We are independent & ad-supported. We may earn a commission for purchases made through our links.
Advertiser Disclosure
Our website is an independent, advertising-supported platform. We provide our content free of charge to our readers, and to keep it that way, we rely on revenue generated through advertisements and affiliate partnerships. This means that when you click on certain links on our site and make a purchase, we may earn a commission. Learn more.
How We Make Money
We sustain our operations through affiliate commissions and advertising. If you click on an affiliate link and make a purchase, we may receive a commission from the merchant at no additional cost to you. We also display advertisements on our website, which help generate revenue to support our work and keep our content free for readers. Our editorial team operates independently of our advertising and affiliate partnerships to ensure that our content remains unbiased and focused on providing you with the best information and recommendations based on thorough research and honest evaluations. To remain transparent, we’ve provided a list of our current affiliate partners here.
Biographies

Our Promise to you

Founded in 2002, our company has been a trusted resource for readers seeking informative and engaging content. Our dedication to quality remains unwavering—and will never change. We follow a strict editorial policy, ensuring that our content is authored by highly qualified professionals and edited by subject matter experts. This guarantees that everything we publish is objective, accurate, and trustworthy.

Over the years, we've refined our approach to cover a wide range of topics, providing readers with reliable and practical advice to enhance their knowledge and skills. That's why millions of readers turn to us each year. Join us in celebrating the joy of learning, guided by standards you can trust.

Who is Andrew Johnson?

Tricia Christensen
By
Updated: May 23, 2024
Views: 20,083
Share

Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the seventeenth president of the US, who took the office in 1865 after the death of Abraham Lincoln. He was an unusual president in many ways, because of his background, lack of education, and also for his stance as a Southern senator as pro-Union. Yet he has been criticized for not reaching far enough to support the equality of African Americans after the Civil War ended. His personal choices as an elected official are symbolic of the many people of the time who were opposed to slavery yet still not ready to see African Americans as citizens or equals.

Like Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was no stranger to poverty. He was an apprenticed tailor in Tennessee as a young boy prior to considering a career in politics. He soon found he had a talent for debate and public speaking, and his wife, Eliza McCardle, whom he married in 1827, taught Johnson how to read and write. She fostered Johnson’s political ambitions, but as First Lady was too ill to serve in her position effectively.

Prior to becoming president, Andrew Johnson was clearly a man of the people, that is, poor white people, and generally not the slave population. He had some anti-slavery leanings, but never kept to a consistent opinion regarding the worth of African Americans. In politics prior to his serving in the Vice Presidency, his opinions were popular. He served as Mayor of Greenville, in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and then as Governor. In 1857 he was elected as a US senator, and he remained the sole Southern Senator to keep his position when the Southern states seceded.

His support of the Union, his pro-war stance, and his willingness to free his own slaves made Andrew Johnson a fascinating character to Abraham Lincoln, a staunch Republican. He offset Lincoln because of his background and was appointed as Lincoln’s running mate, probably with the hope that his different political influences would be a draw to some Southerners.

As Vice President, Andrew Johnson served a mere month before the death of Lincoln. To the Republican Party, his Democratic stance, though he was an Independent by this point, was viewed as a liability. His decision regarding the best approach to Southern reconstruction put him at great odds with the Republican Party, as well as his veto of a Republican civil rights bill. They ultimately voted in the House of Representatives to impeach him in 1868, making Johnson the first President ever to be impeached. The Senate saved him with a single vote cast by Senator Edmund G. Ross.

One main difference between Johnson’s approach to reconstructing the South and the Republican Approach was that Johnson wanted quick reunion and peace to be established. Unfortunately, Republicans were more interested in suppressing the South and were not so forgiving, especially to former landowners. The second goad to Republicans was Johnson’s vetoing of several civil rights bills meant to protect the emancipated slaves. Though he had at times expressed that slaves could be honorable men, he was not about to afford them equality with white men.

Though his presidency is marked by his involvement in reconstruction, Andrew Johnson made one decision that is still hailed today as brilliant. He purchased Alaska from Russia, thus supplying the US with first gold and later oil. He also did carry some of his resolve in seeing better times for Southern citizens, by declaring Amnesty, without swearing of oaths to the Union, for all who participated in the Confederate Army in 1868. It was one of his last acts as President, but proved helpful in smoother restoration of the Southern states.

After his presidency, Andrew Johnson ran for both the US House and Senate. These first campaigns were unsuccessful. He met greater success with a third campaign for a US Senate seat, and was re-elected as a senator for Tennessee in 1874. His service was brief, and he died less than a year later of a stroke.

Share
PublicPeople is dedicated to providing accurate and trustworthy information. We carefully select reputable sources and employ a rigorous fact-checking process to maintain the highest standards. To learn more about our commitment to accuracy, read our editorial process.
Tricia Christensen
By Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a PublicPeople contributor, Tricia Christensen is based in Northern California and brings a wealth of knowledge and passion to her writing. Her wide-ranging interests include reading, writing, medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion, all of which she incorporates into her informative articles. Tricia is currently working on her first novel.
Discussion Comments
By calabama71 — On Nov 03, 2010

@dill1971: Vice President Andrew Johnson was staying at the Kirkwood House, a hotel he owned, on the night President Lincoln was shot. A man named Atzerodt was assigned to kill Johnson. However, after he checked in he changed his mind. Despite that, he was found guilty and was hanged on July 7, 1865.

By dill1971 — On Nov 03, 2010

I am doing a research paper on Andrew Johnson and there was something about a plan to kill him when Lincoln was assassinated, is this true?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
With a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and years of experience as a PublicPeople contributor, Tricia...
Learn more
Share
https://www.publicpeople.org/who-is-andrew-johnson.htm
Copy this link
PublicPeople, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.

PublicPeople, in your inbox

Our latest articles, guides, and more, delivered daily.