| 1864 | Johnson is selected as Lincoln's running mate in an effort to balance the Union ticket. |
| March 4, 1865 | Johnson is inaugurated as Vice President. |
| April 15, 1865 | Following Lincoln's assassination, Johnson succeeds to the Presidency, just days after the end of the Civil war. |
| December, 1865 | When the Congress reconvenes (for the first time since Lincoln's death), the Republicans refuse to seat congressmen from rebel states. |
| 1866 | Throughout the year, Johnson's power and influence decline. The popular vote is clearly in support of the Radical Republican method of reconstruction. |
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Washington's Birthday 1866 |
Johnson makes a speech denouncing two of the leading radical republicans, Senator Charles Sumner and Representative Thaddeus Stevens. In the speech he refers to the Republicans as "disunionists." |
| February, 1866 | Johnson vetoes the Freedmen's Bureau Bill (which is later passed over his veto). |
| April, 1866 | Johnson vetoes the Civil Rights Bill (which was also passed over his veto). |
| May, 1866 | Race riot in Memphis. |
| July 30, 1866 | Race riot in New Orleans. |
| February, 1867 | Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act prohibiting the President from dismissing any officer confirmed by the Senate without Senate approval. The Act is intended primarily to keep Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War, in his post. Stanton, a holdover from the Lincoln cabinet is sympathetic to the causes of the Radical Republicans. |
| March, 1867 | The Radical Republicans effect their own plan of reconstruction, again placing the southern states under military rule. |
| August 12, 1867 | With the Congress not is session, Johnson temporarily suspends Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, and replaces him with war hero Ulysses S. Grant. |
| January, 1868 | On January 13, the Senate refuses to concur in the suspension of Edwin Stanton by a vote of 35 to 16. Grant returns his office to Stanton. The President then formally dismisses Stanton as Secretary of War and replaces him with Lorenzo Thomas. |
| February 24, 1868 | Accusing Johnson of violating the tenure of Office Act, the House approves an impeachment resolution by a vote of 126-47. |
| March 30, 1868 | The impeachment trial of Johnson begins in the Senate. |
| May 16, 1868 | The Senate votes on the 11th Article of Impeachment and is one vote short of the 2/3 majority needed to impeach the President. |
| May 26, 1868 | Another vote is taken in the Senate on the 2nd and 3rd Articles of Impeachment and Johnson is again acquitted. The trial is over. |
| March 4, 1869 | Johnson leaves office after finishing the remainder of his term as President. |
| July 31, 1875 | Johnson dies at his daughter's house after suffering a stroke. |
| 1887 | The Tenure of Office Act is repealed at the urging of President Grover Cleveland. |
Chronology
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