In 1868, Congress convened for the unprecedented task of holding

Question

In 1868, Congress convened for the unprecedented task of holding impeachment proceedings for President Andrew Johnson. Johnson was on trial for his dismissal of War Secretary Edwin M. Stanton in violation of the recently passed the Tenure of Office Act, which required Senate concurrence in the dismissal of any official who had been appointed with Senate approval. Although Johnson finished his term essentially powerless and unpopular, his acquittal was a victory for the separation of powers necessary in maintaining the stability of the federal government.

Following the death of Abraham Lincoln in 1865, the federal government became a crucible of debate over the fate of the southern states recently defeated in the Civil War. Johnson’s decisions in the first months of his administration revealed a marked sympathy toward white Southerners that immediately attracted the anger of Republicans. Johnson’s power was considerably weakened as Congress passed a barrage of Reconstruction legislation over his veto. The Tenure of Office Act was similarly designed to rein in the presidency, which had grown exceedingly powerful under Lincoln’s wartime administration. Johnson defied Congress by firing Stanton, a radical Republican whose views on Reconstruction were consistently in dissent with the rest of Johnson’s cabinet.

The impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson held historic implications. The legality of the Tenure of Office Act was widely considered questionable; previous presidents had always enjoyed the privilege of dismissing cabinet members at their pleasure. The ulterior issue on trial, however, was whether or not Congress should be able to remove a president merely because it disagreed with his policies. In 1804, President Jefferson had Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase impeached for the same reason and the Senate, in a united effort to deny the president’s attempt to subvert the judiciary, voted for acquittal. The minority of senators that acquitted Johnson agreed that the removal from office of a president whose policies were at odds with the legislature was a dangerous precedent that would in time render the chief executive a mere creature of Congress. Such an abuse of impeachment would allow the legislature to become inordinately powerful and to dominate the federal government   1 
 1. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

A. discuss the historical role of impeachment in the federal government
B. illustrate how the acquittal of the impeached president Andrew Johnson resolved an important constitutional crisis in American history
C. show how Andrew Johnson was able to overcome impeachment to lead a successful administration
D. discuss the importance of Andrew Johnson’s policies and executive actions in the Reconstruction era following the Civil War
E. show how Congress attempted to subvert the office of the president through the impeachment of Andrew Johnson

2 
 2. Which of the following can be inferred from the discussion of the Tenure of Office Act in the first paragraph?

A. Johnson did not fire Edwin M. Stanton with approval from the Senate.
B. The Tenure of Office Act was designed to prevent Johnson from firing Stanton.
C. Johnson had abused his authority by firing cabinet members in the past.
D. Congress intended the Tenure of Office Act to lead to Johnson’s impeachment.
E. Congress used the Tenure of Office Act to control presidents after Andrew Johnson.

3 
 3. According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

A. The majority of Republicans did not sympathize with white Southerners after the Civil War.
B. Lincoln exercised a unusually higher degree of presidential authority during the Civil War than Johnson did during the Reconstruction era.
C. Johnson openly opposed radical Republican Reconstruction policies following the Civil War.
D. Johnson’s cabinet contained several radical Republicans.
E. The Republican Party held majority control in Congress during the Johnson administration.

4 
 4. The passage suggests that the author would most likely agree with which of the following statements?

A. The authority of Congress should be weakened so that future presidents will not have to suffer the same injustice as Andrew Johnson.
B. Andrew Johnson would have led a successful presidency had there been fewer Republicans in Congress. 
C. The acquittals of Justice Chase and President Johnson represent the triumph of the same important principle in American government.
D. The Reconstruction policies of Republicans following the Civil War were unduly harsh upon the people of the South.
E. Each president should be given the opportunity to exercise the authority that Abraham Lincoln held during the Civil War.

iamdp · Answer

>>>HERE IS THE OFFICIAL EXPLANATION<<<

Q1

Answer Choice (B) is the correct choice. The passage discusses the history and implications of Andrew Johnson’s impeachment and acquittal. Only Answer Choice (B) properly captures this focus.

Choice (A) is far too broad. Although the impeachment of Andrew Johnson is the topic of the passage, the institution of impeachment itself is too broad a focus.

