Background and Context

In the podcast episode, historian Brenda Winapple discusses the historical context surrounding the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson in 1868. Following the Civil War and Lincoln's assassination, the country was in turmoil, trying to mend the divide between North and South and address the status of formerly enslaved African Americans. Johnson's presidency was marked by his positions on civil rights and Reconstruction, which clashed with Congress and led to tensions and uprisings. The trial and the subsequent acquittal of Johnson by one vote had significant repercussions for American society at the time.