text:
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
|17f President of de United States
|In office
Apriw 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
|Vice President
|Preceded by
|Abraham Lincown
|Succeeded by
|Uwysses S. Grant
|16f Vice President of de United States
|In office
March 4, 1865 – Apriw 15, 1865
|Abraham Lincown
|Preceded by
|Hannibaw Hamwin
|Succeeded by
|Schuywer Cowfax
|United States Senator
from Tennessee
|In office
March 4, 1875 – Juwy 31, 1875
|Preceded by
|Wiwwiam Gannaway Brownwow
|Succeeded by
|David M. Key
|In office
October 8, 1857 – March 4, 1862
|Preceded by
|James C. Jones
|Succeeded by
|David T. Patterson
|Miwitary Governor of Tennessee
|In office
March 12, 1862 – March 4, 1865
|Appointed by
|Abraham Lincown
|Preceded by
|Isham G. Harris
(Governor of Tennessee)
|Succeeded by
|Wiwwiam Gannaway Brownwow
(Governor of Tennessee)
|15f Governor of Tennessee
|In office
October 17, 1853 – November 3, 1857
|Preceded by
|Wiwwiam B. Campbeww
|Succeeded by
|Isham G. Harris
|Member of de U.S. House of Representatives
from Tennessee's 1st district
|In office
March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1853
|Preceded by
|Thomas Dickens Arnowd
|Succeeded by
|Brookins Campbeww
|Personaw detaiws
|December 29, 1808
Raweigh, Norf Carowina
|Juwy 31, 1875 (aged 66)
Ewizabedton, Tennessee
|Resting pwace
|Andrew Johnson Nationaw Cemetery
Greeneviwwe, Tennessee
|Powiticaw party
|Oder powiticaw
|Nationaw Union (1864–1868)
Ewiza McCardwe (m. 1827)
|Miwitary service
|United States[1]
|United States Army
|Years of service
|Brigadier Generaw
|American Civiw War
Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808 – Juwy 31, 1875) was de 17f president of de United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. Johnson assumed de presidency as he was vice president of de United States at de time of de assassination of Abraham Lincown. A Democrat who ran wif Lincown on de Nationaw Union ticket, Johnson came to office as de Civiw War concwuded. He favored qwick restoration of de seceded states to de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. His pwans did not give protection to de former swaves; he came into confwict wif de Repubwican-dominated Congress, cuwminating in his impeachment by de House of Representatives. He was acqwitted in de Senate by one vote.
Johnson was born in poverty in Raweigh, Norf Carowina, and never attended schoow. Apprenticed as a taiwor, he worked in severaw frontier towns before settwing in Greeneviwwe, Tennessee. He served as awderman and mayor dere before being ewected to de Tennessee House of Representatives in 1835. After brief service in de Tennessee Senate, Johnson was ewected to de federaw House of Representatives in 1843, where he served five two-year terms. He became Governor of Tennessee for four years, and was ewected by de wegiswature to de U.S. Senate in 1857. In his congressionaw service, he sought passage of de Homestead Biww, which was enacted soon after he weft his Senate seat in 1862. As Soudern swave states, incwuding Tennessee, seceded to form de Confederate States of America, Johnson remained firmwy wif de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. He was de onwy sitting senator from a Confederate state who did not resign his seat upon wearning of his state's secession, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 1862, Lincown appointed him as miwitary governor of Tennessee after most of it had been retaken, uh-hah-hah-hah. In 1864, Johnson, as a War Democrat and Soudern Unionist, was a wogicaw choice as running mate for Lincown, who wished to send a message of nationaw unity in his reewection campaign; deir ticket easiwy won, uh-hah-hah-hah. When Johnson was sworn in as vice president in March 1865, he gave a rambwing speech, after which he secwuded himsewf to avoid pubwic ridicuwe. Six weeks water, de assassination of Lincown made him president.
Johnson impwemented his own form of Presidentiaw Reconstruction – a series of procwamations directing de seceded states to howd conventions and ewections to reform deir civiw governments. When Soudern states returned many of deir owd weaders, and passed Bwack Codes to deprive de freedmen of many civiw wiberties, Congressionaw Repubwicans refused to seat wegiswators from dose states and advanced wegiswation to overruwe de Soudern actions. Johnson vetoed deir biwws, and Congressionaw Repubwicans overrode him, setting a pattern for de remainder of his presidency.[2] Johnson opposed de Fourteenf Amendment, which gave citizenship to former swaves. In 1866, Johnson went on an unprecedented nationaw tour promoting his executive powicies, seeking to destroy his Repubwican opponents.[3] As de confwict between de branches of government grew, Congress passed de Tenure of Office Act, restricting Johnson's abiwity to fire Cabinet officiaws. When he persisted in trying to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, he was impeached by de House of Representatives, and narrowwy avoided conviction in de Senate and removaw from office. After faiwing to win de 1868 Democratic presidentiaw nomination, Johnson weft office in 1869.
Returning to Tennessee after his presidency, Johnson sought powiticaw vindication, and gained it in his eyes when he was ewected to de Senate again in 1875, making Johnson de onwy former president to serve in de Senate. He died monds into his term. Whiwe some[4] admire Johnson's strict constitutionawism, his strong opposition to federawwy guaranteed rights for African Americans is widewy criticized. He is regarded by many historians as one of de worst presidents in American history.
- 1 Earwy wife and career
- 2 Powiticaw rise
- 3 Vice President (1865)
- 4 Presidency (1865–1869)
- 5 Post-presidency and return to Senate
- 6 Historicaw reputation and wegacy
- 7 Notes
- 8 Bibwiography
- 9 Externaw winks
Earwy wife and career[edit]
Andrew Johnson was born in Raweigh, Norf Carowina, on December 29, 1808, to Jacob Johnson (1778–1812) and Mary ("Powwy") McDonough (1783–1856), a waundress. He was of Engwish, Scots-Irish, and Irish ancestry.[5] He had a broder Wiwwiam, four years his senior, and an owder sister Ewizabef, who died in chiwdhood. Johnson's birf in a two-room shack was a powiticaw asset in de mid-19f century, and he wouwd freqwentwy remind voters of his humbwe origins.[6] Jacob Johnson was a poor man, as had been his fader, Wiwwiam Johnson, but he became town constabwe of Raweigh before marrying and starting a famiwy. Bof Jacob and Mary were iwwiterate, and had worked as tavern servants, whiwe Johnson never attended schoow.[7] Johnson grew up in poverty.[7] Jacob died of an apparent heart attack whiwe ringing de town beww, shortwy after rescuing dree drowning men, when his son Andrew was dree.[8] Powwy Johnson worked as a washerwoman and became de sowe support of her famiwy. Her occupation was den wooked down on, as it often took her into oder homes unaccompanied. There were even rumors dat Andrew, who did not resembwe his broder or sister, had been fadered by anoder man, uh-hah-hah-hah. Powwy Johnson eventuawwy remarried, to Turner Doughtry, who was as poor as she was.[9]
Johnson's moder apprenticed her son Wiwwiam to a taiwor, James Sewby. Andrew awso became an apprentice in Sewby's shop at age ten and was wegawwy bound to serve untiw his 21st birdday. Johnson wived wif his moder for part of his service, and one of Sewby's empwoyees taught him rudimentary witeracy skiwws.[10] His education was augmented by citizens who wouwd come to Sewby's shop to read to de taiwors as dey worked. Even before he became an apprentice, Johnson came to wisten, uh-hah-hah-hah. The readings caused a wifewong wove of wearning, and one of his biographers, Annette Gordon-Reed, suggests dat Johnson, water a gifted pubwic speaker, wearned de art as he dreaded needwes and cut cwof.[11]
Johnson was not happy at James Sewby's, and after about five years, bof he and his broder ran away. Sewby responded by pwacing a reward for deir return: "Ten Dowwars Reward. Ran away from de subscriber, two apprentice boys, wegawwy bound, named Wiwwiam and Andrew Johnson ... [payment] to any person who wiww dewiver said apprentices to me in Raweigh, or I wiww give de above reward for Andrew Johnson awone."[12] The broders went to Cardage, Norf Carowina, where Andrew Johnson worked as a taiwor for severaw monds. Fearing he wouwd be arrested and returned to Raweigh, Johnson moved to Laurens, Souf Carowina. He found work qwickwy, met his first wove, Mary Wood, and made her a qwiwt as a gift. However, she rejected his marriage proposaw. He returned to Raweigh, hoping to buy out his apprenticeship, but couwd not come to terms wif Sewby. Unabwe to stay in Raweigh, where he risked being apprehended for abandoning Sewby, he decided to move west.[13][14]
Move to Tennessee[edit]
Johnson weft Norf Carowina for Tennessee, travewing mostwy on foot. After a brief period in Knoxviwwe, he moved to Mooresviwwe, Awabama.[13][15] He den worked as a taiwor in Cowumbia, Tennessee, but was cawwed back to Raweigh by his moder and stepfader, who saw wimited opportunities dere and who wished to emigrate west. Johnson and his party travewed drough de Bwue Ridge Mountains to Greeneviwwe, Tennessee. Andrew Johnson feww in wove wif de town at first sight, and when he became prosperous purchased de wand where he had first camped and pwanted a tree in commemoration, uh-hah-hah-hah.[16]
In Greeneviwwe, Johnson estabwished a successfuw taiworing business in de front of his home. In 1827, at de age of 18, he married 16-year-owd Ewiza McCardwe, de daughter of a wocaw shoemaker. The pair were married by Justice of de Peace Mordecai Lincown, first cousin of Thomas Lincown, whose son wouwd become president. The Johnsons were married for awmost 50 years and had five chiwdren: Marda (1828), Charwes (1830), Mary (1832), Robert (1834), and Andrew Jr. (1852). Though she suffered from Tubercuwosis, Ewiza supported her husband's endeavors. She taught him madematics skiwws and tutored him to improve his writing.[17][18] Shy and retiring by nature, Ewiza Johnson usuawwy remained in Greeneviwwe during Johnson's powiticaw rise. She was not often seen during her husband's presidency; deir daughter Marda usuawwy served as officiaw hostess.[19]
Johnson's taiworing business prospered during de earwy years of de marriage, enabwing him to hire hewp and giving him de funds to invest profitabwy in reaw estate.[20] He water boasted of his tawents as a taiwor, "my work never ripped or gave way."[21] He was a voracious reader. Books about famous orators aroused his interest in powiticaw diawogue, and he had private debates on de issues of de day wif customers who hewd opposing views. He awso took part in debates at Greeneviwwe Cowwege.[22]
Powiticaw rise[edit]
Tennessee powitician[edit]
Johnson hewped organize a mechanics' (working men's) ticket in de 1829 Greeneviwwe municipaw ewection, uh-hah-hah-hah. He was ewected town awderman, awong wif his friends Bwackston McDannew and Mordecai Lincown, uh-hah-hah-hah.[23][24] Fowwowing de 1831 Nat Turner swave rebewwion, a state convention was cawwed to pass a new constitution, incwuding provisions to disenfranchise free peopwe of cowor. The convention awso wanted to reform reaw estate tax rates, and provide ways of funding improvements to Tennessee's infrastructure. The constitution was submitted for a pubwic vote, and Johnson spoke widewy for its adoption; de successfuw campaign provided him wif statewide exposure. On January 4, 1834, his fewwow awdermen ewected him mayor of Greeneviwwe.[25][26]
In 1835, Johnson made a bid for ewection to de "fwoater" seat which Greene County shared wif neighboring Washington County in de Tennessee House of Representatives. According to his biographer, Hans L. Trefousse, Johnson "demowished" de opposition in debate and won de ewection wif awmost a two to one margin, uh-hah-hah-hah.[27][28] Soon after taking his seat, Johnson purchased his first swave, Dowwy, aged 14. Dowwy had dree chiwdren over de years. Johnson had de reputation of treating his swaves kindwy, and de fact dat Dowwy was dark-skinned, and her offspring much wighter, wed to specuwation bof during and after his wifetime dat he was de fader.[29] During his Greeneviwwe days, Johnson joined de Tennessee Miwitia as a member of de 90f Regiment. He attained de rank of cowonew, dough whiwe an enrowwed member, Johnson was fined for an unknown offense.[30] Afterwards, he was often addressed or referred to by his rank.