Choice (C) is a distortion. The end of paragraph 1 states that Johnson finished his term powerless and unpopular.

Choice (D) blows up a minor detail. Although Johnson’s role in Reconstruction is discussed briefly during the second paragraph, this is not the main focus of the passage.

Choice (E) is extreme. Although the passage does state that Johnson’s removal from office could potentially have subverted the presidency, the passage never asserts that it was Congress’ desire to do so. The only subversion discussed is Jefferson’s attempted subversion of the judiciary in 1804.

Q2

Answer Choice (A) is the correct choice because it correctly infers from the first paragraph that when Johnson fired Stanton, he did so without Senate approval.

Choice (B) goes too far. The passage only states that the Tenure of Office Act was designed to diminish the power of the president, not to specifically prevent Johnson from firing Stanton.

Choice (C) is unsupported. The passage never states that Johnson had abused his authority or fired other cabinet members in the past.

Choice (D) is also unsupported. Although the Tenure of Office Act did lead to Johnson’s impeachment, the passage never states that the Act was designed to do so. There’s no evidence that Congress had that much foresight.

Choice (E) is out of scope. Although the passage does state that previous presidents had been able to dismiss officials at their pleasure, the fate of subsequent presidents is never discussed.

Q3

Answer Choice (D) is the correct choice. It is not true because the end of paragraph 2 states that Stanton, a radical Republican, was frequently in opposition to the rest of Johnson’s cabinet. You can infer from this that Johnson’s cabinet did not contain several other radical Republicans.

Choice (A) is supported by paragraph 2; the passage states that Johnson sympathized with white Southerners, which outraged Republicans. Thus, we can infer that most Republicans did not sympathize with white southerners.

Choice (B) is also supported by paragraph 2; the passage states that Lincoln’s wartime administration was exceedingly powerful.

Choice (C) is supported by paragraph 2; the passage states that Johnson vetoed a great deal of Reconstruction legislation favored by radical Republicans.

Choice (E) is supported by paragraph 2. We can infer that because Republicans were able to override Johnson’s vetoes, they held a majority in Congress.

Q4

Answer Choice (C) is the correct choice. The "triumph" of separation of powers in American government in the acquittals of Justice Chase and of President Johnson is the principal idea in the passage, and this idea is mentioned explicitly at the end of paragraph 1.

Choice (A) is extreme. The passage never states that the authority of Congress should be weakened, only that the authority of the president should be upheld. Also, the author never goes so far as to refer to Jackson’s impeachment as an injustice.

Choice (B) severely distorts the passage. Although it’s true that the dominance of Republicans in Congress rendered Johnson essentially powerless, the author never implies that Johnson would have been a successful president if he had been given more power.

Choice (D) gives the author a stronger point of view than is presented in the passage. The author’s opinion regarding Reconstruction policy is never discussed.

Choice (E) is extreme. The passage never states exactly how much authority the author feels the president should have, only that the president’s authority should not be subverted by Congress simply because Congress doesn’t agree with his policies.

Q5

Answer Choice (C) is the correct choice. The "triumph" of separation of powers in American government in the acquittals of Justice Chase and of President Johnson is the principal idea in the passage, and this idea is mentioned explicitly at the end of paragraph 1.

Choice (A) is extreme. The passage never states that the authority of Congress should be weakened, only that the authority of the president should be upheld. Also, the author never goes so far as to refer to Jackson’s impeachment as an injustice.

Choice (B) severely distorts the passage. Although it’s true that the dominance of Republicans in Congress rendered Johnson essentially powerless, the author never implies that Johnson would have been a successful president if he had been given more power.

Choice (D) gives the author a stronger point of view than is presented in the passage. The author’s opinion regarding Reconstruction policy is never discussed.

Choice (E) is extreme. The passage never states exactly how much authority the author feels the president should have, only that the president’s authority should not be subverted by Congress simply because Congress doesn’t agree with his policies.[/size][/size]

Flyingdutch1307 · Answer

For the Q3. 3. According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

I was unable to eliminate E; where is it mentioned that Republicans held majority (although i am a student of history, i knew this is a Fact) but i could not eliminate it

guddo · Answer

3. According to the passage, all of the following are true EXCEPT:

The passage says Johnson showed sympathy toward white Southerners, clashed with Republicans in Congress, and became much weaker as Congress passed Reconstruction laws over his veto. It also says Stanton was a  radical Republican  whose views differed from the rest of Johnson’s cabinet.

