Presidents: Andrew Johnson

Following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, his Vice President Andrew Johnson became president. President Johnson oversaw the reconstruction period following

the Civil War. He was also the first President to be impeached.

Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808 in a log cabin in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was the youngest of three children born to Jacob and Mary McDonough Johnson.

When Andrew was three years old, his father died a short time after rescuing three drowning men. His mother worked washing laundry for families to support her family. She eventually remarried.

Johnson developed a lifelong love for learning where he began apprenticing as a tailor at the age of ten. He was bound to apprentice for James Selby until the age of twenty-one, but he and his brother ran away at the age of fifteen. A bounty was placed on the boys and Andrew later returned to try and buy out his apprenticeship to no avail.

Johnson settled in Greeneville, Tennessee where he worked as a tailor. In 1827, at the age of eighteen, he married Eliza McCardle. The couple would have five children together.

Johnson was a voracious reader and his wife taught him mathematical and writing skills.

In 1829, he organized a municipal election in Greeneville. In 1831, he took part in passing a bill on slavery and in 1834 he was elected as mayor of Greeneville.

By this time he had become a strong and prolific public speaker. He joined the Tennessee Militia and attained the rank of colonel.

He then was elected to the legislature in Tennessee. In 1841, he was elected to the Tennessee Senate. Around this time he sold his successful tailoring business to concentrate on politic. He also acquired a large amount of real estate.

In 1853, he became Governor of Tennessee and served for two terms.

Johnson is said to always have been “impeccably tailored” and treat everyone the same “not making him forget to be kind to the humblest citizen”.

In 1857, he became a U.S. Senator and arrived in Washington, D.C. without his wife, who was often ill, or the rest of his family.

He returned home when Tennessee succeeded from the nation. He became the only member from a seceded state to remain in the U.S. Senate. It is said that he had “Lincoln’s ear” in the early months of the war.

In March 1862, Lincoln appointed him as military governor of Tennessee. In 1863, his son Charles died when he was thrown from his horse and killed while serving as a surgeon in the war.

In 1864, when Abraham Lincoln ran for re-election, Andrew Johnson emerged as his running mate. Andrew Johnson was sworn in as Vice President on March 4, 1865.

On the morning of April 15, 1865, Abraham Lincoln succumbed to the injuries from an assassins bullet the night before. Andrew Johnson was sworn in as president later that morning. He sought all and had executed all those involved with the assassination attempt. He also gained a reputation as “being tough on the south”.

The plans for reconstruction fell on the shoulders of President Johnson to figure out. However, by 1866 tensions began to arise between the president and congress.

Tensions continued to rise, including in his own cabinet, and President Johnson was impeached in December 1867. The trial began on March 5, 1868, and lasted for three months. He was eventually acquitted.

Andrew Johnson lost the bid by his party for re-election. In his final days he issued a final amnesty covering all who had served in the Confederacy, including Jefferson Davis.

There were many hard feelings between Johnson and President-elect Grant and Johnson refused to attend the inauguration.

Upon leaving Washington, he returned to Greeneville, TN for the first time in eight years.
In 1869, his son, Robert, committed suicide. He sought a return to the U.S. Senate but was defeated. In 1873, he contracted cholera, but recovered. However, he lost a small fortune when the First National Bank of Washington went under.

In January 1875, he narrowly won the vote to return to the U.S. Senate. His comeback garnered national attention with the St. Louis Republican calling it, “the most magnificent personal triumph which the history of American politics can show”. Johnson remains the only former president to serve in the Senate.

In the only speech he gave in the senate, he concluded his speech, “may God bless this people and God save the Constitution.”

After returning home to Tennessee, he traveled to Ohio to give a speech. He stopped to visit with his daughters and suffered a stroke. He died on July 30, 1875 at the age of 66. His burial ground was later dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery.

President Johnson has mainly been remembered for his role in the Reconstruction during his time as president.