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Andrew Johnson
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{{Infobox_President | name=Andrew Johnson
| nationality=american
| image=President Andrew Johnson standing.jpg
| order=17
th President
| vicepresident=none
| term_start=
April 15 1865
| term_end=
March 3 1869
| predecessor=
Abraham Lincoln
| successor=
Ulysses S. Grant
| birth_date=
December 29 1808
| birth_place=
Raleigh, North Carolina
| death_date=
July 31 1875
| death_place=
Greeneville, Tennessee
| spouse=
Eliza McCardle Johnson
| party=
United States Democratic Party Democratic (elected on National Union ticket)
}}
{{Otherpeople|Andrew Johnson}}
'''Andrew Johnson''' (
December 29 1808 –
July 31 1875) was the sixteenth
Vice President of the United States Vice President (1865) and the seventeenth
President of the United States (1865–1869), succeeding to the presidency upon the assassination of
Abraham Lincoln.
Johnson was president during part of the
Reconstruction following the Civil War, and his conciliatory policies towards the defeated rebels and his vetoes of civil rights bills embroiled him in a bitter dispute with the Congressional Republicans, leading the
United States House of Representatives House of Representatives to
impeachment impeach him in 1868; he was the first President to be impeached. He was subsequently acquitted by a single vote in the
United States Senate Senate.
Early life
Johnson was born on
December 29,
1808, in
Raleigh, North Carolina, to Jacob Johnson and Mary McDonough. When Johnson was four his father died. At the age of 10 he was apprenticed to a tailor, but ran away to
Greeneville, Tennessee in 1826, where he continued his employment as a tailor. He never attended any type of school; his wife,
Eliza McCardle Johnson, has historically been credited with teaching him to read and write.
Early political career
Johnson served as an
alderman in
Greeneville, Tennessee Greeneville from 1828 to 1830 and mayor of Greeneville from 1830 to 1833. He was a member of the
Tennessee House of Representatives State House of Representatives from 1835 to 1837 and from 1839 to 1841. He was elected to the
Tennessee Senate State Senate in 1841, and elected as a
United States Democratic Party Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (
March 4 1843 to
March 3 1853). He was chairman of the
U.S. House Committee on Public Expenditures (Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses).
Political ascension
Johnson did not seek renomination, having become a candidate for the governorship of
Tennessee. He was Governor of Tennessee from 1853 to 1857, and was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from
October 8 1857 to
March 4 1862, when he resigned. He was chairman of the
Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expense (Thirty-sixth Congress). At the time of
secession of
Confederate States of America the Confederacy, Johnson was the only Senator from the seceded states to continue participation in Congress. Johnson was then appointed by President
Abraham Lincoln as Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862.
Presidency 1865-1869
Assumption
As a leading War Democrat and pro-Union southerner, Johnson was an ideal candidate for the Republicans in 1864 as they tried to enlarge their base to include War Democrats and temporarily changed the party name. He was elected
Vice President of the United States on the National Union ticket headed by Lincoln in 1864 and was inaugurated
March 4 1865. At the ceremony Johnson, who had been drinking, gave a rambling, incoherent speech and had to be led away. In early 1865 Johnson talked harshly of hanging traitors like
Jefferson Davis, which endeared him to the Radicals. He became President of the United States on
April 15 1865, upon the death of Lincoln. He was the first Vice President to succeed to the U.S. Presidency upon the assassination of a President and the third to succeed upon the death of a President.
Johnson had an ambiguous party status. The National Union party vanished after the 1864 election but he did not identify with either party while president--though he did try for the Democratic nomination in 1868. Asked why he did not become a Democrat in July 1868 he said "It is true I am asked why don't I join the Democratic party. Why don't they join me?" [Trefouse p 339]
Policies
The Johnson Administration negotiated the
Alaska purchase purchase of Alaska from Russia on
April 9 1867 for $10,900,000.
Impeachment
Congress and Johnson argued in an increasingly public way about
Reconstruction: the manner in which the Southern secessionist states would be readmitted to the Union. Johnson favored a very quick restoration of all rights and privileges of other states. However, "Congressional Reconstruction", enforced by repeated acts passed over Johnson's
veto, provided for provisional state governments run by the military and ensuring the local passage of
civil rights laws and otherwise imposing the will of the United States Congress — which was run by the North. Johnson's public criticisms of Congress provoked much talk of impeachment over the months.
Image:3a05488v.jpg 250px|thumb|''Harper's Weekly'' illustration of Johnson's impeachment trial in the [[United States Senate.]]