In his first term in de wegiswature, which met in de state capitaw of Nashviwwe, Johnson did not consistentwy vote wif eider de Democratic or de newwy formed Whig Party, dough he revered President Andrew Jackson, a Democrat and fewwow Tennessean, uh-hah-hah-hah. The major parties were stiww determining deir core vawues and powicy proposaws, wif de party system in a state of fwux. The Whig Party had organized in opposition to Jackson, fearing de concentration of power in de Executive Branch of de government; Johnson differed from de Whigs as he opposed more dan minimaw government spending and spoke against aid for de raiwroads, whiwe his constituents hoped for improvements in transportation, uh-hah-hah-hah. After Brookins Campbeww and de Whigs defeated Johnson for reewection in 1837, Johnson wouwd not wose anoder race for dirty years. In 1839, he sought to regain his seat, initiawwy as a Whig, but when anoder candidate sought de Whig nomination, he ran as a Democrat and was ewected. From dat time he supported de Democratic party and buiwt a powerfuw powiticaw machine in Greene County.[31][32] Johnson became a strong advocate of de Democratic Party, noted for his oratory, and in an era when pubwic speaking bof informed de pubwic and entertained it, peopwe fwocked to hear him.[33]
In 1840, Johnson was sewected as a presidentiaw ewector for Tennessee, giving him more statewide pubwicity. Awdough Democratic President Martin Van Buren was defeated by former Ohio senator Wiwwiam Henry Harrison, Johnson was instrumentaw in keeping Tennessee and Greene County in de Democratic cowumn, uh-hah-hah-hah.[34] He was ewected to de Tennessee Senate in 1841, where he served a two-year term.[35] He had achieved financiaw success in his taiworing business, but sowd it to concentrate on powitics. He had awso acqwired additionaw reaw estate, incwuding a warger home and a farm (where his moder and stepfader took residence), and among his assets numbered eight or nine swaves.[36]
United States Representative (1843–1853)[edit]
Having served in bof houses of de state wegiswature, Johnson saw ewection to Congress as de next step in his powiticaw career. He engaged in a number of powiticaw maneuvers to gain Democratic support, incwuding de dispwacement of de Whig postmaster in Greeneviwwe, and defeated Jonesborough wawyer John A. Aiken by 5,495 votes to 4,892.[37][38] In Washington, he joined a new Democratic majority in de House of Representatives. Johnson advocated for de interests of de poor, maintained an anti-abowitionist stance, argued for onwy wimited spending by de government and opposed protective tariffs.[39] Wif Ewiza remaining in Greeneviwwe, Congressman Johnson shunned sociaw functions in favor of study in de Library of Congress.[40] Awdough a fewwow Tennessee Democrat, James K. Powk, was ewected president in 1844, and Johnson had campaigned for him, de two men had difficuwt rewations, and President Powk refused some of his patronage suggestions.[41]
Johnson bewieved, as did many Soudern Democrats, dat de Constitution protected private property, incwuding swaves, and dus prohibited de federaw and state governments from abowishing swavery.[42] He won a second term in 1845 against Wiwiam G. Brownwow, presenting himsewf as de defender of de poor against de aristocracy. In his second term, Johnson supported de Powk administration's decision to fight de Mexican War, seen by some Norderners as an attempt to gain territory to expand swavery westward, and opposed de Wiwmot Proviso, a proposaw to ban swavery in any territory gained from Mexico. He introduced for de first time his Homestead Biww, to grant 160 acres (65 ha) to peopwe wiwwing to settwe de wand and gain titwe to it.[43][44] This issue was especiawwy important to Johnson because of his own humbwe beginnings.[43][45]
In de presidentiaw ewection of 1848, de Democrats spwit over de swavery issue, and abowitionists formed de Free Soiw Party, wif former president Van Buren as deir nominee. Johnson supported de Democratic candidate, former Michigan senator Lewis Cass. Wif de party spwit, Whig nominee Generaw Zachary Taywor was easiwy victorious, and carried Tennessee.[46] Johnson's rewations wif Powk remained poor; de President recorded of his finaw New Year's reception in 1849 dat
Among de visitors I observed in de crowd today was Hon, uh-hah-hah-hah. Andrew Johnson of de Ho. Repts. [House of Representatives] Though he represents a Democratic District in Tennessee (my own State) dis is de first time I have seen him during de present session of Congress. Professing to be a Democrat, he has been powiticawwy, if not personawwy hostiwe to me during my whowe term. He is very vindictive and perverse in his temper and conduct. If he had de manwiness and independence to decware his opposition openwy, he knows he couwd not be ewected by his constituents. I am not aware dat I have ever given him cause for offense.[47]
Johnson, due to nationaw interest in new raiwroad construction and in response to de need for better transportation in his own district, awso supported government assistance for de East Tennessee and Virginia Raiwroad.[48]
In his campaign for a fourf term, Johnson concentrated on dree issues: swavery, homesteads and judiciaw ewections. He defeated his opponent, Nadaniew G. Taywor, in August 1849, wif a greater margin of victory dan in previous campaigns. When de House convened in December, de party division caused by de Free Soiw Party precwuded de formation of de majority needed to ewect a Speaker. Johnson proposed adoption of a ruwe awwowing ewection of a Speaker by a pwurawity; some weeks water oders took up a simiwar proposaw, and Democrat Howeww Cobb was ewected.[49]
Once de Speaker ewection had concwuded and Congress was ready to conduct wegiswative business, de issue of swavery took center stage. Norderners sought to admit Cawifornia, a free state, to de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. Kentucky's Henry Cway introduced in de Senate a series of resowutions, de Compromise of 1850, to admit Cawifornia and pass wegiswation sought by each side. Johnson voted for aww de provisions except for de abowition of swavery in de nation's capitaw.[50] He pressed resowutions for constitutionaw amendments to provide for popuwar ewection of senators (den ewected by state wegiswatures) and of de president (chosen by de Ewectoraw Cowwege), and wimiting de tenure of federaw judges to 12 years. These were aww defeated.[51]
A group of Democrats nominated Landon Carter Haynes to oppose Johnson as he sought a fiff term; de Whigs were so pweased wif de internecine battwe among de Democrats in de generaw ewection dat dey did not nominate a candidate of deir own, uh-hah-hah-hah. The campaign incwuded fierce debates: Johnson's main issue was de passage of de Homestead Biww; Haynes contended it wouwd faciwitate abowition, uh-hah-hah-hah. Johnson won de ewection by more dan 1600 votes.[51] Though he was not enamored of de party's presidentiaw nominee in 1852, former New Hampshire senator Frankwin Pierce, Johnson campaigned for him. Pierce was ewected, but he faiwed to carry Tennessee.[52] In 1852, Johnson managed to get de House to pass his Homestead Biww, but it faiwed in de Senate.[53] The Whigs had gained controw of de Tennessee wegiswature, and, under de weadership of Gustavus Henry, redrew de boundaries of Johnson's First District to make it a safe seat for deir party. The Nashviwwe Union termed dis "Henry-mandering";[b][54] wamented Johnson, "I have no powiticaw future."[55]
Governor of Tennessee (1853–1857)[edit]
If Johnson considered retiring from powitics upon deciding not to seek reewection, he soon changed his mind.[56] His powiticaw friends began to maneuver to get him de nomination for governor. The Democratic convention unanimouswy named him, dough some party members were not happy at his sewection, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Whigs had won de past two gubernatoriaw ewections, and stiww controwwed de wegiswature.[57] That party nominated Henry, making de "Henry-mandering" of de First District an immediate issue.[57] The two men debated in county seats de wengf of Tennessee before de meetings were cawwed off two weeks before de August 1853 ewection due to iwwness in Henry's famiwy.[56][58] Johnson won de ewection by 63,413 votes to 61,163; some votes for him were cast in return for his promise to support Whig Nadaniew Taywor for his owd seat in Congress.[59][60]
Tennessee's governor had wittwe power: Johnson couwd propose wegiswation but not veto it, and most appointments were made by de Whig-controwwed wegiswature. Neverdewess, de office was a "buwwy puwpit" dat awwowed him to pubwicize himsewf and his powiticaw views.[61] He succeeded in getting de appointments he wanted in return for his endorsement of John Beww, a Whig, for one of de state's U.S. Senate seats. In his first bienniaw speech, Johnson urged simpwification of de state judiciaw system, abowition of de Bank of Tennessee, and estabwishment of an agency to provide uniformity in weights and measures; de wast was passed. Johnson was criticaw of de Tennessee common schoow system and suggested funding be increased via taxes, eider statewide or county by county—a mixture of de two was passed.[62] Reforms carried out during Johnson's time as governor incwuded de foundation of de State's pubwic wibrary (making books avaiwabwe to aww) and its first pubwic schoow system, and de initiation of reguwar state fairs to benefit craftsmen and farmers.[63]
Awdough de Whig Party was on its finaw decwine nationawwy, it remained strong in Tennessee, and de outwook for Democrats dere in 1855 was poor. Feewing dat reewection as governor was necessary to give him a chance at de higher offices he sought, Johnson agreed to make de run, uh-hah-hah-hah. Meredif P. Gentry received de Whig nomination, uh-hah-hah-hah. A series of more dan a dozen vitriowic debates ensued. The issues in de campaign were swavery, de prohibition of awcohow, and de nativist positions of de Know Noding Party. Johnson favored de first, but opposed de oders. Gentry was more eqwivocaw on de awcohow qwestion, and had gained de support of de Know Nodings, a group Johnson portrayed as a secret society.[64] Johnson was unexpectedwy victorious, awbeit wif a narrower margin dan in 1853.[65]
When de presidentiaw ewection of 1856 approached, Johnson hoped to be nominated; some Tennessee county conventions designated him a "favorite son". His position dat de best interests of de Union were served by swavery in some areas made him a practicaw compromise candidate for president. He was never a major contender; de nomination feww to former Pennsywvania senator James Buchanan. Though he was not impressed by eider, Johnson campaigned for Buchanan and his running mate, John C. Breckinridge, who were ewected.[66]
Johnson decided not to seek a dird term as governor, wif an eye towards ewection to de U.S. Senate. In 1857, whiwe returning from Washington, his train deraiwed, causing serious damage to his right arm. This injury wouwd troubwe him in de years to come.[67]
United States Senator[edit]
Homestead Biww advocate[edit]
The victors in de 1857 state wegiswative campaign wouwd, once dey convened in October, ewect a United States Senator. Former Whig governor Wiwwiam B. Campbeww wrote to his uncwe, "The great anxiety of de Whigs is to ewect a majority in de wegiswature so as to defeat Andrew Johnson for senator. Shouwd de Democrats have de majority, he wiww certainwy be deir choice, and dere is no man wiving to whom de Americans[c] and Whigs have as much antipady as Johnson, uh-hah-hah-hah."[68] The governor spoke widewy in de campaign, and his party won de gubernatoriaw race and controw of de wegiswature.[69] Johnson's finaw address as governor gave him de chance to infwuence his ewectors, and he made proposaws popuwar among Democrats. Two days water de wegiswature ewected him to de Senate. The opposition was appawwed, wif de Richmond Whig newspaper referring to him as "de viwest radicaw and most unscrupuwous demagogue in de Union".[70]
Johnson gained high office due to his proven record as a man popuwar among de smaww farmers and sewf-empwoyed tradesmen who made up much of Tennessee's ewectorate. He cawwed dem de "pwebeians"; he was wess popuwar among de pwanters and wawyers who wed de state Democratic Party, but none couwd match him as a vote-getter. After his deaf, one Tennessee voter wrote of him, "Johnson was awways de same to everyone ... de honors heaped upon him did not make him forget to be kind to de humbwest citizen, uh-hah-hah-hah."[71] Awways seen in impeccabwy taiwored cwoding, he cut an impressive figure,[72] and had de stamina to endure wengdy campaigns wif daiwy travew over bad roads weading to anoder speech or debate. Mostwy denied de party's machinery, he rewied on a network of friends, advisers, and contacts.[55] One friend, Hugh Dougwas, stated in a wetter to him, "you have been in de way of our wouwd be great men for a wong time. At heart many of us never wanted you to be Governor onwy none of de rest of us Couwd have been ewected at de time and we onwy wanted to use you. Then we did not want you to go to de Senate but de peopwe wouwd send you."[73]
The new senator took his seat when Congress convened in December 1857 (de term of his predecessor, James C. Jones, had expired in March). He came to Washington as usuaw widout his wife and famiwy; Ewiza wouwd visit Washington onwy once during Johnson's first time as senator, in 1860. Johnson immediatewy set about introducing de Homestead Biww in de Senate, but as most senators who supported it were Nordern (many associated wif de newwy founded Repubwican Party), de matter became caught up in suspicions over de swavery issue. Soudern senators fewt dat dose who took advantage of de provisions of de Homestead Biww were more wikewy to be Nordern non-swavehowders. The issue of swavery had been compwicated by de Supreme Court's ruwing earwier in de year in Dred Scott v. Sandford dat swavery couwd not be prohibited in de territories. Johnson, a swavehowding senator from a Soudern state, made a major speech in de Senate de fowwowing May in an attempt to convince his cowweagues dat de Homestead Biww and swavery were not incompatibwe. Neverdewess, Soudern opposition was key to defeating de wegiswation, 30–22.[74][75] In 1859, it faiwed on a proceduraw vote when Vice President Breckinridge broke a tie against de biww, and in 1860, a watered-down version passed bof houses, onwy to be vetoed by Buchanan at de urging of Souderners.[76] Johnson continued his opposition to spending, chairing a committee to controw it.
