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'''Andrew Johnson''' was the 17th [[President of the United States of America]]. He was the first President to be [[impeachment|impeached]], but he was acquitted by one vote. The reason for impeachment, ostensibly his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, was only a smoke screen.  The real reason for his impeachment was because he had angered the Radical Republicans who controlled Congress. Johnson did technically violate the Tenure of Office Act, which denied him the power to dismiss presidential appointees without the Senate's permission.  This act was designed to protect Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of war under president Lincoln who had been held over in Johnson's cabinet.

'''Andrew Johnson''' (1808-1875) became the 17th president of the [[United States of America]] (1865-69) with the assassination of [[Abraham Lincoln]] in April 1865. He fiercely opposed the [[Radical Republican]] policy of a harsh [[Reconstruction]] policy toward the defeated ex-Confederate states. After the Radicals swept the 1866 elections, Johnson barely escaped removal form office, but was largely powerless. Supporters of the white South, and advocates of a strong presidency, made Johnson a hero in the 1930s and 1940s. By the 1960s, historians depicted him as a poor politician and a failure.

==Accession to Presidency==

==Career==

He became President in April 1865 after [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated.

Johnson, a poor boy from North Carolina, became a tailor in Tennessee, and rose steadily in the ranks of the Democratic party. As a U.S. Senator he was the most prominent southerner to remain with the Union when the Confederacy was formed in 1861, was a highly visible "War Democrat." Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee, 1862-64, as he worked vigorously to suppress the rebellion. In 1864 he was Lin con's running-mate on the "Union Party" ticket, set up to attract War Democrats.  

==Impeachment==

==Impeachment==

He was summoned to trial for "high crimes and misdemeanors." He avoided removal by only one vote.  <ref> [[Fandex]], Workman Publishing, 2002.  </ref>

When Johnson tried to fire the Secretary of War, the House, controlled by Radical Republican [[Thaddeus Stevens]], impeached him.  He was the first President to be [[impeachment|impeached]]. The reason for impeachment, ostensibly his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, was actually his systematic defiance of Congress and his refusal to enforce the laws. Johnson did technically violate the Tenure of Office Act, which denied him the power to dismiss presidential appointees without the Senate's permission.  This act was designed to protect Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of war under president Lincoln who had been held over in Johnson's cabinet.

==Views on race==

==Views on race==

* "This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men.  Everyone would, and must, admit that the white race is superior to the black." [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/post_11.html]

* "This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men.  Everyone would, and must, admit that the white race is superior to the black." [http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/post_11.html]

==References==

==References==