e began with the Johnsonian Reconstruction which was at first accepted with the readmission of the Southern States. Then the Radicals were outraged at this refusal to admit that the Southern states were traitors. A long battle between the president and Congress began. The Radicals passed a bill to enlarge the scope of the Freedmens Bureau, which Congress had established in March 1865 to help the freed slaves. Johnson vetoed the bill. In July a second bill was enacted over his veto. The Radicals were already angered with the president this just enraged them even more. The Tenure of Office Act was passed in 1867. This act forbade the president from removing federal office holders including Cabinet members, without the consent of the Senate. The other acts were vetoed by Johnson, but were passed over his veto. Congress now seemed all-powerful since the majority was Republican. The Tenure of Office Act angered Johnson , and even more were the acts that followed. The Secretary of War Stanton had been cooperating with the Radicals from the beginning of Johnsons presidency. In August 1867, while Congress was adjouned, Johnson suspended Stanton and named General Ulysses S.Grant to the post. In January 1868 the Senate refused to accept Stantons suspension. When Grant stepped out in favor of Stanton, the president again dismissed Stanton and appointed General Lorenzo Thomas as Secretary of War. Congress seized on the Stanton affair to remove Johnson from the presidency. On Febuary 24,1868, a resolution of impeachment was passed by the House of Representatives, and a committee was appointed to report the articles of impeachment against the president. The committee consisted of seven Radicals, including Thaddeus Stevens, all of whom had voted for the impeachment resolution. By March 4 the committee had prepared 11 articles of impeachment, and on March 5 Chief Justice Chase began presidingover the impeachment trial of Preside...
