|
Andrew Johnson was impeached on what were basically trumped-up charges. He was, first of all, a Democrat and replaced Lincoln's first term VP, Hannibal Hamblin, to create sort of a "unity" ticket during the Civil War. Secondly, he was a Southerner, from Tennessee. That made him hugely unpopular with the so-called "Radical Republicans" who wanted to punish the Confederacy during Reconstruction. And, they did everything they could to undermine his power.
What led to Johnson's impeachment and trial was that Congress enacted a law (that was probably unconstitutional to begin with) prohibiting the President from firing Caninet and other high level officers without the approval of the Senate, which was solidly controlled by the Republicans. Johnson defied the law and went ahead and fired an official who he felt wasn't following his administration's agenda. He broke the law, so it was easy to claim that he committed a "high crime" or at least a "misdemeanor". He was impeached by the Hosue, but was acquitted at his Senate trial by a single vote. He got to stay on as President but he was really powerless after that.
"No confidence" votes do exist in other democracies that have a Parliamentary system, where the Prime Minister or Premier is the leader of the party that controls the lower house of the Legislature. Not sure on this, but I don't believe they have scheduled elections like we do. A certain percentage of the Legislature can ask for elections or pass a "no confidence" resolution, and the citizens go to the polls shortly thereafter.
|
Hybrid Mode
