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Andrew Johnson: Impact and Legacy. By Elizabeth R. Varon. For the most part, historians view Andrew Johnson as the worst possible person to have served as President at the end of the American Civil War. Because of his gross incompetence in federal office and his incredible miscalculation of the extent of public support for his policies, Johnson ...
- Foreign Affairs
Although Andrew Johnson's presidency was marked by...
- Campaigns and Elections
The Campaign and Election of 1864. Uncertain about his...
- Domestic Affairs
On April 15, six weeks after Andrew Johnson was sworn in as...
- Foreign Affairs
- Who Was Andrew Johnson?
- Early Life
- Foray Into Politics
- U.S. Congressman and Tennessee Governor
- The Lincoln Administration
- Presidency and Impeachment
- Later Years and Legacy
Andrew Johnson became the 17th president of the United States upon the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in April 1865. His lenient Reconstruction policies toward the South, and his vetoing of Reconstruction acts, embittered the Radical Republicans in Congress and led to his political downfall and impeachment, though he was acquitted.
Johnson was born in a log cabin in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29, 1808. His father, Jacob, died when Johnson was 3, leaving the family in poverty. His mother, Mary "Polly" McDonough Johnson, worked as a seamstress to make ends meet. She and her second husband apprenticed Johnson and his brother, William, to a local tailor. As a young boy,...
Johnson took a strong interest in politics, and his tailor shop became a haven for political discussion. He gained the support of the local working class and became their strong advocate. He was elected alderman in 1829, and was elected mayor of Greeneville five years later. After the 1831 Nat TurnerRebellion, Tennessee adopted a new state constitu...
In 1843, Johnson became the first Democrat from Tennessee to be elected to the United States Congress. He joined a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, declaring that slavery was essential to the preservation of the Union. This was a slight departure from his fellow Southerners, who were beginning to speak of separation if slave...
After Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, Tennessee seceded from the Union. Johnson broke with his home state and became the only Southern senator to retain his seat in the U.S. Senate. He was vilified in the South. His property was confiscated, and his wife and two daughters were driven out of Tennessee. However, his pro-Union passion did not go u...
On the night of April 14, 1865, while spending an evening at Ford's Theater, in Washington, D.C., President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, and he died the next morning. Johnson was also a target on that fateful night, but his would-be assassin failed to show up. Three hours after Lincoln died, Johnson was sworn in as the 17th president of t...
Johnson finished his term maintaining his opposition to Reconstruction and continuing his self-imposed role as protector of the white race. After leaving the White House, he took advantage of his excellent oratory skills and went on the speaking circuit. In 1874, he won election to the U.S. Senate for a second time. In his first speech after return...
May 9, 2024 · Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the United States (1865–69), who took office upon the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. A Democrat, he became Lincoln’s second vice president because of his rejection of Southern secession. His lenient Reconstruction policies led to his impeachment, though he was acquitted.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Escaped From Indentured Servitude. When Andrew Johnson was only three, his father Jacob died. His mother, Mary McDonough Johnson, remarried and later sent him and his brother out as indentured servants to a tailor named James Selby.
- Never Attended School. Johnson never attended school at all. In fact, he taught himself to read. Once he and his brother escaped from their "master," he opened up his own tailoring shop in order to make money.
- Married Eliza McCardle. On May 17, 1827, Johnson married Eliza McCardle, the daughter of a shoemaker. The pair lived in Greeneville, Tennessee. Despite having lost her father as a young girl, Eliza was quite well educated and spent some time helping Johnson increase his reading and writing skills.
- Became a Mayor at the Age of Twenty-Two. Johnson opened his tailor shop when he was just 19, and by the age of 22, he was elected the mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee.
- Andrew Johnson’s Early Years. Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in a log cabin in Raleigh, North Carolina. His father, Jacob Johnson (1778-1812), was a porter at an inn, among other jobs, and died when Andrew was 3, while his mother, Mary “Polly” McDonough Johnson (1783-1856), was a laundress and seamstress.
- Johnson Enters Politics in Tennessee. Johnson’s political career began in 1829 when he was elected alderman in Greeneville. That same year, Andrew Jackson (1767-1845), a fellow Democrat and Tennessean, became the seventh U.S. president.
- Andrew Johnson and the Civil War. Lincoln was inaugurated on March 4, 1861, and just over a month later, on April 12, the U.S. Civil War broke out when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.
- Johnson’s Brief Tenure as Vice President. When Lincoln sought re-election in 1864, he chose Johnson as his running mate over Vice President Hannibal Hamlin (1809-91), a former U.S. senator from Maine.
e. Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875) was an American politician who served as the 17th president of the United States from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, as he was vice president at that time.
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For the most part, historians view Andrew Johnson as the worst possible person to have served as President at the end of the American Civil War. Because of his gross incompetence in federal office and his incredible miscalculation of the extent of public support for his policies, Johnson is judged as a great failure in making a satisfying and ...
