10 Terrible Presidential Scandals


Andrew-Johnson

Source: Wikipedia

8. Andrew Johnson

 

On February 24th, 1868 Andrew Johnson was the first United States President to be impeached. This was a reaction by political opponents to his violation of the Tenure of office Act when he improperly dismissed the U.S. Secretary of War. The House of Representatives voted to impeach him, but the senate acquitted Johnson of the charges, in the end.

Essentially, Johnson was impeached because he overstepped his authority when he tried to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The scandalous aspect of Johnson’s actions largely affected only Secretary of War Stanton, although it threatened to establish a dangerous precedent if a president were allowed to take actions forbidden to him under law.

Ironically, the next presidential scandal on our list involves a vast amount of government overreach and the president and his government got away with it, even though it affects every American from now into the future…

 

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