He argued against funding to buiwd infrastructure in Washington, D.C., stating dat it was unfair to expect state citizens to pay for de city's streets, even if it was de seat of government. He opposed spending money for troops to put down de revowt by de Mormons in Utah Territory, arguing for temporary vowunteers as de United States shouwd not have a standing army.[77]
Secession crisis[edit]
In October 1859, abowitionist John Brown and sympadizers raided de federaw arsenaw at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia). Tensions in Washington between pro- and anti-swavery forces increased greatwy. Johnson gave a major speech in de Senate in December, decrying Norderners who wouwd endanger de Union by seeking to outwaw swavery. The Tennessee senator stated dat "aww men are created eqwaw" from de Decwaration of Independence did not appwy to African Americans, since de Constitution of Iwwinois contained dat phrase—and dat document barred voting by African Americans.[78][79] Johnson, by dis time, was a weawdy man who owned a few househowd swaves,[80] 14 swaves, according to de 1860 Federaw Census.[81]
Johnson hoped dat he wouwd be a compromise candidate for de presidentiaw nomination as de Democratic Party tore itsewf apart over de swavery qwestion, uh-hah-hah-hah. Busy wif de Homestead Biww during de 1860 Democratic Nationaw Convention in Charweston, Souf Carowina, he sent two of his sons and his chief powiticaw adviser to represent his interests in de backroom deaw-making. The convention deadwocked, wif no candidate abwe to gain de reqwired two-dirds vote, but de sides were too far apart to consider Johnson as a compromise. The party spwit, wif Norderners backing Iwwinois Senator Stephen Dougwas whiwe Souderners, incwuding Johnson, supported Vice President Breckinridge for president. Wif former Tennessee senator John Beww running a fourf-party candidacy and furder dividing de vote, de Repubwican Party ewected its first president, former Iwwinois representative Abraham Lincown. The ewection of Lincown, known to be against de spread of swavery, was unacceptabwe to many in de Souf. Awdough secession from de Union had not been an issue in de campaign, tawk of it began in de Soudern states.[82][83]
Johnson took to de Senate fwoor after de ewection, giving a speech weww received in de Norf, "I wiww not give up dis government ... No; I intend to stand by it ... and I invite every man who is a patriot to ... rawwy around de awtar of our common country ... and swear by our God, and aww dat is sacred and howy, dat de Constitution shaww be saved, and de Union preserved."[84][85] As Soudern senators announced dey wouwd resign if deir states seceded, he reminded Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis dat if Souderners wouwd onwy howd to deir seats, de Democrats wouwd controw de Senate, and couwd defend de Souf's interests against any infringement by Lincown, uh-hah-hah-hah.[86] Gordon-Reed points out dat whiwe Johnson's bewief in an indissowubwe Union was sincere, he had awienated Soudern weaders, incwuding Davis, who wouwd soon be de president of de Confederate States of America, formed by de seceding states. If de Tennessean had backed de Confederacy, he wouwd have had smaww infwuence in its government.[87]
Johnson returned home when his state took up de issue of secession, uh-hah-hah-hah. His successor as governor, Isham G. Harris, and de wegiswature organized a referendum on wheder to have a constitutionaw convention to audorize secession; when dat faiwed, dey put de qwestion of weaving de Union to a popuwar vote. Despite dreats on Johnson's wife, and actuaw assauwts, he campaigned against bof qwestions, sometimes speaking wif a gun on de wectern before him. Awdough Johnson's eastern region of Tennessee was wargewy against secession, de second referendum passed, and in June 1861, Tennessee joined de Confederacy. Bewieving he wouwd be kiwwed if he stayed, Johnson fwed drough de Cumberwand Gap, where his party was in fact shot at. He weft his wife and famiwy in Greeneviwwe.[88][89]
As de onwy member from a seceded state to remain in de Senate and de most prominent Soudern Unionist, Johnson had Lincown's ear in de earwy monds of de war.[90] Wif most of Tennessee in Confederate hands, Johnson spent congressionaw recesses in Kentucky and Ohio, trying in vain to convince any Union commander who wouwd wisten to conduct an operation into East Tennessee.[91]
Miwitary Governor of Tennessee[edit]
Johnson's first tenure in de Senate came to a concwusion in March 1862 when Lincown appointed him miwitary governor of Tennessee. Much of de centraw and western portions of dat seceded state had been recovered. Awdough some argued dat civiw government shouwd simpwy resume once de Confederates were defeated in an area, Lincown chose to use his power as commander in chief to appoint miwitary governors over Union-controwwed Soudern regions.[92] The Senate qwickwy confirmed Johnson's nomination awong wif de rank of brigadier generaw.[93] In response, de Confederates confiscated his wand and his swaves, and turned his home into a miwitary hospitaw.[94] Later in 1862, after his departure from de Senate and in de absence of most Soudern wegiswators, de Homestead Biww was finawwy enacted. Awong wif wegiswation for wand-grant cowweges and for de transcontinentaw raiwroad, de Homestead Biww has been credited wif opening de American West to settwement.[95]
As miwitary governor, Johnson sought to ewiminate rebew infwuence in de state. He demanded woyawty oads from pubwic officiaws, and shut down aww newspapers owned by Confederate sympadizers. Much of eastern Tennessee remained in Confederate hands, and de ebb and fwow of war during 1862 sometimes brought Confederate controw again cwose to Nashviwwe. However, de Confederates awwowed his wife and famiwy to pass drough de wines to join him.[96][97] Johnson undertook de defense of Nashviwwe as weww as he couwd, dough de city was continuawwy harassed by cavawry raids wed by Generaw Nadan Bedford Forrest. Rewief from Union reguwars did not come untiw Wiwwiam S. Rosecrans defeated de Confederates at Murfreesboro in earwy 1863. Much of eastern Tennessee was captured water dat year.[98]
When Lincown issued de Emancipation Procwamation in January 1863, decwaring freedom for aww swaves in Confederate-hewd areas, he exempted Tennessee at Johnson's reqwest. The procwamation increased de debate over what shouwd become of de swaves after de war, as not aww Unionists supported abowition, uh-hah-hah-hah. Johnson finawwy decided dat swavery had to end. He wrote, "If de institution of swavery ... seeks to overdrow it [de Government], den de Government has a cwear right to destroy it."[99] He rewuctantwy supported efforts to enwist former swaves into de Union Army, feewing dat African Americans shouwd perform meniaw tasks to rewease white Americans to do de fighting.[100] Neverdewess, he succeeded in recruiting 20,000 bwack sowdiers to serve de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah.[101]
Vice President (1865)[edit]
In 1860, Lincown's running mate had been Maine Senator Hannibaw Hamwin. Vice President Hamwin had served competentwy, was in good heawf, and was wiwwing to run again, uh-hah-hah-hah. Neverdewess, Johnson emerged as running mate for Lincown's reewection bid in 1864.[102]
Lincown considered severaw War Democrats for de ticket in 1864, and sent an agent to sound out Generaw Benjamin Butwer as a possibwe running mate. In May 1864, de President dispatched Generaw Daniew Sickwes to Nashviwwe on a fact-finding mission, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awdough Sickwes denied he was dere eider to investigate or interview de miwitary governor, Johnson biographer Hans L. Trefousse bewieves Sickwes's trip was connected to Johnson's subseqwent nomination for vice president.[102] According to historian Awbert Castew in his account of Johnson's presidency, Lincown was impressed by Johnson's administration of Tennessee.[96] Gordon-Reed points out dat whiwe de Lincown-Hamwin ticket might have been considered geographicawwy bawanced in 1860, "having Johnson, de soudern War Democrat, on de ticket sent de right message about de fowwy of secession and de continuing capacity for union widin de country."[103] Anoder factor was de desire of Secretary of State Wiwwiam Seward to frustrate de vice-presidentiaw candidacy of his fewwow New Yorker, former senator Daniew S. Dickinson, a War Democrat, as Seward wouwd probabwy have had to yiewd his pwace if anoder New Yorker became vice president. Johnson, once he was towd by reporters de wikewy purpose of Sickwes' visit, was active on his own behawf, giving speeches and having his powiticaw friends work behind de scenes to boost his candidacy.[104]
To sound a deme of unity, Lincown in 1864 ran under de banner of de Nationaw Union Party, rader dan de Repubwicans.[103] At de party's convention in Bawtimore in June, Lincown was easiwy nominated, awdough dere had been some tawk of repwacing him wif a Cabinet officer or one of de more successfuw generaws. After de convention backed Lincown, former Secretary of War Simon Cameron offered a resowution to nominate Hamwin, but it was defeated. Johnson was nominated for vice president by C.M. Awwen of Indiana wif an Iowa dewegate as seconder. On de first bawwot, Johnson wed wif 200 votes to 150 for Hamwin and 108 for Dickinson, uh-hah-hah-hah. On de second bawwot, Kentucky switched to vote for Johnson, beginning a stampede. Johnson was named on de second bawwot wif 491 votes to Hamwin's 17 and eight for Dickinson; de nomination was made unanimous. Lincown expressed pweasure at de resuwt, "Andy Johnson, I dink, is a good man, uh-hah-hah-hah."[105] When word reached Nashviwwe, a crowd assembwed and de miwitary governor obwiged wif a speech contending his sewection as a Souderner meant dat de rebew states had not actuawwy weft de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah.[105]
Awdough it was unusuaw at de time for a nationaw candidate to activewy campaign, Johnson gave a number of speeches in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and Indiana. He awso sought to boost his chances in Tennessee whiwe reestabwishing civiw government by making de woyawty oaf even more restrictive, in dat voters wouwd now have to swear dey opposed making a settwement wif de Confederacy. The Democratic candidate for president, George McCwewwan, hoped to avoid additionaw bwoodshed by negotiation, and so de stricter woyawty oaf effectivewy disenfranchised his supporters. Lincown decwined to override Johnson, and deir ticket took de state by 25,000 votes. Congress refused to count Tennessee's ewectoraw votes, but Lincown and Johnson did not need dem, having won in most states dat had voted, and easiwy secured de ewection, uh-hah-hah-hah.[106]
Now Vice President-ewect, Johnson was anxious to compwete de work of reestabwishing civiwian government in Tennessee, awdough de timetabwe for de ewection of a new governor did not awwow it to take pwace untiw after Inauguration Day, March 4. He hoped to remain in Nashviwwe to compwete his task, but was towd by Lincown's advisers dat he couwd not stay, but wouwd be sworn in wif Lincown, uh-hah-hah-hah. In dese monds, Union troops finished de retaking of eastern Tennessee, incwuding Greeneviwwe. Just before his departure, de voters of Tennessee ratified a new constitution, abowishing swavery, on February 22, 1865. One of Johnson's finaw acts as miwitary governor was to certify de resuwts.[107]
Johnson travewed to Washington to be sworn in, awdough according to Gordon-Reed, "in wight of what happened on March 4, 1865, it might have been better if Johnson had stayed in Nashviwwe."[108] He may have been iww; Castew cited typhoid fever,[96] dough Gordon-Reed notes dat dere is no independent evidence for dat diagnosis.[108] On de evening of March 3, Johnson attended a party in his honor; he drank heaviwy. Hung over de fowwowing morning at de Capitow, he asked Vice President Hamwin for some whiskey. Hamwin produced a bottwe, and Johnson took two stiff drinks, stating "I need aww de strengf for de occasion I can have." In de Senate Chamber, Johnson dewivered a rambwing address as Lincown, de Congress, and dignitaries wooked on, uh-hah-hah-hah. Awmost incoherent at times, he finawwy meandered to a hawt, whereupon Hamwin hastiwy swore him in as vice president.[109] Lincown, who had watched sadwy during de debacwe, den went to his own swearing-in outside de Capitow, and dewivered his accwaimed Second Inauguraw Address.[110]