In February 1868, Johnson notified Congress that he had removed
Edwin Stanton as Secretary of War, and was replacing him in the interim with Adjutant-General
Lorenzo Thomas. This violated the
Tenure of Office Act, a law enacted by Congress in March 2 1867 over Johnson's veto, specifically designed to protect Stanton. Johnson had vetoed the Act, claiming it was unconstitutional. The Act said, "...every person holding any civil office, to which he has been appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate ... shall be entitled to hold such office until a successor shall have been in like manner appointed and duly qualified," thus removing the President's previous unlimited power to remove any of his Cabinet members at will. Years later in the case ''
Myers v. United States'' in 1926, the
Supreme Court of the United States Supreme Court ruled that such laws were indeed unconstitutional.
The Senate and House entered into hot debate. Thomas attempted to move into the War office, for which Stanton had Thomas arrested. Three days after Stanton's removal, the House
impeachment impeached Johnson for intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act.
Image:AJohnsonimpeach.jpg thumb|left||The 1868 Impeachment Resolution
On
March 5,
1868 a court of impeachment was constituted in the Senate to hear charges against the President.
William M. Evarts served as his counsel. Eleven articles were set out in the resolution and the trial before the Senate lasted almost three months. Johnson's defense was based on a clause in the Tenure of Office Act stating that the then-current Secretaries would hold their posts throughout the term of the President who appointed them. Since Lincoln had appointed Stanton, it was claimed, the applicability of the Act had already run its course.
There were three votes in the Senate: one on
May 16,
1868 for the 11th article of impeachment, which included many of the charges contained in the other articles, and two on
May 26 for the second and third articles, after which the trial adjourned ''
sine die''. On all three occasions, thirty-five Senators voted "Guilty" and nineteen "Not Guilty". As the
United States Constitution requires a two-thirds majority for conviction in impeachment trials, Johnson was acquitted.
A single changed vote would have sufficed to return a "Guilty" verdict. The decisive vote had been that of a young
Radical Republican named
Edmund G. Ross. Despite monumental pressure from fellow Radicals prior to the first vote, and dire warnings that a vote for acquittal would end his political career, Ross stood up at the appropriate moment and quietly announced "not guilty," effectively ending the impeachment trial.
Administration and Cabinet
{| cellpadding="1" cellspacing="4" style="margin:3px; border:3px solid #000000;" align="left"
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|'''OFFICE'''||align="left"|'''NAME'''||align="left"|'''TERM'''
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|
President of the United States President||align="left" |'''Andrew Johnson'''||align="left"|1865–1869
|-
|align="left"|
Vice President of the United States Vice President||align="left"|''None''||align="left"|
|-
!bgcolor="#000000" colspan="3"|
|-
|align="left"|
United States Secretary of State Secretary of State||align="left"|'''
William H. Seward'''||align="left"|1865–1869
|-
|align="left"|
United States Secretary of the Treasury Secretary of the Treasury||align="left"|'''
Hugh McCulloch'''||align="left"|1865–1869
|-
|align="left"|
United States Secretary of War Secretary of War||align="left"|'''
Edwin M. Stanton'''||align="left"|1865–1868
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''
John M. Schofield'''||align="left"|1868–1869
|-
|align="left"|
Attorney General of the United States Attorney General||align="left"|'''
James Speed'''||align="left"|1865–1866
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''
Henry Stanberry'''||align="left"|1866–1868
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''
William M. Evarts'''||align="left"|1868–1869
|-
|align="left"|
Postmaster General of the United States Postmaster General||align="left"|'''
William Dennison'''||align="left"|1865–1866
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''
Alexander Randall'''||align="left"|1866–1869
|-
|align="left"|
United States Secretary of the Navy Secretary of the Navy||align="left"|'''
Gideon Welles'''||align="left"|1865–1869
|-
|align="left"|
United States Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior||align="left"|'''
John P. Usher'''||align="left"|1865
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''
James Harlan (senator) James Harlan'''||align="left"|1865–1866
|-
|align="left"| ||align="left"|'''
Orville H. Browning'''||align="left"|1866–1869
|}
States admitted to the Union
*
Nebraska: 1867
Post-Presidency
Image:Pres_andrew_johnson.jpg thumb|right|230px|President Andrew Johnson
Johnson was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1868 and to the House of Representatives in 1872. He eventually succeeded and was elected as a Democrat to the Senate and served from
March 4,
1875, until his death near
Elizabethton, Tennessee, on
July 31,
1875. He is the only President to serve in the Senate after his presidency. Interment was in the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery,
Greeneville, Tennessee.
