The Radicals were looking to remove Johnson from office, and sought to do such by way of impeachment. Secretary of War, Edwin Smith, provided the radicals with a pretext to begin the impeachment proceedings, claiming that it was unconstitutional for President Johnson to of dismissed Stanton back in 1868. The House of Representatives began toe process of impeachment. Meanwhile, Johnson allowed his attorneys handle the process of defending him. Johnson escaped impeachment, being saved by only a mere one vote. The Radicals were infuriated by their failure to impeach President Johnson, but the rest of the nation seemed to take it in stride, maturely accepting the outcome of the events, and moving on from them. If the nation had been less politically
