Difference between revisions of "Andrew Johnson"

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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.
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'''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.
  
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==Accession to Presidency==
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==Career==
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He became President in April 1865 after [[Abraham Lincoln]] was assassinated.
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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.  
  
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==Reconstruction==
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Johnson took charge of [[Reconstruction]] with the goal of reuniting the nation as quickly as possible.  He appointed Unionist southerners as governors, allowed the old legislatures to meet, and demanded that they repeal secession and ratify the 13th Amendment (which abolished slavery). All ex-Confederate states did so, but the Radical Republicans in Congress refused to agree that the war was over. 
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Johnson, a poor politician, lost support rapidly.  His veto of the Freedman's Aid Bill astonished Republicans; his veto of the Civil Rights Bill angered the moderates who once supported him.  Johnson blocked the 14th amendment the first time around.
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However in 1866 the Radical Republicans won control of Congress by large majorities, and they passed Reconstruction legislation over Johnson's veto.  The Southern states were put under Army rule; blacks were registered as voters; 10,000 ex-Confederate leaders were disfranchised, and the states were required to ratify the 14th Amendment.  A Republican coalition came to power in nearly all the South, comprising Carpetbaggers (Republicans recently arrived from the North), Scalawags (white southerners) and Freedmen.
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Johnson had no party affiliation 1865-68, but was usually supported by Democrats. After leaving the White House he returned to the Democratic party. He was elected to the Senate shortly before his death, becoming the first and only ex-president to serve in the Senate.
 
==Impeachment==
 
==Impeachment==
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He was summoned to trial for "high crimes and misdemeanors." He avoided removal by only one vote.  <ref> [[Fandex]], Workman Publishing, 2002.  </ref>
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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.
  
 +
The Senate was one vote shy of the 2/3 needed to convict, so Johnson was not removed in 1868, but he was almost powerless in domestic affairs.
 
==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]
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==Bibliography==
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* Beale, Howard K. ''The Critical Year. A Study of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction'' (1930). ISBN 0-8044-1085-2
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* Benedict, Michael Les. ''The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson'' (1999). [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=104078634 online edition], favors Radical viewpoint
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* Castel, Albert E. ''The Presidency of Andrew Johnson '' (1979). scholarly survey
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* DeWitt, D. M. ''The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson'' (1903). [http://books.google.com/books?id=yF4TAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=%27%27The+Impeachment+and+Trial+of+Andrew+Johnson%27%27 full text online]
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* Dunning, William Archibald. ''Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction'' (New York, 1898)  [http://books.google.com/books/pdf/Essays_on_the_Civil_War_and_Reconstructi.pdf?vid=OCLC02117529&id=2j0OAAAAIAAJ&output=pdf&sig=rB1llLZw_3h735Oxn9Lb4ie7iOA online edition], hostile to Radicals
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* Dunning, William Archibald. ''Reconstruction, Political and Economic'' (1907)  [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=16224153  online edition]
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* Fleming, Walter Lynwood. ''The Sequel of Appomattox: A Chronicle of the Reunion of the States'' (Yale University Press: Chronicles of America series; vol. 32)  (1919) short popular history [http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext01/sqpmx10.txt online version], hostile to Radicals
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* McKitrick,  Eric L. ''Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction'' (1961). ISBN 0-19-505707-4
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* Mantell, Martin E. ''Johnson, Grant, and the Politics of Reconstruction'' (1973) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=89815306 online edition]
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* Means, Howard. ''The Avenger Takes His Place: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed the Nation'' (2006) [http://www.amazon.com/Avenger-Takes-His-Place-Johnson/dp/0151012121/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222905910&sr=8-1 excerpt and text search], popular biography hostile to Johnson
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* Milton, George Fort. ''The Age of Hate: Andrew Johnson and the Radicals'' (1930) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=14804076  online edition] favorable biography
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* Patton, James Welch. ''Unionism and Reconstruction in Tennessee, 1860–1869'' (1934) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=94962448  online edition]
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* Rhodes, James Ford ''History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896.''  Volume: 6. 1920. Pulitzer prize. [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24644891  online edition]
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* Schouler, James. ''History of the United States of America: Under the Constitution  vol. 7. 1865–1877. The Reconstruction Period'' (1917) [http://books.google.com/books?vid=OCLC15799162&id=p4fAuPxMYPIC&printsec=toc&dq=annual+cyclopedia+1867 online edition]
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* Stryker, Lloyd P. ''Andrew Johnson: A Study in Courage'' (1929). ISBN 0-403-01231-7 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=295401 online edition] favorable biography
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* Trefousse, Hans L.  ''Andrew Johnson: A Biography'' (1989). ISBN 0-393-31742-0 [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=101075266 online edition], most useful scholarly biography; hostile to Johnson
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*  Winston, Robert W. ''Andrew Johnson: Plebeian and Patriot'' (1928) [http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=3971949 online edition] favorable biography
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===Primary sources===
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* Fleming, Walter Lynwood. ed. ''Documentary History of Reconstruction: Political, Military, Social, Religious, Educational & Industrial: 1865 to 1906'' (1906-7; reprinted 1966 with introduction by [[David Donald]]) 2 vols., xviii, 493 and xiv, 480 pp. [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0OnNK8pM92WrjQK2ijCaciu&id=yukLAAAAIAAJ&printsec=toc&dq=%22Documentary+History+of+Reconstruction%22&sig=KbFxeYrtnbJAFZRBvK_rApDguQg#PPR11,M1 volume 1 online] and [http://books.google.com/books?vid=0lH-_oan672uKoftngo_tzc&id=beoLAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA305&lpg=PA305&dq=documentary+plantation&as_brr=1#PPR7,M1 vol 2 online]
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* Ralph W. Haskins, LeRoy P. Graf, and Paul H. Bergeron et al, eds. ''The Papers of Andrew Johnson'' 16 volumes; University of Tennessee Press, (1967–2000). ISBN 1-57233-091-0.) Includes all letters and speeches by Johnson, and many letters written to him. Complete to 1875.
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* [http://www.impeach-andrewjohnson.com/ Newspaper clippings, 1865–1869]
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* [http://www.andrewjohnson.com/09ImpeachmentAndAcquittal/ImpeachmentAndAcquittal.htm Series of [[Harper's Weekly]] articles covering the impeachment controversy and trial]
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*[http://starship.python.net/crew/manus/Presidents/aj2/aj2obit.html Johnson's obituary, from the ''New York Times'']
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==References==
 
