Andrew Johnson, the 17th US President, was an unusual figure due to his background and lack of education. He was criticized for not doing enough to advocate for African American equality after the Civil War. Johnson’s personal choices reflected the views of many who opposed slavery but were not ready to see African Americans as equals. He served as Vice President to Abraham Lincoln and became President after his death. Johnson’s approach to Rebuilding the South differed from the Republican Party’s, leading to his impeachment in 1868. Despite this, he made a brilliant decision to purchase Alaska from Russia and declared amnesty for Confederate Army members. Johnson died less than a year after his re-election to the US Senate in 1874.
Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the 17th president of the United States, assuming office in 1865 after the death of Abraham Lincoln. He was an unusual president in many ways, due to his background, lack of education, and also his position as a pro-Union southern senator. Yet he has been criticized for not going far enough to advocate for African American equality after the end of the Civil War. His personal choices as an elected official are symbolic of the many people of the time who opposed slavery but were not yet ready to see African Americans as citizens or equals.
Like Lincoln, Andrew Johnson was no stranger to poverty. He was a tailor’s apprentice in Tennessee as a boy before considering a career in politics. He soon discovered that he had a talent for debating and public speaking, and his wife, Eliza McCardle, whom he married in 1827, taught Johnson to read and write. She promoted Johnson’s political ambitions, but as the First Lady was too ill to effectively serve her position.
Before becoming president, Andrew Johnson was clearly a man of the people, i.e. poor whites, and generally not the slave population. He had some anti-slavery leanings, but never held a consistent opinion on the value of African Americans. In politics before his service in the vice presidency, his views were popular. He served as mayor of Greenville, in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and then as governor. In 1857 he was elected United States Senator and remained the only Southern Senator to retain his position when the Southern states seceded.
His support for the Union, his pro-war stance, and his willingness to free his slaves made Andrew Johnson a fascinating character for Abraham Lincoln, a staunch Republican. He compensated Lincoln due to his background and was named Lincoln’s vice president, probably with the hope that his diverse political influences would appeal to some Southerners.
As vice president, Andrew Johnson served just one month before Lincoln’s death. For the Republican Party, his Democratic position, though he was an independent at that point, was seen as a liability. His decision about the best approach to Rebuilding the South put him at sharp odds with the Republican Party, as did his veto of a Republican civil rights bill. They finally voted in the House of Representatives to impeach him in 1868, making Johnson the first president to be impeached. The Senate saved it with a single vote cast by Senator Edmund G. Ross.
One major difference between Johnson’s approach to Rebuilding the South and the Republican approach was that Johnson wanted a speedy reunion and peace to be established. Unfortunately, the Republicans were more interested in suppressing the South and were not as lenient, especially with former landowners. The second goad at the Republicans was Johnson’s veto of several civil rights bills intended to protect freed slaves. Though he sometimes claimed that slaves could be men of honor, he had no intention of granting them equality with whites.
Although his presidency was marked by his involvement in Reconstruction, Andrew Johnson made a decision that is still hailed as brilliant today. He bought Alaska from Russia, thus supplying the United States first with gold and then with oil. He also brought some of his determination to see better times for Southern citizens by declaring amnesty, without an oath to the Union, for all who served in the Confederate Army in 1868. It was one of his last acts as president, but it proved useful in the smoother restoration of the southern states.
Following his presidency, Andrew Johnson ran for both the US House and Senate. These early campaigns were unsuccessful. He met with greater success with a third campaign for a seat in the United States Senate and was re-elected Senator for Tennessee in 1874. His service was short-lived and he died less than a year later of a stroke.
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