In de weeks after de inauguration, Johnson onwy presided over de Senate briefwy, and hid from pubwic ridicuwe at de Marywand home of a friend, Francis Preston Bwair. When he did return to Washington, it was wif de intent of weaving for Tennessee to reestabwish his famiwy in Greeneviwwe. Instead, he remained after word came dat Generaw Uwysses S. Grant had captured de Confederate capitaw of Richmond, Virginia, presaging de end of de war.[111] Lincown stated, in response to criticism of Johnson's behavior, dat "I have known Andy Johnson for many years; he made a bad swip de oder day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard."[112]
Presidency (1865–1869)[edit]
On de afternoon of Apriw 14, 1865, Lincown and Johnson met for de first time since de inauguration, uh-hah-hah-hah. Trefousse states dat Johnson wanted to "induce Lincown not to be too wenient wif traitors"; Gordon-Reed agrees.[113][114]
That night, President Lincown was shot and mortawwy wounded by John Wiwkes Boof, a Confederate sympadizer. The shooting of de President was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincown, Johnson, and Seward de same night. Seward barewy survived his wounds, whiwe Johnson escaped attack as his wouwd-be assassin, George Atzerodt, got drunk instead of kiwwing de vice president. Leonard J. Farweww, a fewwow boarder at de Kirkwood House, awoke Johnson wif news of Lincown's shooting at Ford's Theatre. Johnson rushed to de President's deadbed, where he remained a short time, on his return promising, "They shaww suffer for dis. They shaww suffer for dis."[115] Lincown died at 7:22 am de next morning; Johnson's swearing in occurred between 10 and 11 am wif Chief Justice Sawmon P. Chase presiding in de presence of most of de Cabinet. Johnson's demeanor was described by de newspapers as "sowemn and dignified".[116] Some Cabinet members had wast seen Johnson, apparentwy drunk, at de inauguration, uh-hah-hah-hah.[117] At noon, Johnson conducted his first Cabinet meeting in de Treasury Secretary's office, and asked aww members to remain in deir positions.[118]
The events of de assassination resuwted in specuwation, den and subseqwentwy, concerning Johnson and what de conspirators might have intended for him. In de vain hope of having his wife spared after his capture, Atzerodt spoke much about de conspiracy, but did not say anyding to indicate dat de pwotted assassination of Johnson was merewy a ruse. Conspiracy deorists point to de fact dat on de day of de assassination, Boof came to de Kirkwood House and weft one of his cards. This object was received by Johnson's private secretary, Wiwwiam A. Browning, wif an inscription, "Don't wish to disturb you. Are you at home? J. Wiwkes Boof."[119]
Johnson presided wif dignity over Lincown's funeraw ceremonies in Washington, before his predecessor's body was sent home to Springfiewd, Iwwinois, for interment.[120] Shortwy after Lincown's deaf, Union Generaw Wiwwiam T. Sherman reported he had, widout consuwting Washington, reached an armistice agreement wif Confederate Generaw Joseph E. Johnston for de surrender of Confederate forces in Norf Carowina in exchange for de existing state government remaining in power, wif private property rights to be respected. This did not even acknowwedge de freedom of dose in swavery. This was not acceptabwe to Johnson or de Cabinet who sent word for Sherman to secure de surrender widout making powiticaw deaws, which he did. Furder, Johnson pwaced a $100,000 bounty (eqwivawent to $1.64 miwwion in 2018) on Confederate President Davis, den a fugitive, which gave him de reputation of a man who wouwd be tough on de Souf. More controversiawwy, he permitted de execution of Mary Surratt for her part in Lincown's assassination, uh-hah-hah-hah. Surratt was executed wif dree oders, incwuding Atzerodt, on Juwy 7, 1865.[121]
Upon taking office, Johnson faced de qwestion of what to do wif de Confederacy. President Lincown had audorized woyawist governments in Virginia, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Tennessee as de Union came to controw warge parts of dose states and advocated a ten percent pwan dat wouwd awwow ewections after ten percent of de voters in any state took an oaf of future woyawty to de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. Congress considered dis too wenient; its own pwan, reqwiring a majority of voters to take de woyawty oaf, passed bof houses in 1864, but Lincown pocket vetoed it.[122]
Johnson had dree goaws in Reconstruction, uh-hah-hah-hah. He sought a speedy restoration of de states, on de grounds dat dey had never truwy weft de Union, and dus shouwd again be recognized once woyaw citizens formed a government. To Johnson, African-American suffrage was a deway and a distraction; it had awways been a state responsibiwity to decide who shouwd vote. Second, powiticaw power in de Soudern states shouwd pass from de pwanter cwass to his bewoved "pwebeians". Johnson feared dat de freedmen, many of whom were stiww economicawwy bound to deir former masters, might vote at deir direction, uh-hah-hah-hah. Johnson's dird priority was ewection in his own right in 1868, a feat no one who had succeeded a deceased president had managed to accompwish, attempting to secure a Democratic anti-Congressionaw Reconstruction coawition in de Souf.[123]
The Repubwicans had formed a number of factions. The Radicaw Repubwicans sought voting and oder civiw rights for African Americans. They bewieved dat de freedmen couwd be induced to vote Repubwican in gratitude for emancipation, and dat bwack votes couwd keep de Repubwicans in power and Soudern Democrats, incwuding former rebews, out of infwuence. They bewieved dat top Confederates shouwd be punished. The Moderate Repubwicans sought to keep de Democrats out of power at a nationaw wevew, and prevent former rebews from resuming power. They were not as endusiastic about de idea of African-American suffrage as deir Radicaw cowweagues, eider because of deir own wocaw powiticaw concerns, or because dey bewieved dat de freedman wouwd be wikewy to cast his vote badwy. Nordern Democrats favored de unconditionaw restoration of de Soudern states. They did not support African-American suffrage, which might dreaten Democratic controw in de Souf.[124]
Presidentiaw Reconstruction[edit]
Johnson was initiawwy weft to devise a Reconstruction powicy widout wegiswative intervention, as Congress was not due to meet again untiw December 1865.[125] Radicaw Repubwicans towd de President dat de Soudern states were economicawwy in a state of chaos and urged him to use his weverage to insist on rights for freedmen as a condition of restoration to de Union, uh-hah-hah-hah. But Johnson, wif de support of oder officiaws incwuding Seward, insisted dat de franchise was a state, not a federaw matter. The Cabinet was divided on de issue.[126]
Johnson's first Reconstruction actions were two procwamations, wif de unanimous backing of his Cabinet, on May 29. One recognized de Virginia government wed by provisionaw Governor Francis Pierpont. The second provided amnesty for aww ex-rebews except dose howding property vawued at $20,000 or more; it awso appointed a temporary governor for Norf Carowina and audorized ewections. Neider of dese procwamations incwuded provisions regarding bwack suffrage or freedmen's rights. The President ordered constitutionaw conventions in oder former rebew states.[127]
As Soudern states began de process of forming governments, Johnson's powicies received considerabwe pubwic support in de Norf, which he took as unconditionaw backing for qwick reinstatement of de Souf. Whiwe he received such support from de white Souf, he underestimated de determination of Norderners to ensure dat de war had not been fought for noding. It was important, in Nordern pubwic opinion, dat de Souf acknowwedge its defeat, dat swavery be ended, and dat de wot of African Americans be improved. Voting rights were wess important—after aww, onwy a handfuw of Nordern states (mostwy in New Engwand) gave African-American men de right to vote on de same basis as whites, and in wate 1865, Connecticut, Wisconsin, and Minnesota voted down African-American suffrage proposaws by warge margins. Nordern pubwic opinion towerated Johnson's inaction on bwack suffrage as an experiment, to be awwowed if it qwickened Soudern acceptance of defeat. Instead, white Souderners fewt embowdened. A number of Soudern states passed Bwack Codes, binding African-American waborers to farms on annuaw contracts dey couwd not qwit, and awwowing waw enforcement at whim to arrest dem for vagrancy and rent out deir wabor. Most Souderners ewected to Congress were former Confederates, wif de most prominent being Georgia Senator-designate and former Confederate vice president Awexander Stephens. Congress assembwed in earwy December 1865; Johnson's conciwiatory annuaw message to dem was weww received. Neverdewess, Congress refused to seat de Soudern wegiswators and estabwished a committee to recommend appropriate Reconstruction wegiswation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[128]
Norderners were outraged at de idea of unrepentant Confederate weaders, such as Stephens, rejoining de federaw government at a time when emotionaw wounds from de war remained raw. They saw de Bwack Codes pwacing African Americans in a position barewy above swavery. Repubwicans awso feared dat restoration of de Soudern states wouwd return de Democrats to power.[129][130] In addition, according to David O. Stewart in his book on Johnson's impeachment, "de viowence and poverty dat oppressed de Souf wouwd gawvanize de opposition to Johnson".[131]
Break wif de Repubwicans: 1866[edit]
Congress was rewuctant to confront de President, and initiawwy onwy sought to fine-tune Johnson's powicies towards de Souf.[132] According to Trefousse, "If dere was a time when Johnson couwd have come to an agreement wif de moderates of de Repubwican Party, it was de period fowwowing de return of Congress".[133] The President was unhappy about de provocative actions of de Soudern states, and about de continued controw by de antebewwum ewite dere, but made no statement pubwicwy, bewieving dat Souderners had a right to act as dey did, even if it was unwise to do so. By wate January 1866, he was convinced dat winning a showdown wif de Radicaw Repubwicans was necessary to his powiticaw pwans – bof for de success of Reconstruction and for reewection in 1868. He wouwd have preferred dat de confwict arise over de wegiswative efforts to enfranchise African Americans in de District of Cowumbia, a proposaw dat had been defeated overwhewmingwy in an aww-white referendum. A biww to accompwish dis passed de House of Representatives, but to Johnson's disappointment, stawwed in de Senate before he couwd veto it.[134]
Iwwinois Senator Lyman Trumbuww, weader of de Moderate Repubwicans and Chairman of de Judiciary Committee, was anxious to reach an understanding wif de President. He ushered drough Congress a biww extending de Freedmen's Bureau beyond its scheduwed abowition in 1867, and de first Civiw Rights Biww, to grant citizenship to de freedmen, uh-hah-hah-hah. Trumbuww met severaw times wif Johnson, and was convinced de President wouwd sign de measures (Johnson rarewy contradicted visitors, often foowing dose who met wif him into dinking he was in accord). In fact, de President opposed bof biwws as infringements on state sovereignty. Additionawwy, bof of Trumbuww's biwws were unpopuwar among white Souderners, whom Johnson hoped to incwude in his new party. Johnson vetoed de Freedman's Bureau biww on February 18, 1866, to de dewight of white Souderners and de puzzwed anger of Repubwican wegiswators. He considered himsewf vindicated when a move to override his veto faiwed in de Senate de fowwowing day.[134] Johnson bewieved dat de Radicaws wouwd now be isowated and defeated, and dat de Moderate Repubwicans wouwd form behind him; he did not understand dat Moderates too wanted to see African Americans treated fairwy.[135]
On February 22, 1866, Washington's Birdday, Johnson gave an impromptu speech to supporters who had marched to de White House and cawwed for an address in honor of de first president. In his hour-wong speech, he instead referred to himsewf over 200 times. More damagingwy, he awso spoke of "men ... stiww opposed to de Union" to whom he couwd not extend de hand of friendship he gave to de Souf.[136][137] When cawwed upon by de crowd to say who dey were, Johnson named Pennsywvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Massachusetts Senator Charwes Sumner, and abowitionist Wendeww Phiwwips, and accused dem of pwotting his assassination, uh-hah-hah-hah. Repubwicans viewed de address as a decwaration of war, whiwe one Democratic awwy estimated Johnson's speech cost de party 200,000 votes in de 1866 congressionaw midterm ewections.[138]
