The Late 1800’s
The era of the “hands-off” president.
Andrew Johnson #17
• Born: December 29, 1808 in
Raleigh N.C.
• 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.
Early Career
• 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
re-elected 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
1857-1862, 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
• 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.
• Johnson was acquitted in the Senate by one
vote, allowing him to remain president.
Other Notes
• 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 exConfederates on Christmas Day 1868.
Outlook
• 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.
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.
#19 Rutherford B. Hayes
• Born in Delaware, Ohio in
1822.
• Father died before he was
born. He was raised by a single
mother, with the help of a
wealthy uncle.
• He was valedictorian at
Kenyon College, and graduated
from Harvard Law School.
• He fought in the Civil War
rising to Major General and
was wounded 5 times.
• Member of the House and
Governor of Ohio.
Hayes’ Presidency
• In one of the most controversial and closest presidential
elections Hayes managed to become the 19th President.
• He was the Only president whose election was decided by a
congressional commission.
• Hayes sought out to institute some modest Civil Service
reform.
• He removed Federal Troops from the South, some said as part
of the “bargain” that got him elected.
• He used Federal Troops to put down the Great Railroad Strike.
• He returned the nation to a strict gold standard.
• He was the 1st president to have a typewriter and telephone
in office.
• The 1st president to travel to the West Coast during his
presidency.
#20 James A. Garfield
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Born in Orange, Ohio in 1831.
His father died when he was young,
and he grew up in poverty where his
mother worked in the fields and did
laundry.
His mother scraped together money
to send him to a seminary where he
worked as a janitor, carpenter, and
teacher to pay his tuition.
He eventually graduated from what is
now Hiram College, and became a
preacher and a teacher, before
becoming a lawyer and entering
Republican Politics.
Garfield fought in the Civil War, rising
to rank of Major General.
He went on the U.S. House of
Representatives.
Garfield’s Politics and Presidency
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Garfield had been a Radical Republican who wished to punish the South, but after
the war his views changed.
He advocated for some political reform of Progressive Republicans, like the gold
standard, Civil Service Reform (basically ending the power of the spoils system and
corruption in machine politics), and free trade. However, he did befriend some of
the traditionally corrupt Republicans, known as Stalwarts. This may have resulted
in his involvement in political corruption, such as Credit Mobilier,
Garfield’s one important action as president was to challenge the stranglehold of
Senator Roscoe Conkling on the Port Authority of New York.
Garfield had unwittingly nominated a man for the Port Authority that the powerful
Conkling did not support.
The boss tried to persuade other Senators to join him against the President, but
when the president refused to back down, they bailed on Conkling, giving Garfield
the victory.
Garfield served only four months before he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau,
a mentally unstable office seeker, claiming to be a Stalwart who felt that he
was owed a position. Most modern historians think the assassin was simply
mentally ill.
#21 Chester A. Arthur
• Born in Farfield, Vermont in
1829.
• His father was a minister who
moved around Vermont
frequently and eventually
settled in Up-state New York.
• Arthur became a teacher, and
eventually went into law.
• He became active in
Republican politics.
• Through his political allies he
became a Brigadier General in
the Civil War, acting as a
quartermaster.
Arthur’s political career
• Arthur settled in New York City after the Civil War, and
became an important member of the Republican Political
machine dominated by Senator Roscoe Conkling.
• He held the position of the Customs Collector of New York
City, a highly lucrative job plagued by corruption. In Hayes’
attempts to reform corruption he fired Arthur.
• Arthur was a true politician, good at slapping backs and
barroom politics. He spent late nights out socializing and
was known as a fancy dresser.
• Despite the allegations of corruption, Arthur managed to
become the Vice President of James Garfield, in an attempt
to placate Stalwart Republicans.
• Arthur’s wife, Ellen, died in 1880, and he never remarried.
Arthur’s Presidency
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Arthur became president when Garfield was assassinated.
Ironically, despite his past in corrupt politics, his most important action was
signing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which required most federal
employees to pass an examination.
Arthur vetoed the Chinese Exclusion Act that would forbid immigration from
China for 20 years, though he signed a revised act that would only exclude
Chinese immigrants for 10 years.
Arthur signed a bill which built new modern ships for the Navy, improving that
military branch.
Arthur agreed with a bill to lower tariffs, but ensured that the tariff was only
lowered by 1.47% because he, like most Republicans agreed with high rates to
protect American business.
Arthur vetoed the 1882 Rivers and Harbors Act which would spend millions on
internal improvements because he felt the projects were too local and open
for corruption.
Arthur agreed to open the Crow Creek Indian reservation to white settlers in
1885.
Throughout his presidency Arthur suffered from Bright’s Disease, but did his
best to conceal his failing health.
Grover Cleveland #22 and
#24
• Born in Caldwell N.J.,
moving to upstate New
York before he was 5.
• His father was a
Presbyterian minister, but
died when Grover was 16.
• Grover could not finish
school, but his uncle
arranged for him to study
law in Buffalo, and he was
admitted to the bar when
he was 22
Career
• Cleveland worked as a lawyer early on, gaining a
reputation as a solid attorney.
• He hired a Polish immigrant to be his substitute during
the Civil War, because he felt bound to continue
working to support his widowed mother and brothers
and sisters.
• Cleveland served as sheriff of of Erie County 18711873
• Cleveland was mayor of Buffalo briefly before moving
on to become governor of New York in 1882.
• Cleveland was known to be honest and above the
corruption that was common in New York. He
especially became an enemy of Tammany Hall.
Election
• To win the presidency Cleveland had to defeat
James G. Blaine.
