
• He is a bloody fool.他是一个十足的笨蛋。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 alcoholic   

adj.（含）酒精的，由酒精引起的；n.酗酒者

参考例句：

• The alcoholic strength of brandy far exceeds that of wine.白兰地的酒精浓度远远超过葡萄酒。
• Alcoholic drinks act as a poison to a child.酒精饮料对小孩犹如毒药。

11 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

12 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

13 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

14 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

15 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

16 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

17 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

18 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

19 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

20 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

21 authorized   

a.委任的，许可的

参考例句：

• An administrative order is valid if authorized by a statute.如果一个行政命令得到一个法规的认可那么这个命令就是有效的。

22 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

23 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

24 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。