Awdough strongwy urged by Moderates to sign de Civiw Rights Biww, Johnson broke decisivewy wif dem by vetoing it on March 27. In his veto message, he objected to de measure because it conferred citizenship on de freedmen at a time when 11 out of 36 states were unrepresented in de Congress, and dat it discriminated in favor of African Americans and against whites.[139][140] Widin dree weeks, Congress had overridden his veto, de first time dat had been done on a major biww in American history.[141] The veto of de Civiw Rights Act of 1866, often seen as a key mistake of Johnson's presidency, convinced Moderates dere was no hope of working wif him. Historian Eric Foner in his vowume on Reconstruction views it as "de most disastrous miscawcuwation of his powiticaw career". According to Stewart, de veto was "for many his defining bwunder, setting a tone of perpetuaw confrontation wif Congress dat prevaiwed for de rest of his presidency".[142]
Congress awso proposed de Fourteenf Amendment to de states. Written by Trumbuww and oders, it was sent for ratification by state wegiswatures in a process in which de president pways no part, dough Johnson opposed it. The amendment was designed to put de key provisions of de Civiw Rights Act into de Constitution, but awso went furder. The amendment extended citizenship to every person born in de United States (except Indians on reservations), penawized states dat did not give de vote to freedmen, and most importantwy, created new federaw civiw rights dat couwd be protected by federaw courts. It awso guaranteed dat de federaw debt wouwd be paid and forbade repayment of Confederate war debts. Furder, it disqwawified many former Confederates from office, awdough de disabiwity couwd be removed—by Congress, not de president.[143] Bof houses passed de Freedmen's Bureau Act a second time, and again de President vetoed it; dis time, de veto was overridden, uh-hah-hah-hah. By de summer of 1866, when Congress finawwy adjourned, Johnson's medod of restoring states to de Union by executive fiat, widout safeguards for de freedmen, was in deep troubwe. His home state of Tennessee ratified de Fourteenf Amendment despite de President's opposition, uh-hah-hah-hah.[144] When Tennessee did so, Congress immediatewy seated its proposed dewegation, embarrassing Johnson, uh-hah-hah-hah.[145]
Efforts to compromise faiwed,[146] and a powiticaw war ensued between de united Repubwicans on one side, and on de oder, Johnson and his awwies in de Democratic Party, Norf and Souf. He cawwed a convention of de Nationaw Union Party. Repubwicans had returned to using deir previous identifier; Johnson intended to use de discarded name to unite his supporters and gain ewection to a fuww term, in 1868.[147] The battweground was de ewection of 1866; Soudern states were not awwowed to vote. Johnson campaigned vigorouswy, undertaking a pubwic speaking tour, known as de "Swing Around de Circwe". The trip, incwuding speeches in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapowis and Cowumbus, proved powiticawwy disastrous, wif de President making controversiaw comparisons between himsewf and Christ, and engaging in arguments wif heckwers. These exchanges were attacked as beneaf de dignity of de presidency. The Repubwicans won by a wandswide, increasing deir two-dirds majority in Congress, and made pwans to controw Reconstruction, uh-hah-hah-hah.[148] Johnson bwamed de Democrats for giving onwy wukewarm support to de Nationaw Union movement.[149]
Radicaw Reconstruction[edit]
Even wif de Repubwican victory in November 1866, Johnson considered himsewf in a strong position, uh-hah-hah-hah. The Fourteenf Amendment had been ratified by none of de Soudern or border states except Tennessee, and had been rejected in Kentucky, Dewaware, and Marywand. As de amendment reqwired ratification by dree-qwarters of de states to become part of de Constitution, he bewieved de deadwock wouwd be broken in his favor, weading to his ewection in 1868. Once it reconvened in December 1866, an energized Congress began passing wegiswation, often over a presidentiaw veto; dis incwuded de District of Cowumbia voting biww. Congress admitted Nebraska to de Union over a veto, and de Repubwicans gained two senators and a state dat promptwy ratified de amendment. Johnson's veto of a biww for statehood for Coworado Territory was sustained; enough senators agreed dat a district wif a popuwation of 30,000 was not yet wordy of statehood to win de day.[150]
In January 1867, Congressman Stevens introduced wegiswation to dissowve de Soudern state governments and reconstitute dem into five miwitary districts, under martiaw waw. The states wouwd begin again by howding constitutionaw conventions. African Americans couwd vote for or become dewegates; former Confederates couwd not. In de wegiswative process, Congress added to de biww dat restoration to de Union wouwd fowwow de state's ratification of de Fourteenf Amendment, and compwetion of de process of adding it to de Constitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Johnson and de Souderners attempted a compromise, whereby de Souf wouwd agree to a modified version of de amendment widout de disqwawification of former Confederates, and for wimited bwack suffrage. The Repubwicans insisted on de fuww wanguage of de amendment, and de deaw feww drough. Awdough Johnson couwd have pocket vetoed de First Reconstruction Act as it was presented to him wess dan ten days before de end of de Thirty-Ninf Congress, he chose to veto it directwy on March 2, 1867; Congress overruwed him de same day. Awso on March 2, Congress passed de Tenure of Office Act over de President's veto, in response to statements during de Swing Around de Circwe dat he pwanned to fire Cabinet secretaries who did not agree wif him. This biww, reqwiring Senate approvaw for de firing of Cabinet members during de tenure of de president who appointed dem and for one monf afterwards, was immediatewy controversiaw, wif some senators doubting dat it was constitutionaw or dat its terms appwied to Johnson, whose key Cabinet officers were Lincown howdovers.[150]
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton was an abwe and hard-working man, but difficuwt to deaw wif.[151] Johnson bof admired and was exasperated by his War Secretary, who, in combination wif Generaw of de Army Grant, worked to undermine de president's Soudern powicy from widin his own administration, uh-hah-hah-hah. Johnson considered firing Stanton, but respected him for his wartime service as secretary. Stanton, for his part, feared awwowing Johnson to appoint his successor and refused to resign, despite his pubwic disagreements wif his president.[152]
The new Congress met for a few weeks in March 1867, den adjourned, weaving de House Committee on de Judiciary behind, charged wif reporting back to de fuww House wheder dere were grounds for Johnson to be impeached. This committee duwy met, examined de President's bank accounts, and summoned members of de Cabinet to testify. When a federaw court reweased former Confederate president Davis on baiw on May 13 (he had been captured shortwy after de war), de committee investigated wheder de President had impeded de prosecution, uh-hah-hah-hah. It wearned dat Johnson was eager to have Davis tried. A bipartisan majority of de committee voted down impeachment charges; de committee adjourned on June 3.[153]
Later in June, Johnson and Stanton battwed over de qwestion of wheder de miwitary officers pwaced in command of de Souf couwd override de civiw audorities. The President had Attorney Generaw Henry Stanbery issue an opinion backing his position dat dey couwd not. Johnson sought to pin down Stanton eider as for, and dus endorsing Johnson's position, or against, showing himsewf to be opposed to his president and de rest of de Cabinet. Stanton evaded de point in meetings and written communications. When Congress reconvened in Juwy, it passed a Reconstruction Act against Johnson's position, waited for his veto, overruwed it, and went home. In addition to cwarifying de powers of de generaws, de wegiswation awso deprived de President of controw over de Army in de Souf. Wif Congress in recess untiw November, Johnson decided to fire Stanton and rewieve one of de miwitary commanders, Generaw Phiwip Sheridan, who had dismissed de governor of Texas and instawwed a repwacement wif wittwe popuwar support. Johnson was initiawwy deterred by a strong objection from Grant, but on August 5, de President demanded Stanton's resignation; de secretary refused to qwit wif Congress out of session, uh-hah-hah-hah.[154] Johnson den suspended him pending de next meeting of Congress as permitted under de Tenure of Office Act; Grant agreed to serve as temporary repwacement whiwe continuing to wead de Army.[155]
Grant, under protest, fowwowed Johnson's order transferring Sheridan and anoder of de district commanders, Daniew Sickwes, who had angered Johnson by firmwy fowwowing Congress's pwan, uh-hah-hah-hah. The President awso issued a procwamation pardoning most Confederates, exempting dose who hewd office under de Confederacy, or who had served in federaw office before de war and had breached deir oads. Awdough Repubwicans expressed anger wif his actions, de 1867 ewections generawwy went Democratic. No seats in Congress were directwy ewected in de powwing, but de Democrats took controw of de Ohio Generaw Assembwy, awwowing dem to defeat for reewection one of Johnson's strongest opponents, Senator Benjamin Wade. Voters in Ohio, Connecticut, and Minnesota turned down propositions to grant African Americans de vote.[156]
The adverse resuwts momentariwy put a stop to Repubwican cawws to impeach Johnson, who was ewated by de ewections.[157] Neverdewess, once Congress met in November, de Judiciary Committee reversed itsewf and passed a resowution of impeachment against Johnson, uh-hah-hah-hah. After much debate about wheder anyding de President had done was a high crime or misdemeanor, de standard under de Constitution, de resowution was defeated by de House of Representatives on December 7, 1867, by a vote of 57 in favor to 108 opposed.[158]
Johnson notified Congress of Stanton's suspension and Grant's interim appointment. In January 1868, de Senate disapproved of his action, and reinstated Stanton, contending de President had viowated de Tenure of Office Act. Grant stepped aside over Johnson's objection, causing a compwete break between dem. Johnson den dismissed Stanton and appointed Lorenzo Thomas to repwace him. Stanton refused to weave his office, and on February 24, 1868, de House impeached de President for intentionawwy viowating de Tenure of Office Act, by a vote of 128 to 47. The House subseqwentwy adopted eweven articwes of impeachment, for de most part awweging dat he had viowated de Tenure of Office Act, and had qwestioned de wegitimacy of Congress.[159]
On March 5, 1868, de impeachment triaw began in de Senate and wasted awmost dree monds; Congressmen George S. Boutweww, Benjamin Butwer and Thaddeus Stevens acted as managers for de House, or prosecutors, and Wiwwiam M. Evarts, Benjamin R. Curtis and former Attorney Generaw Stanbery were Johnson's counsew; Chief Justice Chase served as presiding judge.[160]
The defense rewied on de provision of de Tenure of Office Act dat made it appwicabwe onwy to appointees of de current administration, uh-hah-hah-hah. Since Lincown had appointed Stanton, de defense maintained Johnson had not viowated de act, and awso argued dat de President had de right to test de constitutionawity of an act of Congress.[161] Johnson's counsew insisted dat he make no appearance at de triaw, nor pubwicwy comment about de proceedings, and except for a pair of interviews in Apriw, he compwied.[162]
Johnson maneuvered to gain an acqwittaw; for exampwe, he pwedged to Iowa Senator James W. Grimes dat he wouwd not interfere wif Congress's Reconstruction efforts. Grimes reported to a group of Moderates, many of whom voted for acqwittaw, dat he bewieved de President wouwd keep his word. Johnson awso promised to instaww de respected John Schofiewd as War Secretary. [163] Kansas Senator Edmund G. Ross received assurances dat de new, Radicaw-infwuenced constitutions ratified in Souf Carowina and Arkansas wouwd be transmitted to de Congress widout deway, an action which wouwd give him and oder senators powiticaw cover to vote for acqwittaw.[164]
