🎩Andrew Johnson

17th President · 1865–1869 · National Union

Andrew Johnson became president when Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, just as the Civil War ended. A Tennessee Democrat who had remained loyal to the Union, he fought bitterly with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction and was impeached by the House in 1868. He survived conviction in the Senate by one vote — the closest impeachment outcome in American history.

From Tailor to President

Born into poverty, Johnson never attended school. He taught himself to read as a tailor's apprentice. He rose through Tennessee politics — alderman, state legislator, congressman, governor, U.S. senator. When Tennessee seceded in 1861, Johnson was the only Southern senator to remain in the U.S. Senate, a dramatic gesture that made him Lincoln's obvious Vice Presidential choice in 1864.

Reconstruction Fight

Johnson's Reconstruction policy was lenient toward the former Confederacy — far more so than Radical Republicans wanted. He allowed Southern states to rapidly readmit themselves, vetoed civil rights legislation, and blocked efforts to protect freed slaves. Congress overrode most of his vetoes, passed the 14th Amendment over his objections, and in 1867 took Reconstruction out of his hands with the Reconstruction Acts.

Impeachment

In February 1868, Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton in violation of the recently passed Tenure of Office Act (a law of dubious constitutionality). The House impeached him three days later on 11 articles. The Senate trial lasted three months. On the key vote, 35 senators voted to convict and 19 to acquit — one vote short of the two-thirds required. Johnson remained in office but was politically crippled.

Alaska and After

The one lasting achievement of Johnson's presidency was Secretary of State William Seward's 1867 purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million — a deal initially mocked as "Seward's Folly." Johnson did not seek the 1868 Democratic nomination but made an unprecedented comeback in 1875, winning election to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee. He died four months after taking his seat.

A. Johnson Trivia

• He is the only president elected to the Senate after leaving the White House.
• Johnson's wife Eliza taught him writing and math after their marriage.
• He is consistently ranked among the worst U.S. presidents in historical surveys.
• He was impeached by the House but never resigned and never removed from office.

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