This history story will be told slightly different than the ones I’ve done in the past. Instead of dedicating a full week to tell the events, The Trial of Andrew Johnson will be told on the specific dates, 150 years later, as the trial unfolds.

The first day of the trial in the Senate on March 13, 1868 was mostly just procedural, with the defense asking for more time to prepare the president, while the opposing side argued that they were given time enough already and the proceedings should start immediately. One of the reasons for pushing it was that Andrew Johnson wasn’t a lawyer, himself, and so needed to further rely on his council. In fact, a former tailor, Johnson was one of the few non-lawyer presidents up to that time (to date, 26 out of the 44 different presidents have been lawyers).

They would end up adjourning until March 23.