The Impeachers

The Trial of Andrew Johnson and the Dream of a Just Nation

By: Brenda Wineapple

Narrated by: Gabra Zackman

Named one of the Best Books of the Year by Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times • The New York Times Book Review • NPR • Publishers Weekly

"This absorbing and important book recounts the titanic struggle over the implications of the Civil War amid the impeachment of a defiant and temperamentally erratic American president." (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Soul of America)

When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and Vice-President Andrew Johnson became "the Accidental President", it was a dangerous time in America. Congress was divided over how the Union should be reunited: when and how the secessionist South should regain full status, whether former Confederates should be punished, and when and whether Black men should be given the vote. Devastated by war and resorting to violence, many white Southerners hoped to restore a pre-Civil War society, if without slavery, and the pugnacious Andrew Johnson seemed to share their goals. With the unchecked power of executive orders, Johnson ignored Congress, pardoned rebel leaders, promoted white supremacy, opposed civil rights, and called Reconstruction unnecessary. It fell to Congress to stop the American president who acted like a king.

With profound insights and making use of extensive research, Brenda Wineapple dramatically evokes this pivotal period in American history, when the country was rocked by the first-ever impeachment of a sitting American president. And she brings to vivid life the extraordinary characters who brought that impeachment forward: the willful Johnson and his retinue of advocates - including complicated men like Secretary of State William Seward - as well as the equally complicated visionaries committed to justice and equality for all, like Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, Frederick Douglass, and Ulysses S. Grant. Theirs was a last-ditch, patriotic, and Constitutional effort to render the goals of the Civil War into reality and to make the Union free, fair, and whole.

Praise for The Impeachers

"In this superbly lyrical work, Brenda Wineapple has plugged a glaring hole in our historical memory through her vivid and sweeping portrayal of President Andrew Johnson’s 1868 impeachment. She serves up not simply food for thought but a veritable feast of observations on that most trying decision for a democracy: whether to oust a sitting president. Teeming with fiery passions and unforgettable characters, The Impeachers will be devoured by contemporary readers seeking enlightenment on this issue.... A landmark study." (Ron Chernow, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Grant)

©2019 Brenda Wineapple (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“The relevance of this riveting and absorbing book is clear enough...literary and incisive...vivid and perceptive.” (Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times)

“Riveting.... Wineapple has written a stunningly well-timed book on a question ripped from the headlines. Compulsively readable” (John Fabian Witt, The Washington Post)

“Ms. Wineapple’s gift for portraiture is on display as she sets out her cast of characters.... The first instruction to draw from The Impeachers is the importance of stakes.” (The Wall Street Journal)

Great story. Infuriating subject.

A selfish man who cared little for america. Im writing this in 2022 and the subject reminds me a little bit too much of our recently departed you know who.

Forgotten American History Revitalized

An in depth, highly interesting account of the all but forgotten impeachment and trial of Andrew Johnson. There's much fascinating detail about the personalities and events during the precarious era of reconstruction after the nightmare of the Civil War and how close America came to continued bloodshed and possible disunion. Gabra Zackman's narration is excellent.

Interesting piece of forgotten history

If you want to understand what happened between the death of Abraham Lincoln and the civil rights movement of the 1960's, this book is a great place to start. It does a great job of describing the institutional bigotry and division that remained embedded in the country after the civil war and for decades to come.

It's also interesting to read in light of current politics. If Andrew Johnson wasn't convicted by the senate after he was impeached, is it possible that anyone ever will be?

Absorbing

Now that the congress is conducting an impeachment investigation of Trump, I thought it would be a good idea to read about Johnson’s impeachment trial. Wineapple recounts the struggle over the implication of the Civil War amid the impeachment of an erratic president.

The book is well written and researched. Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was a Southern Democrat born in North Carolina. He wanted to return the South to the way it was prior to the War. He had lenient reconstruction policies toward the South and he vetoed the Reconstruction Act. He started his political career in the Tennessee legislature. In 1843 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee. Wineapple discusses Johnson’s presidency (1865-1869). The impeachment as well as what goes into an impeachment. Congress had tried multiple times to impeach Johnson before finally succeeding to trial only to lose. Wineapple includes the history primarily in the South post the Civil War emphasizing the treatment of the freed slaves. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I learned a lot about Johnson and the difficulties of impeachment.

The book is fourteen hours and thirty-six minutes. Gabra Zachman did a good job narrating the book.

The History I Never Learned in High School

I hesitated buying a book that's more than 14 hours long about an impeachment hearing. I'm glad I put that thought aside and purchased this book.

In high school, we learned that Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act to trap President Johnson into either living with an opponent (Sec. of War Stanton) in his cabinet or firing him and setting up an impeachment and trial. We never learned about the politics that led to the ToO Act and foretold this showdown.

The author provides a compelling history on the aftermath of the War of Northern Aggression, the political battles around Reconstruction, the balance between a dead president's and surviving politicians' visions of how the nation should heal, and the life story, character, and biases of perhaps the nation's most 'accidental' president.

President Johnson comes across as a dim-witted drunkard and his opponents in the Congress as power-grabbers. The book does into quite a bit of detail detailing this three-year tension-filled era in hour history and lays the foundation to understanding Republican victories in eight of the next 10 presidential elections.

If you're into US history around this era and haven't written a dissertation on the politics of Reconstruction, you're probably going to learn a lot by listining to this book.

An excellent book

This book is well researched and presented. Sheds light on the political nature of impeachment and what can go wrong. It is also informative about slavery, race, and reconstruction.

Impeachers

Nice to have more information written about Andrew Johnson and the impeachment process.
This book more important for people to read with our government situation today.

Overwhelming

Extremely welk-researched but there was simply too much detail here for this non-scholar. Seemingly hundreds of characters are mentioned only once and most are presented without much context. You will learn about the impeachment of Andrew Johnson in painful depth but the book was a slog to get through.

Criticism of reader

I don’t expect a chosen reader to be extremely literate. But she mis- pronounces several words: premises which she viewed as a Latin derived word pronouncing it ending eez, and raffish, mis- pronounced as if it were spelled RAFISH. Good voice though

True and Timely

This gripping story of the impeachment of Andrew Johnson reveals the complex human drama and political debates of post Civil War America, of which slavery and race are paramount. It also exposes a central issue of our own times, whether impeachment is a viable remedy for an incompetent and corrupt president.