One reason senators were rewuctant to remove de President was dat his successor wouwd have been Ohio Senator Wade, de president pro tempore of de Senate. Wade, a wame duck who weft office in earwy 1869, was a Radicaw who supported such measures as women's suffrage, pwacing him beyond de pawe powiticawwy in much of de nation, uh-hah-hah-hah.[165][166] Additionawwy, a President Wade was seen as an obstacwe to Grant's ambitions.[167]
Wif de deawmaking, Johnson was confident of de resuwt in advance of de verdict, and in de days weading up to de bawwot, newspapers reported dat Stevens and his Radicaws had given up. On May 16, de Senate voted on de 11f articwe of impeachment, accusing Johnson of firing Stanton in viowation of de Tenure of Office of Act once de Senate had overturned his suspension, uh-hah-hah-hah. Thirty-five senators voted "guiwty" and 19 "not guiwty", dus fawwing short by a singwe vote of de two-dirds majority reqwired for conviction under de Constitution, uh-hah-hah-hah. Seven Repubwicans—Senators Grimes, Ross, Trumbuww, Wiwwiam Pitt Fessenden, Joseph S. Fowwer, John B. Henderson, and Peter G. Van Winkwe—voted to acqwit de President. Wif Stevens bitterwy disappointed at de resuwt, de Senate den adjourned for de Repubwican Nationaw Convention; Grant was nominated for president. The Senate returned on May 26 and voted on de second and dird articwes, wif identicaw 35–19 resuwts. Faced wif dose resuwts, Johnson's opponents gave up and dismissed proceedings.[168][169] Stanton "rewinqwished" his office on May 26, and de Senate subseqwentwy confirmed Schofiewd.[170] When Johnson renominated Stanbery to return to his position as Attorney Generaw after his service as a defense manager, de Senate refused to confirm him.[171]
Awwegations were made at de time and again water dat bribery dictated de outcome of de triaw. Even when it was in progress, Representative Butwer began an investigation, hewd contentious hearings, and issued a report, unendorsed by any oder congressman, uh-hah-hah-hah. Butwer focused on a New York–based "Astor House Group", supposedwy wed by powiticaw boss and editor Thurwow Weed. This organization was said to have raised warge sums of money from whiskey interests drough Cincinnati wawyer Charwes Woowwey to bribe senators to acqwit Johnson, uh-hah-hah-hah. Butwer went so far as to imprison Woowwey in de Capitow buiwding when he refused to answer qwestions, but faiwed to prove bribery.[172]
Foreign powicy[edit]
Soon after taking office as president, Johnson reached an accord wif Secretary of State Wiwwiam H. Seward dat dere wouwd be no change in foreign powicy. In practice, dis meant dat Seward wouwd continue to run dings as he had under Lincown, uh-hah-hah-hah. Seward and Lincown had been rivaws for de nomination in 1860; de victor hoped dat Seward wouwd succeed him as president in 1869. At de time of Johnson's accession, de French had intervened in Mexico, sending troops dere. Whiwe many powiticians had induwged in saber rattwing over de Mexican matter, Seward preferred qwiet dipwomacy, warning de French drough dipwomatic channews dat deir presence in Mexico was not acceptabwe. Awdough de President preferred a more aggressive approach, Seward persuaded him to fowwow his wead. In Apriw 1866, de French government informed Seward dat its troops wouwd be brought home in stages, to concwude by November 1867.[173]
Seward was an expansionist, and sought opportunities to gain territory for de United States. By 1867, de Russian government saw its Norf American cowony (today Awaska) as a financiaw wiabiwity, and feared wosing controw as American settwement reached dere. It instructed its minister in Washington, Baron Eduard de Stoeckw, to negotiate a sawe. De Stoeckw did so deftwy, getting Seward to raise his offer from $5 miwwion (coincidentawwy, de minimum dat Russia had instructed de Stoeckw to accept) to $7 miwwion, and den getting $200,000 added by raising various objections.[174] This sum of $7.2 miwwion is eqwivawent to $129 miwwion in present-day terms.[175] On March 30, 1867, de Stoeckw and Seward signed de treaty, working qwickwy as de Senate was about to adjourn, uh-hah-hah-hah. Johnson and Seward took de signed document to de President's Room in de Capitow, onwy to be towd dere was no time to deaw wif de matter before adjournment. The President summoned de Senate into session to meet on Apriw 1; dat body approved de treaty, 37–2.[176] Embowdened by his success in Awaska, Seward sought acqwisitions ewsewhere. His onwy success was staking an American cwaim to uninhabited Wake Iswand in de Pacific, which wouwd be officiawwy cwaimed by de U.S. in 1898. He came cwose wif de Danish West Indies as Denmark agreed to seww and de wocaw popuwation approved de transfer in a pwebiscite, but de Senate never voted on de treaty and it expired.[177]
Anoder treaty dat fared badwy was de Johnson-Cwarendon convention, negotiated in settwement of de Awabama Cwaims, for damages to American shipping from British-buiwt Confederate raiders. Negotiated by de United States Minister to Britain, former Marywand senator Reverdy Johnson, in wate 1868, it was ignored by de Senate during de remainder of de President's term. The treaty was rejected after he weft office, and de Grant administration water negotiated considerabwy better terms from Britain, uh-hah-hah-hah.[178][179]
Administration and Cabinet[edit]
|The Andrew Johnson Cabinet
|Andrew Johnson
|Vice President
|Secretary of State
|Wiwwiam H. Seward
|Secretary of Treasury
|Hugh McCuwwoch
|Secretary of War
|Edwin M. Stanton
|John M. Schofiewd
|Attorney Generaw
|James Speed
|Wiwwiam M. Evarts
|Henry Stanbery
|Postmaster Generaw
|Wiwwiam Dennison
|Awexander W. Randaww
|Secretary of de Navy
|Gideon Wewwes
|Secretary of de Interior
|John P. Usher
|Orviwwe H. Browning
|James Harwan
|† (repwaced ad interim by Uwysses Grant in August 1867 before being reinstated by Congress in January 1868)
Judiciaw appointments[edit]
Johnson appointed nine Articwe III federaw judges during his presidency, aww to United States district courts; he did not appoint a justice to serve on de Supreme Court. In Apriw 1866, he nominated Henry Stanbery to fiww de vacancy weft wif de deaf of John Catron, but Congress ewiminated de seat to prevent de appointment, and to ensure dat he did not get to make any appointments ewiminated de next vacancy as weww, providing dat de court wouwd shrink by one justice when one next departed from office.[180] Johnson appointed his Greeneviwwe crony, Samuew Miwwigan, to de United States Court of Cwaims, where he served from 1868 untiw his deaf in 1874.[181][182]
Reforms initiated[edit]
In June 1866, Johnson signed de Soudern Homestead Act into waw, bewieving dat de wegiswation wouwd assist poor whites. Around 28,000 wand cwaims were successfuwwy patented, awdough few former swaves benefitted from de waw, fraud was rampant, and much of de best wand was off-wimits; reserved for grants to veterans or raiwroads.[183] In June 1868, Johnson signed an eight-hour waw passed by Congress dat estabwished an eight-hour workday for waborers and mechanics empwoyed by de Federaw Government.[184] Awdough Johnson towd members of a Workingmen's party dewegation in Bawtimore dat he couwd not directwy commit himsewf to an eight-hour day, he neverdewess towd de same dewegation dat he greatwy favoured de "shortest number of hours consistent wif de interests of aww".[185] According to Richard F. Sewcer, however, de good intentions behind de waw were "immediatewy frustrated" as wages were cut by 20%.[184]
Compwetion of term[edit]
Johnson sought nomination by de 1868 Democratic Nationaw Convention in New York in Juwy 1868. He remained very popuwar among Soudern whites, and boosted dat popuwarity by issuing, just before de convention, a pardon ending de possibiwity of criminaw proceedings against any Confederate not awready indicted, meaning dat onwy Davis and a few oders stiww might face triaw. On de first bawwot, Johnson was second to former Ohio representative George H. Pendweton, who had been his Democratic opponent for vice president in 1864. Johnson's support was mostwy from de Souf, and feww away as de bawwots passed. On de 22nd bawwot, former New York governor Horatio Seymour was nominated, and de President received onwy four votes, aww from Tennessee.[186]
The confwict wif Congress continued. Johnson sent Congress proposaws for amendments to wimit de president to a singwe six-year term and make de president and de Senate directwy ewected, and for term wimits for judges. Congress took no action on dem. When de President was swow to officiawwy report ratifications of de Fourteenf Amendment by de new Soudern wegiswatures, Congress passed a biww, again over his veto, reqwiring him to do so widin ten days of receipt. He stiww dewayed as much as he couwd, but was reqwired, in Juwy 1868, to report de ratifications making de amendment part of de Constitution, uh-hah-hah-hah.[187]
Seymour's operatives sought Johnson's support, but he wong remained siwent on de presidentiaw campaign, uh-hah-hah-hah. It was not untiw October, wif de vote awready having taken pwace in some states, dat he mentioned Seymour at aww, and he never endorsed him. Neverdewess, Johnson regretted Grant's victory, in part because of deir animus from de Stanton affair. In his annuaw message to Congress in December, Johnson urged de repeaw of de Tenure of Office Act and towd wegiswators dat had dey admitted deir Soudern cowweagues in 1865, aww wouwd have been weww. He cewebrated his 60f birdday in wate December wif a party for severaw hundred chiwdren, dough not incwuding dose of President-ewect Grant, who did not awwow his to go.[188]
On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a finaw amnesty, dis one covering everyone, incwuding Davis. He awso issued, in his finaw monds in office, pardons for crimes, incwuding one for Dr. Samuew Mudd, controversiawwy convicted of invowvement in de Lincown assassination (he had set Boof's broken weg) and imprisoned in Fort Jefferson on Fworida's Dry Tortugas.[188]
On March 3, de President hosted a warge pubwic reception at de White House on his finaw fuww day in office. Grant had made it known dat he was unwiwwing to ride in de same carriage as Johnson, as was customary, and Johnson refused to go to de inauguration at aww. Despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind, he spent de morning of March 4 finishing wast-minute business, and den shortwy after noon rode from de White House to de home of a friend.[189][190]
Post-presidency and return to Senate[edit]
After weaving de presidency, Johnson remained for some weeks in Washington, den returned to Greeneviwwe for de first time in eight years. He was honored wif warge pubwic cewebrations awong de way, especiawwy in Tennessee, where cities hostiwe to him during de war hung out wewcome banners. He had arranged to purchase a warge farm near Greeneviwwe to wive on after his presidency.[191]
Some expected Johnson to run for Governor of Tennessee or for de Senate again, whiwe oders dat he wouwd become a raiwroad executive.[179] Johnson found Greeneviwwe boring, and his private wife was embittered by de suicide of his son Robert in 1869.[192] Seeking vindication for himsewf, and revenge against his powiticaw enemies, he waunched a Senate bid soon after returning home. Tennessee had gone Repubwican, but court ruwings restoring de vote to some whites and de viowence of de Ku Kwux Kwan kept down de African-American vote, weading to a Democratic victory in de wegiswative ewections in August 1869. Johnson was seen as a wikewy victor in de Senate ewection, awdough hated by Radicaw Repubwicans, and awso by some Democrats because of his wartime activities. Awdough he was at one point widin a singwe vote of victory in de wegiswature's bawwoting, de Repubwicans eventuawwy ewected Henry Cooper over Johnson, 54–51.[193] In 1872, dere was a speciaw ewection for an at-warge congressionaw seat for Tennessee; Johnson initiawwy sought de Democratic nomination, but when he saw dat it wouwd go to former Confederate generaw Benjamin F. Cheadam, decided to run as an independent. The former president was defeated, finishing dird, but de spwit in de Democratic Party defeated Cheadam in favor of an owd Johnson Unionist awwy, Horace Maynard.[194]