==References==

Revision as of 00:11, October 2, 2008

Andrew Johnson
Andrew johnson.jpg
17th President of the United States
Term of office
April 15, 1865 - March 4, 1869 [1]
Political party Unaffiliated during Presidency
Vice President None
Preceded by Abraham Lincoln
Succeeded by Ulysses S. Grant
16th Vice-President of the United States
Term of office
March 4, 1865 - April 15, 1865
Political party National Union Party
President Abraham Lincoln
Preceded by Hannibal Hamlin
Succeeded by Schuyler Colfax
Religion Protestant

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.

Career

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.

Reconstruction

Johnson took charge of Reconstruction with the goal of reuniting the nation as quickly as possible. He appointed Unionist southerners as governors, allowed the old legislatures to meet, and demanded that they repeal secession and ratify the 13th Amendment (which abolished slavery). All ex-Confederate states did so, but the Radical Republicans in Congress refused to agree that the war was over.

Johnson, a poor politician, lost support rapidly. His veto of the Freedman's Aid Bill astonished Republicans; his veto of the Civil Rights Bill angered the moderates who once supported him. Johnson blocked the 14th amendment the first time around.

However in 1866 the Radical Republicans won control of Congress by large majorities, and they passed Reconstruction legislation over Johnson's veto. The Southern states were put under Army rule; blacks were registered as voters; 10,000 ex-Confederate leaders were disfranchised, and the states were required to ratify the 14th Amendment. A Republican coalition came to power in nearly all the South, comprising Carpetbaggers (Republicans recently arrived from the North), Scalawags (white southerners) and Freedmen.

Johnson had no party affiliation 1865-68, but was usually supported by Democrats. After leaving the White House he returned to the Democratic party. He was elected to the Senate shortly before his death, becoming the first and only ex-president to serve in the Senate.

Impeachment

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 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.

The Senate was one vote shy of the 2/3 needed to convict, so Johnson was not removed in 1868, but he was almost powerless in domestic affairs.

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." [1]


Bibliography

  • Beale, Howard K. The Critical Year. A Study of Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1930). ISBN 0-8044-1085-2
  • Benedict, Michael Les. The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson (1999). online edition, favors Radical viewpoint
  • Castel, Albert E. The Presidency of Andrew Johnson (1979). scholarly survey
  • DeWitt, D. M. The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson (1903). full text online
  • Dunning, William Archibald. Essays on the Civil War and Reconstruction (New York, 1898) online edition, hostile to Radicals
  • Dunning, William Archibald. Reconstruction, Political and Economic (1907) online edition
  • Fleming, Walter Lynwood. The Sequel of Appomattox: A Chronicle of the Reunion of the States (Yale University Press: Chronicles of America series; vol. 32) (1919) short popular history online version, hostile to Radicals
  • McKitrick, Eric L. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction (1961). ISBN 0-19-505707-4
  • Mantell, Martin E. Johnson, Grant, and the Politics of Reconstruction (1973) online edition
  • Means, Howard. The Avenger Takes His Place: Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed the Nation (2006) excerpt and text search, popular biography hostile to Johnson
  • Milton, George Fort. The Age of Hate: Andrew Johnson and the Radicals (1930) online edition favorable biography
  • Patton, James Welch. Unionism and Reconstruction in Tennessee, 1860–1869 (1934) online edition
  • Rhodes, James Ford History of the United States from the Compromise of 1850 to the McKinley-Bryan Campaign of 1896. Volume: 6. 1920. Pulitzer prize. online edition
  • Schouler, James. History of the United States of America: Under the Constitution vol. 7. 1865–1877. The Reconstruction Period (1917) online edition
  • Stryker, Lloyd P. Andrew Johnson: A Study in Courage (1929). ISBN 0-403-01231-7 online edition favorable biography
  • Trefousse, Hans L. Andrew Johnson: A Biography (1989). ISBN 0-393-31742-0 online edition, most useful scholarly biography; hostile to Johnson
  • Winston, Robert W. Andrew Johnson: Plebeian and Patriot (1928) online edition favorable biography

Primary sources

  • Fleming, Walter Lynwood. ed. Documentary History of Reconstruction: Political, Military, Social, Religious, Educational & Industrial: 1865 to 1906 (1906-7; reprinted 1966 with introduction by David Donald) 2 vols., xviii, 493 and xiv, 480 pp. volume 1 online and vol 2 online
  • Ralph W. Haskins, LeRoy P. Graf, and Paul H. Bergeron et al, eds. The Papers of Andrew Johnson 16 volumes; University of Tennessee Press, (1967–2000). ISBN 1-57233-091-0.) Includes all letters and speeches by Johnson, and many letters written to him. Complete to 1875.
  • Newspaper clippings, 1865–1869
  • Series of Harper's Weekly articles covering the impeachment controversy and trial
  • Johnson's obituary, from the New York Times


References

  1. ↑ http://www.trivia-library.com/a/17th-us-president-andrew-johnson.htm


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