Introduction

 

Title Introduction Directions Resources Summary

In the election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln and the Republican party abandoned Vice President Hannibal Hamlin and created a Unionist ticket with Andrew Johnson, from Tennessee, as Vice Presidential candidate.  In  April 1865 after the assassination of Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was thrust into the Presidency. 

 

                                     The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

 

The goals of the activity are:

  1. An understanding of what an impeachment is.

  2. A general grasp of the situation following the Civil War.

  3. An ability to interpret political cartoons that will be helpful in taking standardized tests.

  4. To understand the power struggle between Congress and the president.

  5. To give legitimate reasons why a president could be impeached.

 

A basic understanding will be provided in the Monday's lesson beginning our discussion on Reconstruction. Tuesday will be spent in the school library in the computer section. Students will have the entire period to use the links to search information about the trial. A handout from HarpWeek detailing the simulation activity will be handed out. A copy of this handout can be found on the last lank on my resource page.

The impeachment trial will be held the following in class with the impeachment vote to follow with the students playing the roles of U.S. Senators.  The students will have Wed. through Sunday to work on their role in the trial outside of the classroom. the students who present the best presentation on why and why not the impeachment should take place will receive 10 points on the future exam on  Reconstruction.

 

Main questions to be answered.

  1. If Lincoln would have lived, would the situation with the South have been different?
  2. Was the Office of Tenure Act constitutional?
  3. Was the result of the impeachment trial a victory for the presidency?
  4. Did Congress acquire too much power during the period of turmoil between President Johnson and the Radical Republicans?
  5. Should the president have treated the free Southern blacks better considering they were freed by a constitutional amendment?

 

 

 

 

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