Andrew Johnson (politician)

Andrew Johnson (politician)
Name	Andrew Johnson
Caption	Portrait of Andrew Johnson
Birth date	December 29, 1808
Birth place	Raleigh, North Carolina
Death date	July 31, 1875
Death place	Carter County, Tennessee
Occupation	Tailor, politician, statesman
Party	Democratic Party (early), National Union (1864)
Spouse	Eliza McCardle Johnson

Andrew Johnson (politician) was the 17th President of the United States who served from 1865 to 1869 after assuming office upon the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A former United States Senator and Governor of Tennessee, he was the only Southern senator to remain loyal to the Union at the outbreak of the American Civil War. Johnson's presidency was marked by contentious relations with the United States Congress, leading to the first presidential impeachment in U.S. history.

Early life and education

Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina to parents of modest means and apprenticed as a tailor in Greeneville, Tennessee. He received little formal schooling, influenced instead by self-education through reading and study of works by figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. During his youth he married Eliza McCardle Johnson and established a tailoring business that became the basis for his entrance into local politics in Greene County, Tennessee and surrounding communities such as Knoxville, Tennessee.

Political career in Tennessee

Johnson's political ascent began with election to the Tennessee House of Representatives and later to the United States House of Representatives as a member of the Democratic Party. He served multiple terms in the House and became known for appeals to Jacksonian democracy and the rights of white northern and southern laborers, aligning at times with politicians such as James K. Polk and opposing interests linked to the Whig Party. Johnson also held the office of Governor of Tennessee and was appointed to the United States Senate, where he acted on issues involving Indian Removal, tariff policy, and territorial questions like the Mexican–American War. During the 1850s he confronted figures including Stephen A. Douglas and Henry Clay while navigating sectional tensions that culminated in the secession crisis involving states like South Carolina and Mississippi.

Vice presidency and accession to the presidency

In 1864 Johnson was selected as the vice presidential running mate for Abraham Lincoln on the National Union ticket, replacing Hannibal Hamlin to broaden wartime political support from Democrats and Unionist constituencies in states such as Tennessee and Kentucky. After the election, Johnson took the oath as Vice President and served briefly in Washington, D.C. until Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, when Johnson immediately succeeded to the presidency under the United States Constitution's succession provisions.

Presidency (1865–1869)

As president, Johnson confronted the aftermath of the American Civil War, implementing policies for the restoration of former Confederate states such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia that diverged from the Radical Republicans in the United States Congress. He issued proclamations for Presidential Reconstruction and offered pardons to many former Confederates, clashing with congressional leaders including Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, and Benjamin Wade. Johnson vetoed legislation such as the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and supported the Presidential Reconstruction approach over the Reconstruction Acts favored by the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. His positions affected amendments to the United States Constitution, notably the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Johnson also confronted issues involving freedmen, the Freedmen's Bureau, and federal authority in the former Confederacy, while navigating foreign policy matters involving the Monroe Doctrine, claims in Mexico related to the French intervention in Mexico, and relations with Great Britain and France.

Impeachment and trial

Conflict between Johnson and the Congress escalated after his dismissal of Edwin M. Stanton as United States Secretary of War, in apparent violation of the Tenure of Office Act passed by Congress. The House of Representatives impeached Johnson in 1868 on multiple articles, led by Republican lawmakers aligned with Thaddeus Stevens and advocates such as Benjamin F. Butler. The subsequent trial in the United States Senate featured presiding officers, senators including Edwin D. Morgan and Lyman Trumbull, and culminated in acquittal by a single vote short of the two-thirds threshold needed for removal. The impeachment influenced debates over separation of powers and the limits of presidential authority during Reconstruction.

Later life, legacy, and historical assessment

After leaving office, Johnson returned to Tennessee and later won election to the United States Senate in 1875, the only former president to do so, before his death later that year in Carter County, Tennessee. His legacy has been reassessed over time: contemporaries such as Ulysses S. Grant and Rutherford B. Hayes had mixed reactions, while historians including Eric Foner, James M. McPherson, and Garry Wills have debated Johnson's impact on civil rights, Reconstruction outcomes, and presidential power. Johnson's opposition to measures like the Fourteenth Amendment and his lenient policies toward former Confederates are frequently cited in evaluations that contrast him with Radical Republicans and later presidents who advanced civil rights legislation. Monuments and memorials in places like Greeneville, Tennessee and critiques in scholarly works reflect ongoing controversies about his role in postwar America.

Category:Presidents of the United States Category:United States senators from Tennessee Category:1808 births Category:1875 deaths