How Andrew Johnson's Trial Resonated in Trump Impeachment

How Andrew Johnson's Trial Resonated in Trump Impeachment

As the first presidential impeachment trial was drawing to a close, newspaper titan Horace Greeley’s New York Tribune ran a bold headline: “CONVICTION ALMOST A CERTAINTY.” If by “certainty” the paper meant falling one vote short of the two-thirds needed to remove President Andrew Johnson, the headline proved accurate. On May 26, 1868, Johnson slipped the political noose with a 35–19 vote, after 10 Republicans—perhaps the “RINOs” of their day—bro…