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 * Andrew Johnson **



// "I feel incompetant to perfrom duties... which have been so unexpectedly thrown upon me" - Andrew Johnson //


 * Full name:** Andrew Johnson
 * Birth-Death Date:** December 29, 1808 - July 31,1875
 * Political Party:** Democratic as well as an Unionist
 * Date/Number of Terms:** 1 term (1865-1869)
 * Vice President:** He did not have one

Andrew Johnson deserves the grade of a D for his presidency. He was already at a disadvantage by having to suceed and live up to one of the greatest american presidents, but along with that he had no support in his administration, he had to accomplish the difficult task of dealing with the aftermath of war, disregarded the morlals of the majority public for his own, and was basicaly doomed from the start. He did not do anything dreadfully terrible, but as a job as as a President he had failed miserably.
 * Rating of President:**

Johnson had wanted to complete Lincoln's unfinished work of dealing with South and uniting the nation. He also wanted to limit the rights of the newly freed slaves. Johnson had failed at supporting Lincoln's Reconstruction 10% plan. Congress saw to it to abolish the plan, and replace it with their own. Congress enforced military posts and restricted Confederate generals to take office. However, Johnson had not completely failed at reuniting the nation. His presidency had led to the country's slow rehabilization of becoming united again. It may have been a sloppy job and not his laws/ideas had been enforced, but he had still had enforced his goal. Johnson had also failed in limiting the free slaves rights. He had also restricted the rights of the blacks with pardoning the southern states to pass the Black Codes, but under his presidency both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments were passed. These guarunteed freedom and citizenship to the blacks.

Andrew Johnson's relationship with Congress was a complete trainwreck. The majority was inhabitated by Radical Republicans since the South was going through Reconstruction and did not have representation in the legislature. The Radical Republicans opposed President Johnson, especially his Reconstruction plan. They attempted to change his program to support their ideals and protect their power when the South was unified with the North again. However, Johnson had vetoed the bill restricting black rights. The Reupublicans responded by overiding the veto and passing the Civil War Acts of 1866, which was the first in history a presidential veto had been denied. Eventually the Republicans instituted their own Reconstruction plan, which involved military reinforcements. Furthermore, they had placed laws restricting his presidential powers such as Tenure of Office, which he was convicted of and impeached for. Andrew Johnson had vetoed 29 bills, and was overided 15 times. Congress obviously had no respect for him, and was in no way going to give him a chance to run the country. Johnson had barely avoided being removed by office by one vote in the Senate. These are the many examples how the Radical Republicans controlled the government and how powerless Andrew Johnson was against them.

Johnson's more positive action was most definantly reinforcing Abraham Lincoln's 10% plan. This plan led to the faster and hassle free way to band the North and South again. The country depserately needed to be pieced back together, while keeping terms with the south and this was the best plan for the nation. The South were already in bad spirits and did not need to be probed any more to cause more difficulties. Even with the plan, he can not be credited completely because he had not came up with the orginial idea nor had he been able to enforce it.

Andrew Johnson's most negative action would be pardoning the Black Codes in the South. Johnson in nature was a racist, and did not support the rights of the free slaves. Every man is entitled to their opinion, yes; but his job was to be the president. As the president, he was to make decisions in the country's best interests and represent the people. Since the Civil War was won by the North, it was clear the majority of the nation wanted to support the free slaves. Even if the Radical Republicans had bullied and opposed him, Johnson alone controlled his motives and interests for the nation. The one power he had, he couldn't even complete. Instead of respecting the country, he had ran around signing pardons to restrict the free slaves rights. He had a responsibility to complete, but Johnson had utterly failed to complete his job description.

If Andrew Johnson would have any influential actions, it would be to what not to do as president.

Andrew Johnson was simply a victim against the Radical Republicans in his term as president and a victim of being placed in an uncomfortable position at a difficult time. Under these pressures, Johnson had reacted terribly. On positive notes, Andrew Johnson had purchased Alaska from Russia and admitted Nebraska into the country which were successful gains. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth amendments were both passed under his term. The country was not in it's best shape, but it was certainly on its way to becoming reunited. Unfortunantly, one can only assume how much better and quicker the country would have been unified under Lincoln's presidency. Johnson had done nothing terribly wrong, but his luck was against him. He did not get much done, and was unsuccessful in leading the country. Johnson was a racist, and he did not complete his actions for the country's morals but to support his own. The only factor that sympathsies with Johnson is that he was bullied by the opposing party and was dealing with an unfortunate position. In the end he simply failed to uphold his responsibilities as president, which supports his evaluation of a D.

"American President: Andrew Johnson." //Miller Center of Public Affairs//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. [].
 * Bibliography:**

"Andrew Johnson |." //The White House//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. .

"Andrew Johnson." //State Library of North Carolina//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. .

"Andrew Johnson." //The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. . Degregorio, William A. //The Complete Book of US Preisdents//. XII ed. Fort Lee, NJ: Barricade Books, 2009. Print.

"President Andrew Johnson." //American History and World History at Historycentral.com the largest and most complete history site on the web//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. .

"President Andrew Johnson." //The Civil War//. Web. 02 Nov. 2009. .