• Blaine was thought by many to be corrupt,
especially regarding a scandal in which he profited
from the building of two western railroads. Many
reform minded Republicans, called Mugwumps,
supported Cleveland for his known honesty.
• Blaine’s campaign accused Cleveland of having a
child out of wedlock. Cleveland admitted paternity,
although the woman was known to have several
lovers, and paternity could not be proven. People
respected his honesty.
Cartoon
Presidency
• Cleveland supported the maintenance of the gold
standard.
• Cleveland believed in lowering tariffs and fought to
get this done. In the end this helped cost him reelection the first time, as it angered business
interests and skilled working men.
• Cleveland did not intervene in international
matters, and felt the U.S. should not do so, so he
abandoned support for a canal in Nicaragua.
• Cleveland ordered the U.S. Army to keep settlers
out of Crow territory, reversing Arthur’s decision.
• Established the Department of Agriculture.
Presidency Continued
• During his second term Cleveland tried to reform the McKinley Tariff
passed while he was out of office. He succeeded, but the victory
was limited, because of numerous “riders” attached.
• Cleveland put down labor unrest using federal troops, most notably
during the Pullman Strike, in which Railroad workers were striking.
• Cleveland dealt with the Panic of 1893 by repealing the Sherman
Silver Purchase Act. While this measure led to improvement, it was
a slow process, resulting in little support for Cleveland.
• While Cleveland repealed the Silver Purchase Act, J.P. Morgan
arranged a huge loan of $62 billion to reinforce the gold reserves.
• Cleveland demanded arbitration between Great Britain and
Venezuela over a territorial dispute, earning him supporters in Latin
America and the U.K.
• Cleveland conducted and investigation of the annexation of Hawaii
under Harrison. The findings of the investigation were negative, and
Cleveland asked Congress to stop annexation. However, the Queen
was not restored, and the Republic of Hawaii was established.
Conservative Beliefs
• “I can find no warrant for such an appropriation in the
Constitution, and I do not believe that the power and duty of the
general government ought to be extended to the relief of
individual suffering which is in no manner properly related to the
public service or benefit. A prevalent tendency to disregard the
limited mission of this power and duty should, I think, be
steadfastly resisted, to the end that the lesson should be
constantly enforced that, though the people support the
government, the government should not support the people. The
friendliness and charity of our countrymen can always be relied
upon to relieve their fellow-citizens in misfortune. This has been
repeatedly and quite lately demonstrated. Federal aid in such
cases encourages the expectation of paternal care on the part of
the government and weakens the sturdiness of our national
character, while it prevents the indulgence among our people of
that kindly sentiment and conduct which strengthens the bonds
of a common brotherhood”
Marriage
• Cleveland married Frances Folsom while she
was a student at Wells College, and he was
in his first term.
• She was just 21 years old, and is still the
youngest First Lady ever.
• They had a baby in the White House named
Ruth, who became the darling of reporters.
• While people at first rejected the marriage
due to age differences, they eventually came
to like Frances and Baby Ruth.
Francis
Legacy
• Cleveland is thought by many to be one of the
most conservative presidents in U.S. History.
• He was a staunch supporter of the constitution,
and used his veto power a record 414 times in
one term, to protect what he thought were it’s
principles.
• Cleveland was against imperialism when most
Western leaders supported it.
• Over all Cleveland was an honest, if not fantastic
president, as he was unable to heal all of the
problems of the Panic of 1893.
• Cleveland has also come to be seen as hostile
to the labor movement.
#23 Benjamin Harrison
• Born in North Bend, Ohio
on a 600 acre farm his
family inherited from his
grandfather, 9th president
William Henry Harrison.
• His father was a U.S.
Congressman.
• Harrison attended Miami
University, in Oxford, where
he studied law.
• He worked as a prominent
Indianapolis attorney for
many years.
Political Life
• Admitted to the BAR in 1854.
• He served in the Union Army during the Civil War,
rising to the rank of Brigadier General.
• He worked as a successful lawyer for most of his life.
• Harrison was a Republican, and was loyal to the Party
Bosses and their pro-business agenda.
• He ran for governor of Indiana in 1876, and lost.
• Elected to the U.S. Senate and served until 1887, taking
few strong positions, thus making him in-offensive to
anyone, easy for the bosses to control, and a prime
candidate for president.
Campaign
• In 1888, Harrison received the republican nomination
for president.
• “He” selected Levi Morton as his running mate,
though it was really the big party bosses that made the
decision.
• His opponent was the incumbent Grover Cleveland,
and his campaign used Cleveland’s lack of Civil War
experience against the Democrat, who had fought
against many Civil War Pensions as president.
• Harrison Lost the popular vote, but barely won the
electoral college.
Actions as President
• Passed the Sherman Anti-Trust act. Stopped trusts and monopolies,
but was not used during his presidency (Teddy Roosevelt made use
of it, a bunch though).
• He passed the disastrous McKinely Tariff, which sought to protect
industry
• Passed the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, which wrought havoc on
the monetary system because it required to government to
purchase more silver, which Populists hoped would create inflation,
thereby allowing farmers to pay high debts. Unfortunately the
government paid for the silver with notes that could be redeemed
for gold or silver. Most investors redeemed for gold, which gutted
that market and created the terrible Panic of 1893.
• Passed dependent and disability pension act. Helped give benefits
to war veterans who were disabled.
• Lost to Cleveland in 1892 election as prices skyrocketed for
consumers after McKinley Tariff.
Legacy
• Harrison’s legacy is largely one of mediocrity, he
is remembered as an average at-best president.
• He was little more than a tool of the Republican
party bosses, and his policies reflected that.
• He did care much for his fellow Civil War
veterans, and wished to compensate them well
for their service.
• Harrison was the only grandson of a president to
become president.