United States
On January 16, 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives passed articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, accusing him of violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton without Senate approval. Johnson thus became the first American president to be impeached. The Senate trial that followed ended in his acquittal by a single vote. The proceedings tested the balance between executive authority and legislative oversight during Reconstruction. The outcome helped define impeachment as a political and constitutional tool going forward.
