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Andrew Johnson Born: December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875 Political Party: (represented Democrats and the National Union Party, as president he had no specific party) In Office: April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869 Vice President: None

Andrew Johnson inherited the presidency on April 15th, 1865 following the assassination of then-president Abraham Lincoln. With his new office he also inherited many pressing issues. His inability to handle the ordeal of reconstruction and also his terrible relationship with Congress result in Johnson being perceived as one of the worst presidents in American history. For these reasons, Johnson deserves a “C-” grade for his presidency. Johnson became president almost immediately at the end of the Civil War. The Nation was still in turmoil at the time and was split because of the southern states that seceded prior to the war. Because of the time when he became president, Johnson’s one major goal was to reconstruct the nation in a way that would satisfy the North and the South, as well as the Democrats and the Republicans. Johnson was unsuccessful for the most part on reconstructing the nation, mainly because of his bad relationship with Congress. Johnson thought the same way as Lincoln had, that the seceded states should be readmitted as quickly and efficiently as possible. Congress on the other hand, which was all northerners, was fearful of the South and wanted as much protection as they could get from the South’s power. Congress pushed for stricter readmission policies and tighter control of the South’s activity after readmission. This deep division of opinions between Johnson and Congress resulted in few compromises (only one state was readmitted under Johnson) and are the main reason why Johnson was unsuccessful in his goal of efficient readmission of seceded states. Taking the previous paragraph to mind, it is easy to tell that Johnson didn’t have a good relationship with Congress. In fact, he probably had one of the worst president-Congress relationships ever. Evidence of this terrible relationship is that Johnson vetoed 29 bills passed by Congress. This was more than all of the previous presidents, and almost more than all of them combined. Furthermore, because Congress was almost entirely republican, they were able to override more than half of Johnson’s vetoes. More prominent evidence of tension between Johnson and Congress is that he was the first president congress ever attempted to impeach. The first impeachment attempt came on November 21, 1867 when a long list of complaints were filed against Johnson. Despite the unsuccessfulness of this first attempt (the vote was 108-57 not guilty), Congress tried again to impeach Johnson in March 1868 after he violated the Tenure of Office Act by removing the Secretary of War from the Presidential Cabinet without the consent of the Senate. Johnson was found “not guilty” after three separate Senate voting secessions found him safe by only one vote each time. With all these grievances brought forth by congress against the president it is easy to see that Johnson did indeed have a very poor relationship with congress. With all this negativity surrounding Johnson’s presidency it is hard to determine any part of his presidency that actually had a positive outcome. When thinking of the word “outcome” of a presidency, one would probably think of Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation” or James’ “Monroe Doctrine”. The most positive outcome of Andrew Johnson’s presidency wasn’t like this though. It wasn’t a document or a victory in a war or the conquering of new lands, but instead it was the effort Johnson gave in order to uphold his personal principles and thee precedents set by the Constitution. Congress at the time of Johnson’s presidency was almost entirely Republican and was pushing for greater control of domestic issues, especially reconstruction. Johnson’s plan for reconstruction was vastly different than Congress’ and obvious disagreements ensued. Congress was gaining power over the president by repassing all the bills Johnson vetoed. Because of their Republican strength, Congress was able to pass bills that even limited Johnson’s power, such as the Tenure of Office Act. It seemed as if Congress was growing increasingly “un-checked” in a government based on a system of checks and balances. Johnson, by being stubborn and unwavering with his belief in the Constitution and the limiting the powers of government he was able to set a precedent that no part of government should have power over the others and that compromise was needed to ensure the forward progress of a nation. The most negative outcome of Johnson’s presidency was his sympathy towards the seceded southern states. Johnson agreed with Lincoln’s “Ten Percent Reconstruction Plan”, which said that a state could be readmitted when ten percent of its voters pledged allegiance to the Union. This plan was obviously very favorable to the South because it presented them no consequences for their actions of secession and fighting against the Union. Congress though, was largely opposed to this plan and instead pushed for stricter readmittance policies and also a way to control the states once they had been readmitted. The contrasting views of the president and Congress led to heated debate with very few compromises. At the time, America was hopelessly split and was in dire need of repair because of the recent end of the Civil War. By having opposing viewpoints with Congress on how to reconstruct the nation, Johnson plunged the nation into further turmoil by not repairing the severed Union and was only able to readmitted one state, which was Nebraska in 1867. This was a weak feat on Johnson’s part because America needed strong leadership at the time and needed the Union reformed so that it could continue to make forward progress as a nation. Failing to do this was the most glaringly obvious negative outcome of Johnson’s four years as president. The most lasting and influential outcome of Johnson’s presidency was actually an amendment to the Constitution which was passed at his disapproval. Besides reconstruction, another pressing issue at the time of Johnson’s presidency was the question of what would become of the blacks following the Civil War. Congress and most republicans were fearful that if the South was readmitted the same as before, the planter aristocrats would eventually just re-enslave the blacks. To combat this possibility, Congress presented the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which, if passed, would grant rights and citizenship to all blacks and former black slaves. President Johnson, in typical form, was opposed to the views of Congress and to the amendment and advised the South to reject it. Due though to the Republican strength in Congress and in the North the amendment was eventually passed. This amendment had a lasting impression on America because it was the beginning of racial equality in United States. It foreshadowed future amendments and rights for blacks, such as the right to vote. The principles of this amendment still show today in America, because now everyone is treated the same, despite race or ethnicity. So even though it met opposition from President Johnson and the South, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed and has had a more lasting effect on America than any other aspect of Johnson’s administration. Despite the claims that Johnson was largely an unsuccessful president, his term as president did have some positive effects on the nation. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed, which improved life for blacks in America. Johnson’s upholding of his personal beliefs maintained that government didn’t become overly powerful and corrupt. And although he was only able to readmit one state to the Union, this one readmittance was a small step in rebuilding the nation. So although Johnson did have a terrible relationship with Congress and didn’t accomplish much during his term, America was better off at the end of his presidency because it was making small steps toward positive goals such as reconstruction and racial equality throughout the United States. For these small steps influenced by Johnson toward the making of a better country, he deserves a C- grade for his presidency.

Bibliography

"Andrew Johnson | The White House." The White House. White House Gov., 21 July 2001. Web. 29 Mar. 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/andrewjohnson Bailey, Thomas, David Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant: A History of the Republic, 12th Edition. 12 ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002. Print.

Degregorio, William A.. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents, Seventh Edition (Complete Book of Us Presidents). 7 ed. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.