Presidents in Retirement: Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson became President in April of 1865, following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. His ascendancy to the oval office made many people nervous, especially because, just a month earlier, Johnson had turned up drunk to his own inauguration. Lincoln assured Johnson's doubters that "Andy aint no drunkard", but there were other reservations that many in Congress had about Johnson, especially the radical Republicans.
Johnson was a good Union man, but he was no friend to former slaves. His vision of reconstruction was different from many Republicans in Congress. Johnson implemented his own form of Reconstruction. He issued a series of proclamations directing the seceded states to hold conventions and elections to re-form their civil governments. When Southern states returned many of their old leaders, and passed laws known as "Black Codes" which deprived the freedmen of many civil liberties, Congressional Republicans refused to seat legislators from those states and tried to overrule what Johnson had done through legislation. Johnson vetoed their bills, and Congressional Republicans overrode him, a pattern that continued for most of the remainder of his presidency. Johnson opposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave citizenship to former slaves.
Johnson hoped to win a term as President in the 1868 election. In 1866, Johnson went on a national tour promoting his executive policies, and speaking out against his Republican opponents. Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, restricting Johnson's ability to fire Cabinet officials. When he persisted in trying to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, he was impeached by the House of Representatives. He narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate and removal from office.
Johnson sought the nomination for President as a candidate for his former party, the Democrats. The 1868 Democratic National Convention met in New York in July 1868. Johnson was very popular among Southern whites. He boosted that popularity just before the convention by issuing a pardon ending the possibility of criminal proceedings against any Confederate not already indicted. On the first ballot, Johnson finished second to former Ohio representative George H. Pendleton, who had been his Democratic opponent for vice president in 1864. Johnson's support was mostly from the South, and fell away as the ballots passed. On the 22nd ballot, former New York governor Horatio Seymour was nominated, and Johnson received only four votes, all from Tennessee.
Seymour sought Johnson's support, but it was not until October, with the vote already having taken place in some states, that Johnson even mentioned Seymour at all in his speeches. He never endorsed him. Ulysses Grant won the presidency in November of 1868. In his annual message to Congress in December, Johnson called for the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act. He celebrated his 60th birthday in late December with a party for several hundred children, but not those of President-elect Grant.
On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a final amnesty, this one covering everyone, including Jefferson Davis. He also issued pardons for crimes, including one for Dr. Samuel Mudd, controversially convicted of involvement in the Lincoln assassination (he had set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg).
On March 3, Johnson hosted a large public reception at the White House on his final full day in office. Ulysses Grant was unwilling to ride to the inauguration in the same carriage as Johnson, as was the custom, so Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all. Despite an effort by Secretary of State Seward to get Johnson to change his mind, he spent the morning of March 4 at the White House and then, shortly after noon, rode from the White House to the home of a friend.
After leaving office, Johnson remained in Washington for a few weeks and then returned home to Greeneville, Tennessee, for the first time in eight years. He was honored with large public celebrations along the way, especially in Tennessee. Even cities that had been hostile to him during the war hung out welcome banners. He purchased a large farm near Greeneville to reside at after his presidency.
Some supporters asked Johnson to run for Tennessee's governor again or to attempt a return to the Senate. Johnson found that private life was not challenging to him. In 1869 he suffered a personal tragedy when his son Robert committed suicide. Johnson decided that it was time to return to the political area, in part to seek vindication for himself, and revenge against his political enemies. He launched a Senate bid in early 1869. Thanks to court rulings, the vote in Tennessee had been restored to many former confederates. The violence of the Ku Klux Klan discouraged African-Americans from voting, and this led to a Democratic victory in the legislative elections in August 1869. Johnson was seen as a likely victor in the Senate election, although some Democrats had not forgiven him for his wartime activities in supporting the Union cause. Johnson came close in the legislature's balloting, but legislature chose Henry Cooper for the Senate position over Johnson, by a vote of 54–51.
In 1872, there was a special election for an at-large congressional seat for Tennessee. Johnson initially sought the Democratic nomination, but when he saw that it would go to former Confederate general Benjamin F. Cheatham, he decided to run as an independent. Johnson finished third in the contest, but the split in the Democratic Party defeated Cheatham in favor of an old Johnson Unionist ally, Horace Maynard.
In 1873, Johnson contracted cholera during an epidemic, but recovered from the illness. That year he suffered a major economic setback when he lost about $73,000, when the First National Bank of Washington went under. He eventually recovered much of the sum.