See also
*
U.S. presidential election, 1864
*
History of the United States (1865-1918)
References
* Howard K. Beale, ''The Critical Year. A Study of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction'' (1930).
* Michael Les Benedict, ''The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson'' (1999).
* Albert E. Castel, ''The Presidency of Andrew Johnson '' (1979).
* D. M. DeWitt, ''The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson'' (1903).
* Eric L. McKitrick, ''Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction'' (1961).
* L. P. Stryker, ''Andrew Johnson: A Study in Courage'' (1929).
* Hans L. Trefousse, ''Andrew Johnson: A Biography'' (1989).
Primary sources
* Newspaper clippings, 1865–1869: http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/
* Series of
Harper's Weekly articles covering the impeachment controversy and trial: [http://www.andrewjohnson.com/09ImpeachmentAndAcquittal/ImpeachmentAndAcquittal.htm]
* Johnson's
obituary, from the
New York Times: http://starship.python.net/crew/manus/Presidents/aj2/aj2obit.html
External links
{{wikiquote}}
{{Wikisource author}}
* {{gutenberg author| id=Andrew+Johnson | name=Andrew Johnson}}
-
The Andrew Johnson Administration
-
Articles of Impeachment
-
White House Biography
-
Mr. Lincoln's White House: Andrew Johnson
-
Andrew Johnson on Find-A-Grave
{{start box}}
{{succession box
| title=
United States House of Representatives, Tennessee District 1 U.S. Congressman for the 1st District of Tennessee
| before=
Thomas Dickens Arnold
| after=
Brookins Campbell
| years=1843–1853}}
{{succession box
| title=
Governor of Tennessee
| before=
William B. Campbell
| after=
Isham G. Harris
| years=1853–1857}}
{{U.S. Senator box
| state=Tennessee
| class=1
| before=
James C. Jones
| after=
David T. Patterson (a)
| alongside=
John Bell,
Alfred O. P. Nicholson
| years=
October 8 1857 –
March 4 1862}}
{{succession box
| title=
Governor of Tennessee
| before=
Isham G. Harris
| after=
E. H. East
| years=1862 – 1865}}
{{succession box
| title=
List of United States Republican Party presidential tickets Republican Party(b) vice presidential candidate
| before=
Hannibal Hamlin
| after=
Schuyler Colfax
| years=
U.S. presidential election, 1864 1864 (won)}}
{{succession box
| title=
Vice President of the United States
| before=
Hannibal Hamlin
| after=
Schuyler Colfax (c)
| years=
March 4 1865 –
April 15 1865}}
{{succession box
| title=
President of the United States
| before=
Abraham Lincoln
| after=
Ulysses S. Grant
| years=
April 15 1865 –
March 3 1869}}
{{U.S. Senator box
| state= Tennessee
| class=1
| before=
William Gannaway Brownlow
| after=
David McKendree Key
| alongside=
Henry Cooper
| years=
March 4 1875 –
July 31 1875}}
{{succession footnote
| marker=
(a)
| footnote=Due to
Tennessee's secession, the Senate seat was vacant for four years before Patterson succeeded Johnson.}}
March 4 1869.}}
{{succession footnote
| marker=
(b)
| footnote=Lincoln and Johnson ran on the National Union ticket in 1864.}}
{{succession footnote
| marker=
(c)
| footnote=After Johnson became president in 1865, the Vice Presidency was vacant until
Schuyler Colfax was inaugurated on
4 March 1869.}}
{{end box}}
{{USPresidents}}
{{USVicePresidents}}
Category:1808 births Johnson, Andrew
Category:1875 deaths Johnson, Andrew
Category:Autodidacts Johnson, Andrew
Category:Baptists Johnson, Andrew
Category:Governors of Tennessee Johnson, Andrew
Category:Presidents of the United States Johnson, Andrew
Category:Reconstruction Johnson, Andrew
Category:Republican Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Johnson, Andrew
Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Johnson, Andrew
Category:United States Senators from Tennessee Johnson, Andrew
Category:Vice Presidents of the United States Johnson, Andrew
Category:Scots-Irish Americans Johnson, Andrew
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da:Andrew Johnson
de:Andrew Johnson
es:Andrew Johnson
eo:Andrew JOHNSON
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no:Andrew Johnson
nn:Andrew Johnson
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ro:Andrew Johnson
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