#17 Andrew Johnson
1865-1869
The Guy Who Was
Impeached
Born: December 29,
1808 in Raleigh
N.C.
Parents: Jacob and
Mary (McDonough)
Wife: Eliza McCardle
Children: Martha,
Charles, Mary,
Robert, and Andrew
Background
• Andrew Johnson was born into a modest family in
Raleigh N.C.
• His father died when he was a small boy, and the
family was left in poverty.
• Andrew was apprenticed to a tailor when he was
about 10 years old. He hated this situation and he ran
away with his brother to East Tennessee.
• In Tennessee, Johnson also took work as a tailor.
• Andrew Johnson was illiterate until he was a young
man, teaching himself to read and write.
Marriage
• Johnson was married to
Eliza McCardle in 1827
when he was 18 and she
was 16.
• Eliza helped Andrew with his
reading and writing skills,
and she taught him basic
mathematics.
• The Johnson’s were married
for 48 years.
• Eliza was an ill for most of
her husband’s
presidency,and had to
remain bed-ridden.
The Johnson Home
Early Career and Politics
• Andrew Johnson owned his own tailor shop and
worked hard to improve his station in life.
• Johnson’s first political office was that of Alderman in
Greenville Tennessee in 1829.
• He was Mayor of Greenville from 1830-1833.
• Served two terms in the Tennessee Legislature in
1835, but lost re-election in 1837. In 1839 he was reelected to the same position.
• In 1841 he was elected to the Tennessee Senate.
• Governor of Tennessee 1853-1857
National Politics
• Johnson was elected to the U.S. Senate from 18571862, the only Southern senator to remain loyal to
the Union.
• From 1862 to 1865 Johnson was appointed by
Lincoln to be the military governor of Tennessee.
• Nominated for Vice President by the National Union
Party in 1864.
• In 1864 Johnson became Lincoln’s Vice President.
• Johnson became president on April 15, 1865, after
the assassination of president Lincoln.
Presidency
• Johnson’s presidency occurred in the period following
the civil war, known as Reconstruction.
• Johnson had made early speeches indicating that he
wished to be hard on the ex-Confederates, but in
most circumstances he was not, including when he
called for the easy restoration of Southern States.
• Johnson ended up pardoning many former
Confederate leaders.
• In 1865 he allowed restored states to hold elections,
when they elected many ex-Confederate leaders
(who the senate refused to seat)
Presidency Continued
• The governments of the South instituted Black
Codes, prompting congress to block their
readmission to the Union and to develop a Civil
Rights Bill and re- new the Freedman’s Bureau.
• Johnson vetoed both of these measures, although
the Republicans in congress were able to over-ride
his veto of the Civil Rights Bill.
• Congress chose to over-ride Johnson’s veto of the
Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited Johnson from
removing officers without the consent of the Senate.
Impeachment
• To test the constitutionality of
the Tenure of office act,
Johnson removed Secretary
of War Edwin M. Stanton,
and replaced him.
• The House of
Representatives voted to
impeach him on grounds that
he intentionally violated the
Tenure of Office Act.
• The Senate was acquitted in
the Senate by one vote,
allowing him to remain
president.
Other Notes on Presidency
• Johnson approved the purchase of
Alaska from Russia, which at the time
was referred to as “Seward’s Folly”
(Seward was the Secretary of State)
• Johnson issued general amnesty to all
ex-Confederates on Christmas Day
1868.
Johnson’s Views
• Johnson had a very strong bias against
the wealthy planter class in the South
• Johnson was a slaveholder, and owned
as many as 8 slaves in his life.
• Johnson was always in favor of white
supremacy, and he worked to stop the
ratification of the 14th Amendment.
Johnson’s Legacy
• Johnson is considered to be among the worst
presidents in history.
• He was the first president to be impeached, and
came within one vote of being removed from office (it
should be pointed out that the Tenure of Office Act did
violate the Constitution)
• Johnson is known for having made Reconstruction a
more difficult process, because he refused to work
with moderate Republicans, and because he didn’t
do enough to protect freed black people.
• Johnson was the last president to be Independent, or
not Republican or Democratic.