President Andrew Johnson: Biography, Accomplishments & Quotes
President Andrew Johnson: Biography Accomplishments & Quotes | Study.com
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States. In this lesson, find out more about Johnson's history, his remarkable rise to the vice...
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Johnson was elected alderman for his district of Greenville in 1829, and mayor of the city five years later. When Tennessee adopted a new constitution in 1831, which denied the vote to free black populations in the state, Johnson supported it, and campaigned expressing his views. This campaign made Johnson a household name in Tennessee, and in 1843 he was the first Democrat from that state to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. Johnson served five terms, but during his tenure in office he differed from his fellow Democrats by rejecting southern secession, regardless of his support for slavery.

Johnson ran for governor of Tennessee in 1853 and won on a conservative, populist platform. He found that his powers as a governor were limited, and after serving for two years, Johnson returned to national politics by winning a seat in the U.S. Senate. When Tennessee seceded from the Union following Abraham Lincoln's election of 1860, Johnson refused to accept secession, and was the only southern senator to retain his seat during the U.S. Civil War.

Lincoln chose Johnson to run as his vice president during his reelection campaign of 1864. Lincoln was concerned about his chances and hoped that a balanced ticket, one with a vice president who was both a southerner and a Democrat would help his reelection efforts. His gamble paid off. Lincoln and Johnson won a sweeping victory as the tide turned toward the Union in the course of the war.

Johnson also sought a quick reincorporation of the former confederate states on relatively lenient terms. His Proclamation of Amnesty and Pardon in May 1865 was a sweeping amnesty for most rebellious southerners. It returned to them their property, except, of course, former slaves, and asked only that they affirm their support for the Constitution. At the same time, however, Confederate political leaders, high-ranking military officers, and persons with taxable property over $20,000 had to request a personal pardon from Johnson himself. Johnson held the wealthy planter class uniquely responsible for the war.

Johnson also called for a rejection of the 14th Amendment. He felt that formally extending citizenship rights, and equal protection to freed people went too far. During the 1866 congressional elections, he went on a ''swing around the circle'' speech campaign arguing against the amendment. His arguments failed to persuade his audiences and his reputation took a hit. Republicans gained even more control over Congress as opposition to Johnson grew.

Johnson was again at odds with Congress over the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, which were designed to deal with disorder in the south. To limit the power of the president, Congress passed two laws of questionable constitutionality: The Command of the Army Act, and the Tenure of Office Act. When Johnson replaced the Secretary of War without senate approval, Congress argued that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act and drafted a resolution to impeach him. Johnson was spared removal by a vote of 35 to 19, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed to remove the president.

After his term as president was over, Johnson again won a seat in the U.S. Senate. A few months after he was elected in 1875, however, Johnson died from a stroke. He was buried, per his request, in Greenville, with his body wrapped in an American flag, and with a copy of the Constitution under his head.

Johnson is one of the more controversial figures to hold the office of the president. Thrust into the position unexpectedly, Johnson faced a nation rebuilding from a devastating war. As a politician, Johnson was a tireless defender of poor, white southerners. Notably, Johnson supported the Homestead Act, which granted adult heads of families acres of public land in the western territories for a small fee and continual residence on the land. This put Johnson at odds with other southern Democrats, who feared that poor whites and immigrants would populate the western territories, populations who would not support expanding slavery into those regions.

During the Civil War, Johnson was put in a difficult position because of his loyalty to the Union and Lincoln. Due to his decision to oppose secession, Johnson and his family faced bitter criticism at home and even threats to their safety. Johnson's loyalty, however, earned him the position of military governor for Union-occupied Tennessee in 1862. In that position, Johnson tread a fine line, trying to maintain peace with his neighbors, while controlling rebellion against Union forces in the region.

Johnson's quotes reveal his belief in limited government and his desire to be a champion for the nation's poor, white citizens.

''The goal to strive for is a poor government but a rich people.''

''Honest conviction is my courage; the Constitution is my guide.''

''There are no good laws but such as repeal other laws.''

''If the rabble were lopped off at one end and the aristocrats at the other, all would be well with the country.''

''Slavery exists. It is black in the South, and white in the North.''

''If I am shot at, I want no man to be in the way of the bullet.''

''Who, then, will govern? The answer must be, Man - for we have no angels in the shape of men, as yet, who are willing to take charge of our political affairs.''

Andrew Johnson made a name for himself first as a local politician in Tennessee, and worked his way up to the U.S. Senate, and the vice presidency. His loyalty to the Union led him to oppose southern secession. After Lincoln was assassinated, Johnson stepped in to fill the position of the president, attempting to guide the nation through the process of Reconstruction after the Civil War. Johnson supported a more lenient approach to Reconstruction for the average southerner, and opposed efforts to grant rights to former slaves. This put him at odds with Congress, who tried, and failed, to remove him from office.