Johnson began looking towards the next Senate election, to take place in the legislature in early 1875. Johnson found support from the farmers' populist Grange movement. He made his final campaign tour, speaking throughout the state. By this time few African Americans outside the large towns were now able to vote and Reconstruction offered these former slaves and their families little or no protection in Tennessee. In the Tennessee legislative elections in August, the Democrats elected 92 legislators to 8 for the Republicans. Johnson went to Nashville for the legislative session. When the balloting for the Senate seat began on January 20, 1875, he led with 30 votes, but did not have the required majority. Three former Confederate generals, one former colonel, and a former Democratic congressman split the vote with him. Johnson's opponents tried to agree on a single candidate who might gain majority support and defeat him, but they failed to unite against him. He was elected on January 26 on the 54th ballot, with a margin of a single vote.
Johnson's political comeback drew national attention. One reporter for the St. Louis Republican wrote that it was, "the most magnificent personal triumph which the history of American politics can show". Johnson was sworn in at the Senate on March 5, 1875. He was sworn in, along with his predecessor as vice president, Hannibal Hamlin. Many Republicans ignored Senator Johnson at the ceremony, though some, such as Ohio's John Sherman (who had voted for conviction at Johnson's impeachment), shook his hand. Johnson remains the only former president to serve in the Senate.
As a Senator, Johnson spoke only once in the short session, on March 22. He gave a speech lambasting President Grant for his use of federal troops in support of Louisiana's Reconstruction government. The former president asked, "How far off is military despotism?" He concluded his speech by saying, "may God bless this people and God save the Constitution." He would not be back in the senate or in Washington.
Johnson returned home after the special session concluded. In late July, he learned that some of his opponents were defaming him in the Ohio gubernatorial race, so he decided to travel there to give a series of speeches. He began the trip on July 28, but he broke off the journey at his daughter Mary's farm near Elizabethton, where his daughter Martha was also staying. That evening he suffered a stroke. He refused medical treatment until the next day, when he did not improve. Two doctors were sent for from Elizabethton and at first Johnson seemed to respond to their treatment. However he suffered another stroke on the evening of July 30, and died early the following morning, July 31, at the age of 66. President Grant announced the death of the only surviving past president. Northern newspapers, in their obituaries, focused on Johnson's loyalty during the war, while Southern ones paid tribute to his actions as president.
Johnson's funeral was held on August 3 in Greeneville. He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.
Johnson was a good Union man, but he was no friend to former slaves. His vision of reconstruction was different from many Republicans in Congress. Johnson implemented his own form of Reconstruction. He issued a series of proclamations directing the seceded states to hold conventions and elections to re-form their civil governments. When Southern states returned many of their old leaders, and passed laws known as "Black Codes" which deprived the freedmen of many civil liberties, Congressional Republicans refused to seat legislators from those states and tried to overrule what Johnson had done through legislation. Johnson vetoed their bills, and Congressional Republicans overrode him, a pattern that continued for most of the remainder of his presidency. Johnson opposed the Fourteenth Amendment, which gave citizenship to former slaves.
Johnson hoped to win a term as President in the 1868 election. In 1866, Johnson went on a national tour promoting his executive policies, and speaking out against his Republican opponents. Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, restricting Johnson's ability to fire Cabinet officials. When he persisted in trying to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, he was impeached by the House of Representatives. He narrowly avoided conviction in the Senate and removal from office.
Johnson sought the nomination for President as a candidate for his former party, the Democrats. The 1868 Democratic National Convention met in New York in July 1868. Johnson was very popular among Southern whites. He boosted that popularity just before the convention by issuing a pardon ending the possibility of criminal proceedings against any Confederate not already indicted. On the first ballot, Johnson finished second to former Ohio representative George H. Pendleton, who had been his Democratic opponent for vice president in 1864. Johnson's support was mostly from the South, and fell away as the ballots passed. On the 22nd ballot, former New York governor Horatio Seymour was nominated, and Johnson received only four votes, all from Tennessee.
Seymour sought Johnson's support, but it was not until October, with the vote already having taken place in some states, that Johnson even mentioned Seymour at all in his speeches. He never endorsed him. Ulysses Grant won the presidency in November of 1868. In his annual message to Congress in December, Johnson called for the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act. He celebrated his 60th birthday in late December with a party for several hundred children, but not those of President-elect Grant.
On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a final amnesty, this one covering everyone, including Jefferson Davis. He also issued pardons for crimes, including one for Dr. Samuel Mudd, controversially convicted of involvement in the Lincoln assassination (he had set John Wilkes Booth's broken leg).