(A) The majority of Republicans did not sympathize with white Southerners after the Civil War.

This is supported. The passage says Johnson’s sympathy toward white Southerners “immediately attracted the anger of Republicans.”

(B) Lincoln exercised a unusually higher degree of presidential authority during the Civil War than Johnson did during the Reconstruction era.

This is supported. The passage says the presidency had grown exceedingly powerful under Lincoln’s wartime administration, while Johnson’s power was considerably weakened.

(C) Johnson openly opposed radical Republican Reconstruction policies following the Civil War.

This is supported. The passage says Congress passed Reconstruction legislation over Johnson’s veto, and he fired Stanton, a radical Republican.

(D) Johnson’s cabinet contained several radical Republicans.

This is the exception. The passage identifies Stanton as a radical Republican, but then says his views were consistently in dissent with the rest of Johnson’s cabinet. That goes against the idea that the cabinet contained  several  radical Republicans.

(E) The Republican Party held majority control in Congress during the Johnson administration.

This is supported by the passage overall. Congress repeatedly acted against Johnson, passed legislation over his veto, and moved to impeach him, which strongly indicates Republican control.

Answer: (D)

guddo · Answer

You can eliminate  E  by  inference from the passage’s events , not from one explicit sentence.

The passage says Congress:
 passed a barrage of Reconstruction legislation over Johnson’s veto,
 passed the Tenure of Office Act to rein in him,
and then impeached him.

That only makes sense if Johnson’s opponents, the Republicans, controlled Congress strongly enough to act against him again and again. So E is not stated word for word, but it is clearly supported by the passage.

AbhishekP220108 · Answer

Hi  Flyingdutch1307  Well it was not directly mentioned, consider this question as must be true Inference.

Republicans were in majority can be infered from this part "  a marked sympathy toward white Southerners that immediately  attracted the anger of Republicans.  Johnson’s power was considerably  weakened as Congress  passed a barrage of Reconstruction  legislation over his veto.  The Tenure of Office Act was similarly designed to rein in the presidency, which had grown exceedingly powerful under Lincoln’s wartime administration. Johnson defied Congress by firing Stanton,  a radical Republican whose views on Reconstruction  were consistently in dissent with the rest of Johnson’s cabinet." also If we will look the feel of the passage and actions taken against the Johnson, it implies about the congress and republicans

officiisnobis · Answer

question 1
I was confused between B & E and I ended up choosing E. 
However, while I was doing other questions the passage became more clear to me and I realized why B is right.
How can you avoid what I did and choose correct answer for such a passage?

guddo · Answer

1. The primary purpose of the passage is to:

The passage explains why Andrew Johnson was impeached, why the Tenure of Office Act created a constitutional conflict, and why Johnson’s acquittal mattered.  The author’s main point  is that the acquittal protected separation of powers by preventing Congress from removing a president merely because it disagreed with his  policies .

(A) discuss the historical role of impeachment in the federal government

Too broad. The passage is not about impeachment generally. It focuses on Johnson’s impeachment and its constitutional significance.

(B) illustrate how the acquittal of the impeached president Andrew Johnson resolved an important constitutional crisis in American history

Correct.   The passage presents Johnson’s acquittal as a victory for separation of powers and as preventing Congress from making the president subordinate to the legislature.

(C) show how Andrew Johnson was able to overcome impeachment to lead a successful administration

Incorrect. The passage says Johnson finished his term powerless and unpopular.

(D) discuss the importance of Andrew Johnson’s policies and executive actions in the Reconstruction era following the Civil War

Too narrow and not the main purpose. Johnson’s policies are background for the impeachment conflict.

(E) show how Congress attempted to subvert the office of the president through the impeachment of Andrew Johnson

Too strong. The passage says this was the danger involved, but the main purpose is broader: to explain why the acquittal mattered constitutionally.

Answer: (B)

In 1868, Congress convened for the unprecedented task of holding

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In 1868, Congress convened for the unprecedented task of holding

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