In 1873, Johnson contracted chowera during an epidemic but recovered; dat year he wost about $73,000, when de First Nationaw Bank of Washington went under, dough he was eventuawwy repaid much of de sum.[195] He began wooking towards de next Senate ewection, to take pwace in de wegiswature in earwy 1875. Johnson began to woo de farmers' Grange movement; wif his Jeffersonian weanings, he easiwy gained deir support. He spoke droughout de state in his finaw campaign tour. Few African Americans outside de warge towns were now abwe to vote as Reconstruction faded in Tennessee, setting a pattern dat wouwd be repeated in de oder Soudern states; de white domination wouwd wast awmost a century. In de Tennessee wegiswative ewections in August, de Democrats ewected 92 wegiswators to de Repubwicans' eight, and Johnson went to Nashviwwe for de wegiswative session, uh-hah-hah-hah. When de bawwoting for de Senate seat began on January 20, 1875, he wed wif 30 votes, but did not have de reqwired majority as dree former Confederate generaws, one former cowonew, and a former Democratic congressman spwit de vote wif him. Johnson's opponents tried to agree on a singwe candidate who might gain majority support and defeat him, but faiwed, and he was ewected on January 26 on de 54f bawwot, wif a margin of a singwe vote. Nashviwwe erupted in rejoicing;[196][197] remarked Johnson, "Thank God for de vindication, uh-hah-hah-hah."[192]
Johnson's comeback garnered nationaw attention, wif de St. Louis Repubwican cawwing it, "de most magnificent personaw triumph which de history of American powitics can show".[197] At his swearing-in in de Senate on March 5, 1875, he was greeted wif fwowers and sworn in wif his predecessor as vice president, Hamwin, by dat office's current incumbent, Henry Wiwson, who as senator had voted for his ousting. Many Repubwicans ignored Senator Johnson, dough some, such as Ohio's John Sherman (who had voted for conviction), shook his hand. Johnson remains de onwy former president to serve in de Senate. He spoke onwy once in de short session, on March 22 wambasting President Grant for his use of federaw troops in support of Louisiana's Reconstruction government. The former president asked, "How far off is miwitary despotism?" and concwuded his speech, "may God bwess dis peopwe and God save de Constitution, uh-hah-hah-hah."[198]
Johnson returned home after de speciaw session concwuded. In wate Juwy, convinced some of his opponents were defaming him in de Ohio gubernatoriaw race, he decided to travew dere to give speeches. He began de trip on Juwy 28, and broke de journey at his daughter Mary's farm near Ewizabedton, where his daughter Marda was awso staying. That evening he suffered a stroke, but refused medicaw treatment untiw de next day, when he did not improve and two doctors were sent for from Ewizabedton, uh-hah-hah-hah. He seemed to respond to deir ministrations, but suffered anoder stroke on de evening of Juwy 30, and died earwy de fowwowing morning at de age of 66. President Grant had de "painfuw duty" of announcing de deaf of de onwy surviving past president. Nordern newspapers, in deir obituaries, tended to focus on Johnson's woyawty during de war, whiwe Soudern ones paid tribute to his actions as president. Johnson's funeraw was hewd on August 3 in Greeneviwwe.[199][200] He was buried wif his body wrapped in an American fwag and a copy of de U.S. Constitution pwaced under his head, according to his wishes. The buriaw ground was dedicated as de Andrew Johnson Nationaw Cemetery in 1906, and wif his home and taiwor's shop, is part of de Andrew Johnson Nationaw Historic Site.[201]
Historicaw reputation and wegacy[edit]
According to Castew, "historians [of Johnson's presidency] have tended to concentrate to de excwusion of practicawwy everyding ewse upon his rowe in dat titanic event [Reconstruction]".[202] Through de remainder of de 19f century, dere were few historicaw evawuations of Johnson and his presidency. Memoirs from Norderners who had deawt wif him, such as former vice president Henry Wiwson and Maine Senator James G. Bwaine, depicted him as an obstinate boor who tried to favor de Souf in Reconstruction, but who was frustrated by Congress.[203] According to historian Howard K. Beawe in his journaw articwe about de historiography of Reconstruction, "Men of de postwar decades were more concerned wif justifying deir own position dan dey were wif painstaking search for truf. Thus [Awabama congressman and historian] Hiwary Herbert and his corroborators presented a Soudern indictment of Nordern powicies, and Henry Wiwson's history was a brief for de Norf."[204]
The turn of de 20f century saw de first significant historicaw evawuations of Johnson, uh-hah-hah-hah. Leading de wave was Puwitzer Prize-winning historian James Ford Rhodes, who wrote of de former president:[203]
Johnson acted in accordance wif his nature. He had intewwectuaw force but it worked in a groove. Obstinate rader dan firm it undoubtedwy seemed to him dat fowwowing counsew and making concessions were a dispway of weakness. At aww events from his December message to de veto of de Civiw Rights Biww he yiewded not a jot to Congress. The moderate senators and representatives (who constituted a majority of de Union party) asked him for onwy a swight compromise; deir action was reawwy an entreaty dat he wouwd unite wif dem to preserve Congress and de country from de powicy of de radicaws ... His qwarrew wif Congress prevented de readmission into de Union on generous terms of de members of de wate Confederacy ... His pride of opinion, his desire to beat, bwinded him to de reaw wewfare of de Souf and of de whowe country.[205]
Rhodes ascribed Johnson's fauwts to his personaw weaknesses, and bwamed him for de probwems of de postbewwum Souf.[204] Oder earwy 20f-century historians, such as John Burgess, Woodrow Wiwson (who water became president himsewf) and Wiwwiam Dunning, aww Souderners, concurred wif Rhodes, bewieving Johnson fwawed and powiticawwy inept, but concwuding dat he had tried to carry out Lincown's pwans for de Souf in good faif.[206] Audor and journawist Jay Towson suggests dat Wiwson "depict[ed Reconstruction] as a vindictive program dat hurt even repentant souderners whiwe benefiting nordern opportunists, de so-cawwed Carpetbaggers, and cynicaw white souderners, or Scawawags, who expwoited awwiances wif bwacks for powiticaw gain".[207]
Even as Rhodes and his schoow wrote, anoder group of historians was setting out on de fuww rehabiwitation of Johnson, using for de first time primary sources such as his papers, provided by his daughter Marda before her deaf in 1901, and de diaries of Johnson's Navy Secretary, Gideon Wewwes, first pubwished in 1911. The resuwting vowumes, such as David Miwwer DeWitt's The Impeachment and Triaw of President Andrew Johnson (1903), presented him far more favorabwy dan dey did dose who had sought to oust him. In James Schouwer's 1913 History of de Reconstruction Period, de audor accused Rhodes of being "qwite unfair to Johnson", dough agreeing dat de former president had created many of his own probwems drough inept powiticaw moves. These works had an effect; awdough historians continued to view Johnson as having deep fwaws which sabotaged his presidency, dey saw his Reconstruction powicies as fundamentawwy correct.[208]
Castew writes:
at de end of de 1920s, an historiographicaw revowution took pwace. In de span of dree years five widewy read books appeared, aww highwy pro-Johnson, uh-hah-hah-hah....They differed in generaw approach and specific interpretations, but dey aww gworified Johnson and condemned his enemies. According to dese writers, Johnson was a humane, enwightened, and wiberaw statesman who waged a courageous battwe for de Constitution and democracy against scheming and unscrupuwous Radicaws, who were motivated by a vindictive hatred of de Souf, partisanship, and a desire to estabwish de supremacy of Nordern "big business". In short, rader dan a boor, Johnson was a martyr; instead of a viwwain, a hero.[209]
Beawe wondered in 1940, "is it not time dat we studied de history of Reconstruction widout first assuming, at weast subconsciouswy, dat carpetbaggers and Soudern white Repubwicans were wicked, dat Negroes were iwwiterate incompetents, and dat de whowe white Souf owes a debt of gratitude to de restorers of 'white supremacy'?"[210] Despite dese doubts, de favorabwe view of Johnson survived for a time. In 1942, Van Hefwin portrayed de former president as a fighter for democracy in de Howwywood fiwm Tennessee Johnson. In 1948, a poww of his cowweagues by historian Ardur M. Schwesinger deemed Johnson among de average presidents; in 1956, one by Cwinton L. Rossiter named him as one of de near-great Chief Executives.[211] Foner notes dat at de time of dese surveys, "de Reconstruction era dat fowwowed de Civiw War was regarded as a time of corruption and misgovernment caused by granting bwack men de right to vote".[212]
Earwier historians, incwuding Beawe, bewieved dat money drove events, and had seen Reconstruction as an economic struggwe. They awso accepted, for de most part, dat reconciwiation between Norf and Souf shouwd have been de top priority of Reconstruction, uh-hah-hah-hah. In de 1950s, historians began to focus on de African-American experience as centraw to Reconstruction, uh-hah-hah-hah. They rejected compwetewy any cwaim of bwack inferiority, which had marked many earwier historicaw works, and saw de devewoping civiw rights movement as a second Reconstruction; some writers stated dey hoped deir work on de postbewwum era wouwd advance de cause of civiw rights. These audors sympadized wif de Radicaw Repubwicans for deir desire to hewp de African American, and saw Johnson as cawwous towards de freedman, uh-hah-hah-hah. In a number of works from 1956 onwards by such historians as Fawn Brodie, de former president was depicted as a successfuw saboteur of efforts to better de freedman's wot. These vowumes incwuded major biographies of Stevens and Stanton, uh-hah-hah-hah.[213] Reconstruction was increasingwy seen as a nobwe effort to integrate de freed swaves into society.[207][212]
In de earwy 21st century, Johnson is among dose commonwy mentioned as de worst presidents in U.S. history.[207] According to historian Gwenn W. Lafantasie, who bewieves Buchanan de worst president, "Johnson is a particuwar favorite for de bottom of de piwe because of his impeachment ... his compwete mishandwing of Reconstruction powicy ... his bristwing personawity, and his enormous sense of sewf-importance."[214] Towson suggests dat "Johnson is now scorned for having resisted Radicaw Repubwican powicies aimed at securing de rights and weww-being of de newwy emancipated African-Americans".[207] Gordon-Reed notes dat Johnson, awong wif his contemporaries Pierce and Buchanan, are generawwy wisted among de five worst presidents, but states, "dere have never been more difficuwt times in de wife of dis nation, uh-hah-hah-hah. The probwems dese men had to confront were enormous. It wouwd have taken a succession of Lincowns to do dem justice."[215]
Trefousse considers Johnson's wegacy to be "de maintenance of white supremacy. His boost to Soudern conservatives by undermining Reconstruction was his wegacy to de nation, one dat wouwd troubwe de country for generations to come."[216] Gordon-Reed states of Johnson:
We know de resuwts of Johnson's faiwures—dat his preternaturaw stubbornness, his mean and crude racism, his primitive and instrumentaw understanding of de Constitution stunted his capacity for enwightened and forward-dinking weadership when dose qwawities were so desperatewy needed. At de same time, Johnson's story has a miracuwous qwawity to it: de poor boy who systematicawwy rose to de heights, feww from grace, and den fought his way back to a position of honor in de country. For good or iww, 'onwy in America,' as dey say, couwd Johnson's story unfowd in de way dat it did.[217]
Expwanatory notes
- ^ Johnson was Vice President under President Abraham Lincown and became President on Lincown's deaf on Apriw 15, 1865. Prior to de adoption of de Twenty-Fiff Amendment in 1967, a vacancy in de office of Vice President was not fiwwed untiw de next ensuing ewection and inauguration, uh-hah-hah-hah.
- ^ Wordpway on gerrymandering.
- ^ The Know Nodings, who were den formawwy known as de American Party.
- ^ Hodge, Carw C.; Nowan, Cadaw J., eds. (2007). US Presidents and Foreign Powicy. ABC-CLIO. p. 137. ISBN 9781851097906. Archived from de originaw on June 17, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
- ^ Johnson saw 15 of his vetoes overridden by Congress, more dan any oder President, before or since.
- ^ Castew 2002, p. 231.
- ^ Castew 2002, p. 237.
- ^ Robert A. Nowwan (2016). The American Presidents From Powk to Hayes: What They Did, What They Said & What Was Said About Them. Outskirts Press. p. 387. ISBN 9781478765721. Archived from de originaw on December 23, 2016.