On March 3, Johnson hosted a large public reception at the White House on his final full day in office. Ulysses Grant was unwilling to ride to the inauguration in the same carriage as Johnson, as was the custom, so Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all. Despite an effort by Secretary of State Seward to get Johnson to change his mind, he spent the morning of March 4 at the White House and then, shortly after noon, rode from the White House to the home of a friend.
After leaving office, Johnson remained in Washington for a few weeks and then returned home to Greeneville, Tennessee, for the first time in eight years. He was honored with large public celebrations along the way, especially in Tennessee. Even cities that had been hostile to him during the war hung out welcome banners. He purchased a large farm near Greeneville to reside at after his presidency.
Some supporters asked Johnson to run for Tennessee's governor again or to attempt a return to the Senate. Johnson found that private life was not challenging to him. In 1869 he suffered a personal tragedy when his son Robert committed suicide. Johnson decided that it was time to return to the political area, in part to seek vindication for himself, and revenge against his political enemies. He launched a Senate bid in early 1869. Thanks to court rulings, the vote in Tennessee had been restored to many former confederates. The violence of the Ku Klux Klan discouraged African-Americans from voting, and this led to a Democratic victory in the legislative elections in August 1869. Johnson was seen as a likely victor in the Senate election, although some Democrats had not forgiven him for his wartime activities in supporting the Union cause. Johnson came close in the legislature's balloting, but legislature chose Henry Cooper for the Senate position over Johnson, by a vote of 54–51.
In 1872, there was a special election for an at-large congressional seat for Tennessee. Johnson initially sought the Democratic nomination, but when he saw that it would go to former Confederate general Benjamin F. Cheatham, he decided to run as an independent. Johnson finished third in the contest, but the split in the Democratic Party defeated Cheatham in favor of an old Johnson Unionist ally, Horace Maynard.
In 1873, Johnson contracted cholera during an epidemic, but recovered from the illness. That year he suffered a major economic setback when he lost about $73,000, when the First National Bank of Washington went under. He eventually recovered much of the sum.
Johnson began looking towards the next Senate election, to take place in the legislature in early 1875. Johnson found support from the farmers' populist Grange movement. He made his final campaign tour, speaking throughout the state. By this time few African Americans outside the large towns were now able to vote and Reconstruction offered these former slaves and their families little or no protection in Tennessee. In the Tennessee legislative elections in August, the Democrats elected 92 legislators to 8 for the Republicans. Johnson went to Nashville for the legislative session. When the balloting for the Senate seat began on January 20, 1875, he led with 30 votes, but did not have the required majority. Three former Confederate generals, one former colonel, and a former Democratic congressman split the vote with him. Johnson's opponents tried to agree on a single candidate who might gain majority support and defeat him, but they failed to unite against him. He was elected on January 26 on the 54th ballot, with a margin of a single vote.
Johnson's political comeback drew national attention. One reporter for the St. Louis Republican wrote that it was, "the most magnificent personal triumph which the history of American politics can show". Johnson was sworn in at the Senate on March 5, 1875. He was sworn in, along with his predecessor as vice president, Hannibal Hamlin. Many Republicans ignored Senator Johnson at the ceremony, though some, such as Ohio's John Sherman (who had voted for conviction at Johnson's impeachment), shook his hand. Johnson remains the only former president to serve in the Senate.
As a Senator, Johnson spoke only once in the short session, on March 22. He gave a speech lambasting President Grant for his use of federal troops in support of Louisiana's Reconstruction government. The former president asked, "How far off is military despotism?" He concluded his speech by saying, "may God bless this people and God save the Constitution." He would not be back in the senate or in Washington.
Johnson returned home after the special session concluded. In late July, he learned that some of his opponents were defaming him in the Ohio gubernatorial race, so he decided to travel there to give a series of speeches. He began the trip on July 28, but he broke off the journey at his daughter Mary's farm near Elizabethton, where his daughter Martha was also staying. That evening he suffered a stroke. He refused medical treatment until the next day, when he did not improve. Two doctors were sent for from Elizabethton and at first Johnson seemed to respond to their treatment. However he suffered another stroke on the evening of July 30, and died early the following morning, July 31, at the age of 66. President Grant announced the death of the only surviving past president. Northern newspapers, in their obituaries, focused on Johnson's loyalty during the war, while Southern ones paid tribute to his actions as president.
Johnson's funeral was held on August 3 in Greeneville. He was buried with his body wrapped in an American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head, according to his wishes. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, and with his home and tailor's shop, is part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.