Austin+A.+-+AJohn+-+SP10

Andrew Johnson December 29, 1808 – July 31, 1875 One Term: 1865–1869 No Vice President Political Party: Democrat ; Unionist (never actually was committed to a party) I believe Andrew Johnson was not the greatest President that we had in the United States but he came into an extremely tough time. He was the preceding president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. He was the exact opposite of Lincoln in views and was put in place as VP under Lincoln for votes. Johnson did not have many outstanding decisions as President. He had many bad decisions such as his twenty-nine vetoes but had an extraordinary decision in the purchasing of Alaska. With his actions in office I will give him a grade of a C-. Going into the office Andrew Johnson had a couple of goals; one main goal was reconstruction of the South. He didn’t believe that the South had actually seceded from the Union as Lincoln did. He wanted to help the Southerners get back into the Union and have as little as possible problems arising. He was willing to give the Southerners full rights if 10 percent of voters would take an oath of allegiance to the Union, which this was a plan created by Lincoln. Johnson was attempting to re-unionize the entire South. But this was not fully accomplished before he was out of the presidency. The relationship Johnson had with Congress was not a good one. He and Congress had a complete different mindset in their attempts of Reconstruction in the hurt America. If Congress attempts to impeach the President twice than I believe it is quite obvious to see that they were not in a healthy relationship. Congress failed to impeach Johnson by just one vote which left him in office and did not do anything positive for their relationship. Seward the secretary of state who was on Johnson’s side attempted to negotiate purchases of other territories and countries but failed due to the poor relationship Johnson had with Congress. But there were some positives that came out of their relationship and they were the purchases of Alaska and what they did in China. The people and Congress had called him “Sir Veto”, based on the fact that he vetoed every bill for reconstruction that was not his plan. Which all the bills placed for acceptance from the president where republican ideals and he did not want to reconstruct the Union the way Congress had wanted to considering they were primarily Republicans. Johnson did not have many positive decisions while in office compared to his negative actions. But I believe that the most positive action that had risen form Johnson’s office was the purchase of Alaska from Russia. He bought Alaska for $7.2 million. This was a good decision because this extended our land in our country and it was filled with a plethora of natural resources that we still use to this day. The main resource from Alaska was oil. At the time in our country there was a high demand for oil so we could sell the oil for a high price and make a very good profit and help our damaged country. This oil now helps us lessen our dependence on other countries for oil. This is was a good decision because we got that land for a very cheap amount of money and had produced a lot more money than what we paid for it. The purchase of Alaska from the Russians was by far the best decision Johnson had made while in office. As Johnson’s worst decision in office I would have to say that it would be the opposition to the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill and the Civil Right Act of 1886. But not just these two acts it was a combination of all the bills that he had vetoed throughout his term. These two acts were finally giving the blacks their rights and the right to be educated and were finally SUPPOSED to be treated like the whites. But with the veto this was not able to happen. But Congress had overturned the outcome of the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill by have a two-thirds vote to over ride the president’s original decision. Every decision that he made goes along with the fact that he had a horrible relationship with Congress and this is why he had such a bad relationship with Congress because he would veto every bill that they attempted to pass. Therefore, not just one decision by Johnson had caused his negative outcomes it was the entire group of vetoes that he had applied to all the bills. Johnson’s lasting impression that he left on America was definitely the purchase of Alaska in a beneficial manor. This proved to be a major steal from the Russians considering that we had found oil there, and a plethora of other natural resources. There was a massive turn around on that land by discovering oil and extending our land of our country even further. With this much needed oil we as Americans were able to fund our own transportation throughout the country and us the oil for production because basically everything that was made then could have involved oil in it to produce it. In conclusion I believe Johnson was a bad president and did not do a good job at all in his presidency. I believe though that his purchase of Alaska helps him majorly and gives off a good sense on his name. This purchase of Alaska was definitely a major payout and was a massive part in our country then and especially now. With these facts and interpretations I believe that Andrew Johnson deserves a C-.