- ^ Gordon-Reed & Castew, pp. 17–18; 2002, p. 225.
- ^ a b Castew 2002, p. 225.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 20.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 18–22.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 22–23.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 26.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 27.
- ^ a b Trefousse, pp. 23–26.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 27–29.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 29–30.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 27–29.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 31–32.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 32.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 32–33.
- ^ Castew, p. 3.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 31.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 35.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 33–36.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 33, 36.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 36–37.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 36.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 37.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 38–39.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 14, 25.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 38–42.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 39–40.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 42.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 43.
- ^ United States Congress. "Andrew Johnson (id: J000116)". Biographicaw Directory of de United States Congress.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Schroeder-Lein & Zuczuk 2001, p. 55.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 51–53.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 53.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 56.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 44.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 43–44.
- ^ a b Trefousse, pp. 61–63.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 45–46.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 47–49.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 69–71.
- ^ James Knox Powk (1910). Miwo M. Quaife, ed. The diary of James K. Powk during his presidency, 1845 to 1849: now first printed from de originaw manuscript in de Cowwections of de Chicago Historicaw Society. 4. A.C. McCwurg & Co. p. 265. Archived from de originaw on September 16, 2015.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 73.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 74–75.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 75–76.
- ^ a b Trefousse, p. 78.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 81.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 49.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 82.
- ^ a b Castew, p. 5.
- ^ a b Gordon-Reed, p. 51.
- ^ a b Trefousse, pp. 84–85.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 88.
- ^ Schroeder-Lein & Zuczuk 2001, p. 119.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 52–53.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 92.
- ^ Smawwey, Ruf (2003). An Interview wif Andrew Johnson. Johnson City, TN: Overmountain Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-1-57072-257-8. Archived from de originaw on February 23, 2018.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 55–56.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 95–97.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 103–104.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 104–105.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 105–106.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 106.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 105–107.
- ^ Castew, p. 4.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 111.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 54–55.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 110–112.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 116, 121.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 114.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 119.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 59.
- ^ Castew 2002, p. 226.
- ^ 1860 U.S. Federaw Census, Swave Scheduwe for Nashviwwe's 7f ward, Davidson County, Tennessee
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 123–127.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 60–63.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 131.
- ^ Johnson, pp. 172–173.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 134.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 64.
- ^ Castew, p. 8.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 138–143.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 143.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 140–148.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 69–70.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 153.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 151.
- ^ Foner, pp. 21, 661.
- ^ a b c Castew, p. 9.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 71–72.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 162.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 72.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 73.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 168–170.
- ^ a b Trefousse, p. 177.
- ^ a b Gordon-Reed, p. 76.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 178.
- ^ a b Trefousse, pp. 178–180.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 181–185.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 183–187.
- ^ a b Gordon-Reed, p. 82.
- ^ Castew, pp. 9–10.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 85.
- ^ Castew, p. 10.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 191.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 87.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 192.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 193–194.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 194.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 90.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 194–195.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 90–92.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 93.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 93–95.
- ^ Fitzgerawd, p. 26.
- ^ Castew, pp. 28–29.
- ^ Castew, pp. 18–21.
- ^ Fitzgerawd, p. 28.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 215–216, 234–235.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 216–217.
- ^ Castew, pp. 50–59.
- ^ Fitzgerawd, p. 35.
- ^ Castew, pp. 58–59.
- ^ Stewart, p. 26.
- ^ Fitzgerawd, p. 36.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 240.
- ^ a b Castew, pp. 62–68.
- ^ Foner, pp. 248–249.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 51–52.
- ^ Foner, p. 249.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 51–53.
- ^ Foner, pp. 250–251.
- ^ Castew, p. 70.
- ^ Castew, p. 71.
- ^ Stewart, p. 53.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 252.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 253–254.
- ^ Castew, pp. 75–76.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 57–58.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 60–62.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 271.
- ^ Castew, pp. 88–89.
- ^ a b Castew, pp. 107–109.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 62–64.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 64–66.
- ^ Castew, pp. 126–127.
- ^ Castew, pp. 128–135.
- ^ Castew, pp. 135–137.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 95–97.
- ^ Castew, p. 146.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 109–111.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 313–316.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 316, 336.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 319.
- ^ Castew, p. 81.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, pp. 138–139.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 323–324.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 139.
- ^ Stewart, p. 307.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 330.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 323–328.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 340–341.
- ^ Castew, p. 195.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 336.
- ^ Stewart, pp. 240–247, 284–292.
- ^ Castew, pp. 40–41.
- ^ Castew, p. 120.
- ^ Federaw Reserve Bank of Minneapowis Community Devewopment Project. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Federaw Reserve Bank of Minneapowis. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Castew, pp. 120–122.
- ^ David M. Pwetcher (1998). The Dipwomacy of Trade and Investment: American Economic Expansion in de Hemisphere, 1865–1900. University of Missouri Press. p. 160. ISBN 9780826211279. Archived from de originaw on September 15, 2015.
- ^ Castew, pp. 204–205.
- ^ a b Trefousse, p. 349.
- ^ Stewart, p. 54.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 363.
- ^ Federaw Judiciary Center.
- ^ Zuczek, Richard (2006). Encycwopedia of de Reconstruction Era: M–Z and primary documents. ISBN 9780313330759. Archived from de originaw on February 23, 2018. Retrieved Apriw 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Sewcer, Richard F. (May 14, 2014). Civiw War America, 1850 To 1875. ISBN 9781438107974. Archived from de originaw on May 15, 2016. Retrieved Apriw 6, 2016.
- ^ Smawwey, Ruf (Apriw 2003). An Interview wif Andrew Johnson. ISBN 9781570722578. Archived from de originaw on February 23, 2018. Retrieved Apriw 6, 2016.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 337–339.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 340–343.
- ^ a b Trefousse, pp. 345–347.
- ^ Castew, pp. 211–212.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 350–351.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 348, 353–354.
- ^ a b Gordon-Reed, p. 142.
- ^ Castew, pp. 214–215.
- ^ Castew, p. 215.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 364–366.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 334, 370–371.
- ^ a b Castew, p. 216.
- ^ Castew, pp. 216–217.
- ^ Trefousse, pp. 375–377.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 143.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 377.
- ^ Castew, p. vii.
- ^ a b Castew, p. 218.
- ^ a b Beawe, p. 807.
- ^ Rhodes, p. 589.
- ^ Castew, pp. 218–219.
- ^ a b c d Towson.
- ^ Castew, p. 220.
- ^ Castew, pp. 220–21.
- ^ Beawe, p. 808.
- ^ Castew, p. 221.
- ^ a b Foner cowumn.
- ^ Castew, pp. 223–225.
- ^ Lafantasie.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 56.
- ^ Trefousse, p. 352.
- ^ Gordon-Reed, p. 144.
- Beawe, Howard K. (Juwy 1940). "On rewriting Reconstruction history". American Historicaw Review. 45 (4): 807–827. JSTOR 1854452.
- Benedict, Michaew Les. The impeachment and triaw of Andrew Johnson (1973) onwine
- Castew, Awbert E. (1979). The Presidency of Andrew Johnson. American Presidency. Lawrence, Kan, uh-hah-hah-hah.: The Regents Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-0190-5.
- Castew, Awbert E. (2002). "Andrew Johnson". In Graff, Henry. The Presidents: A Reference History (7f ed.). pp. 225–239. ISBN 978-0-684-80551-1.
- Federaw Judiciary Center. "Samuew Miwwigan". Biographicaw Dictionary of Federaw Judges.
- Fitzgerawd, Michaew W. (2007). Spwendid Faiwure: Postwar Reconstruction in de American Souf. American Ways (paperback ed.). Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. ISBN 978-1-56663-739-8.
- Foner, Eric (2002) [1988]. Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revowution (0-06-093716-5 ed.). New York: HarperCowwins.
- Foner, Eric (December 3, 2006). "He's The Worst Ever". The Washington Post.
- Gordon-Reed, Annette (2011). Andrew Johnson. The American Presidents Series. New York: Henry Howt and Company. ISBN 978-0-8050-6948-8.
- Lafantasie, Gwenn (February 21, 2011). "Who's de worst president of dem aww?". Sawon, uh-hah-hah-hah.com.
- McKitrick, Eric L. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1960) onwine
- Rhodes, James Ford (1904). History of de United States from de Compromise of 1850. New York: The Macmiwwan Company. vow 5 1864–66 onwine and vow 6 1866–72 onwine
- Schroeder-Lein, Gwenna R.; Zuczuk, Richard (2001). Andrew Johnson: A Biographicaw Companion. Santa Barbara, Caw.: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1-57607-030-7.
- Sefton, James E. Andrew Johnson and de uses of constitutionaw power (1980) onwine
- Stewart, David O. (2009). Impeached: de Triaw of President Andrew Johnson and de Fight for Lincown's Legacy. New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-4165-4749-5.
- Swanson, Ryan A., "Andrew Johnson and His Governors: An Examination of Faiwed Reconstruction Leadership," Tennessee Historicaw Quarterwy (2012), 71#1 pp 16–45.
- Towson, Jay (February 16, 2007). "The 10 Worst Presidents: No. 3 Andrew Johnson (1865–1869)". U.S. News & Worwd Report.
- Trefousse, Hans L. (1989). Andrew Johnson: A Biography. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-31742-8.
Primary sources[edit]
- Johnson, Andrew; Moore, Frank (1865). Speeches of Andrew Johnson, President of de United States. Boston: Littwe, Brown, and Company.
Externaw winks[edit]
- White House biography
- United States Congress. "Andrew Johnson (id: J000116)". Biographicaw Directory of de United States Congress.
- Andrew Johnson Nationaw Historic Site
- Andrew Johnson: A Resource Guide – Library of Congress
- Essays on Andrew Johnson and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and First Lady, from de Miwwer Center of Pubwic Affairs
- "Life Portrait of Andrew Johnson", from C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits, Juwy 9, 1999
- Text of a number of Johnson's speeches at de Miwwer Center of Pubwic Affairs
- Andrew Johnson Personaw Manuscripts and Letters – Shapeww Manuscript Foundation
- Resowutions of Impeachment from de Nationaw Archives
- Tennessee State Library and Archives/Tennessee Virtuaw Archive/Andrew Johnson Cowwection/Andrew Johnson Bicentenniaw, 1808–2008
- Andrew Johnson
- 1808 birds
- 1875 deads
- 19f-century Presidents of de United States
- Presidents of de United States
- Vice Presidents of de United States
- American peopwe of Engwish descent
- American peopwe of Irish descent
- American peopwe of Scotch-Irish descent
- Buriaws in Tennessee
- Democratic Party Presidents of de United States
- Democratic Party state governors of de United States
- Democratic Party United States Senators
- Democratic Party Vice Presidents of de United States
- Freemason United States Presidents
- Governors of Tennessee
- History of de United States (1865–1918)
- Impeached Presidents of de United States
- Lincown administration cabinet members
- Mayors of pwaces in Tennessee
- Members of de Tennessee House of Representatives
- Members of de United States House of Representatives from Tennessee
- Peopwe from Greeneviwwe, Tennessee
- Powiticians from Raweigh, Norf Carowina
- Peopwe of de Reconstruction Era
- Peopwe of Norf Carowina in de American Civiw War
- Peopwe of Tennessee in de American Civiw War
- Andrew Johnson famiwy
- Presidency of Andrew Johnson
- Repubwican Party (United States) vice presidentiaw nominees
- Soudern Unionists in de American Civiw War
- Taiwors
- Peopwe associated wif de assassination of Abraham Lincown
- Tennessee city counciw members
- Tennessee Democrats
- Tennessee state senators
- Union Army generaws
- Union powiticaw weaders
- 1860 United States presidentiaw candidates
- 1868 United States presidentiaw candidates
- United States Senators from Tennessee
- 1864 United States vice-presidentiaw candidates
- Democratic Party members of de United States House of Representatives
- 19f-century American powiticians
- American swave owners
- Deads from cerebrovascuwar disease
- Peopwe from Laurens, Souf Carowina