Remembering Andrew Johnson
On July 31, 1875 (136 years ago today) Andrew Johnson, the 17th President of the United States, died at Elizabethton, Tennessee at the age of 66. The cause of death was a stroke.
Johnson became President upon the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had selected Johnson as his running mate in the election of 1864 because Johnson was a pro-Union southernor. In hindsight, Johnson turned out to be a terrible choice. When he was sworn in as Vice-President on March 4, 1865, Johnson was drunk according to most accounts.
Johnson presided over the reconstruction era in the four years that followed the Civil War. It was apparent that his vision of a reconstructed America was vastly different from that of Lincoln. His policies were hostile to the African-American slaves that Lincoln had freed. Johnson's conciliatory policies towards the South, his rush to reincorporate the former Confederate states back into the union, and his vetoes of civil rights bills brought him into conflict with radical Republicans who impeached him in 1868. He was acquitted in the senate by a single vote.
After his term as President ended, Johnson ran unsuccessfully for election to the United States Senate from Tennessee in 1868 and to the House of Representatives in 1872. In 1874 the Tennessee legislature did elect him to the U.S. Senate and he served as a Senator from March 4, 1875, until his death on July 31 that year. He is the only former president to serve in the Senate.
Johnson is generally ranked among the worst Presidents in history. One historian, Glenn W. LaFantasie, Professor of Civil War History at Western Kentucky University sums up Jackson in this way:
Johnson is a particular favorite for the bottom of the pile because of his impeachment (although he was acquitted in the Senate by one vote in May 1868), his complete mishandling of Reconstruction policy, his inept dealings with his Cabinet and Congress, his drinking problem (he was probably inebriated at his inauguration), his bristling personality, and his enormous sense of self-importance. He once suggested that God saw fit to have Lincoln assassinated so that he could become president. A Northern senator averred that "Andrew Johnson was the queerest character that ever occupied the White House."
Johnson became President upon the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had selected Johnson as his running mate in the election of 1864 because Johnson was a pro-Union southernor. In hindsight, Johnson turned out to be a terrible choice. When he was sworn in as Vice-President on March 4, 1865, Johnson was drunk according to most accounts.
Johnson presided over the reconstruction era in the four years that followed the Civil War. It was apparent that his vision of a reconstructed America was vastly different from that of Lincoln. His policies were hostile to the African-American slaves that Lincoln had freed. Johnson's conciliatory policies towards the South, his rush to reincorporate the former Confederate states back into the union, and his vetoes of civil rights bills brought him into conflict with radical Republicans who impeached him in 1868. He was acquitted in the senate by a single vote.
After his term as President ended, Johnson ran unsuccessfully for election to the United States Senate from Tennessee in 1868 and to the House of Representatives in 1872. In 1874 the Tennessee legislature did elect him to the U.S. Senate and he served as a Senator from March 4, 1875, until his death on July 31 that year. He is the only former president to serve in the Senate.
Johnson is generally ranked among the worst Presidents in history. One historian, Glenn W. LaFantasie, Professor of Civil War History at Western Kentucky University sums up Jackson in this way:
Johnson is a particular favorite for the bottom of the pile because of his impeachment (although he was acquitted in the Senate by one vote in May 1868), his complete mishandling of Reconstruction policy, his inept dealings with his Cabinet and Congress, his drinking problem (he was probably inebriated at his inauguration), his bristling personality, and his enormous sense of self-importance. He once suggested that God saw fit to have Lincoln assassinated so that he could become president. A Northern senator averred that "Andrew Johnson was the queerest character that ever occupied the White House."