Megan+D.+-+AJohnson+-+FA09



Andrew Johnson Born - December 29, 1808 Died - July 31, 1875 Political Party - Democrat, Unionist Term – 17th President, 1 term 1865-1869 Vice President- None

In March of 1865, Andrew Jackson, took an oath of office for the Vice Presidency of the United States. Six weeks later, after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he became the President. Unfortunately, he is known as being one of the worst presidents in our history. His policies meant to win over the south, his hurry to reconcile the Confederate states and his vetoes of civil rights bills didn’t sit well with Republicans. The fact that he was one of only two presidents to be impeached earns President Johnson an F.

The reconstruction of the South was a major priority of Johnson. The president attempted to repair the damage done by the Civil War, the attempted secession of the south from the union, while Congress was on break for eight months. Policies, based on his interpretation of Lincoln’s program of reconstruction, were put into place during the summer of 1865. Johnson called for southern states to write new state constitutions that abolished slavery and renounced secession. Ratification of the constitution would earn the states the right to send representatives to Congress when they were to reconvene in December of 1865 and states would then be restored to the Union. Of course, because of the hurried manner set forth by the president, gray areas in the requirements to the states created problems. Abolishing slavery did not end issues for black Americans. Most southern states issued laws that limited freedoms for the former slaves. These laws, known as ‘Black Codes’ limited freedom and rights that kept blacks from becoming equals to the whites. Now, keep in mind, Congress was unaware of the President’s actions, as they were not in session. In December of 1865, when Congress reconvened, they did not recognize the reorganized state governments or the state representatives. In fact, Congress, which was a republic majority, set up a Joint Committee of Reconstruction to review Johnson’s policies.

Obviously, Congress and the President were not seeing eye to eye on ideas or policies. Bipartisan politics played a role in the troubles between the branches, but troubles within his own administration kept him from establishing policies or even vetoing bills. On several occasions Congress overturned a Presidential veto; the extension of the Freeman Bureau, a refugee program for displaced slaves and the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which gave equal rights to all citizens. Congress also put into place its own reconstruction plan, which included the fourteenth amendment. At this point, Congress was trying to limit the President’s power. They limited his power over the army, without Senate approval and passed the Tenure of Office Act, which prohibited the President from removing certain federal official from office. This was the ground work for the forth coming impeachment. Johnson, with his hands tied by Congress, decided to risk impeachment by dismissing his Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, who was a major critic of Johnson. Senate disagreed with Stanton dismissal and the house (Republican controlled) voted to impeach him for violating the Tenure of Office Act as well as ten other charges. The Senate, short one vote, failed to convict him of any charges.

The impeachment of the President is certainly a prominent negative, but his blatant racism is more offensive then the charges imposed by the House of Representatives. But there were positive during his tenure. Johnson’s administration is credited for the adding of the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution. During his presidency, Nebraska was added to the United States and the Alaska territory was purchased from Russia. Alaska, at the time was not a popular decision, but for the ridiculously low price of 7.2 million, the United States increased its territory by almost 500,000 square miles. At the time, it was not known that Alaska’s natural resources would become a major value to this country. Though it was thought by the Senate, as a stepping stone towards the possession of Canada.

Unfortunately, Johnson himself left no legacy for other presidents to follow. His reconstruction policies failed, his treatment of freed blacks considered racist and power struggles with Congress left him with no chance of re-election. His administration did, however, pass the Constitutional amendments that helped shape the future of our country.

The country was certainly a better place at the end of his term, but almost totally by the actions of Congress. This country needed a leader after the assignation of Abraham Lincoln and the bloody Civil War, it was position very few individuals could conquer. Maybe at a different time in history, Andrew Johnson would have left a better mark. Johnson did go on to be elected to the Senate in 1875, but died shortly after.

Works Cited: "American President: Andrew Johnson." //Miller Center of Public Affairs //. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. < [] > “Andrew Johnson.” __ State Library of North Carolina __. 2009 edu. "Andrew Johnson." //The White House //. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. < [] >. "Andrew Johnson." //Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia //. Web. 03 Nov. 2009. []. Degregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of U.S Presidents //. XII ed. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.