Tenure of Office Act (1867)
Federal United States law / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dear Wikiwand AI, let's keep it short by simply answering these key questions:
Can you list the top facts and stats about Tenure of Office Act (1867)?
Summarize this article for a 10 year old
The Tenure of Office Act was a United States federal law, in force from 1867 to 1887, that was intended to restrict the power of the president to remove certain office-holders without the approval of the U.S. Senate. The law was enacted March 2, 1867, over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. It purported to deny the president the power to remove any executive officer who had been appointed by the president with the advice and consent of the Senate, unless the Senate approved the removal during the next full session of Congress.[2]
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2010) |
Long title | An act regulating the tenure of certain civil offices |
---|---|
Enacted by | the 39th United States Congress |
Legislative history | |
| |
Major amendments | |
Repealed on March 3, 1887[1] |
Johnson's attempt to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton from office without the Senate's approval led to the impeachment of Johnson in early 1868 for violating the act.
The act was significantly amended by Congress on April 5, 1869, under President Ulysses S. Grant. Congress repealed the act in its entirety in 1887, 20 years after the law was enacted. While evaluating the constitutionality of a similar law in Myers v. United States (1926), the Supreme Court stated that the Tenure of Office Act was likely invalid.[3]