Andrew johnson biography videos
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After the Civil War, his lenient policies towards the reintegration of southern states and his resistance to civil rights for freed slaves sparked intense conflicts with Congress. But following the incredible president and man that Lincoln was, and his consummate political skill, we have Johnson, who was an arrogant, amateur blowhard by comparison.
Johnson makes for a difficult subject, and the list of his biographies, none of which really met my criteria, shows that his entire life and reputation comes down to that brief period after Lincoln’s assassination until he had essentially burned all goodwill in Congress, ending up the first president to be impeached.
Instead, he rose from a Taylor’s apprentice to a politician driven by a dedication to unionist principles and advocacy for the poor white farmers of the South. This video quickly covers his background, rise to the presidency, and little-discussed facts about the Commander in Chief.
Transcription:
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, and raised in poverty.
He died at age 66 on July 31, 1875, after suffering a stroke while visiting family in Carter County, Tennessee.
Johnson was buried in Greeneville with the American flag and a copy of the Constitution.
Josh Reviews: Andrew Johnson: A Biography by Hans L. Trefousse
Yikes.
His journey through various political roles, including Governor of Tennessee and US Senator, set the stage for his presidency.
Johnson’s time in the White House was marked by severe trials during the reconstruction era. The tour proved to be a failure, and the Republicans won majorities in both houses of Congress and set about enacting their own Reconstruction measures.
Hostilities between the president and Congress continued to mount, and in February 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach Johnson.
Among the 11 charges, he was accused of violating the Tenure of Office Act by suspending Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (1814-1869), who opposed Johnson’s Reconstruction policies. Seventeenth in my reading of the US Presidents, the 17th US President is a doozy, and not in the good way. He had hoped the Democrats would choose him as their presidential nominee, but they opted instead for Horatio Seymour (1810-1886), a former governor of New York.
Seward was attacked but survived, while Johnson’s assigned assailant, George Azterodt (1835-1865), lost his nerve at the last minute and did not go after Johnson.
Andrew Johnson’s Challenging Presidency
Once in office, Johnson focused on quickly restoring the Southern states to the Union. I don’t think Lincoln or the Union party really considered the issue of Johnson ascending to the presidency.
His background as a tailor and his self-educated. Andrew Johnson never had formal schooling. That same year, he ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate, and in 1872, lost his bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. These governments, which often included ex-Confederate officials, soon enacted black codes, measures designed to control and repress the recently freed slave population.
When the U.S.
Congress convened in December 1865, it refused to seat the newly elected Southern members, and Johnson found himself at odds with the legislature, particularly the Radical Republicans, who viewed the president’s approach to Reconstruction as too lenient.
In 1866, Johnson vetoed the Freedmen’s Bureau bill and the Civil Rights bill, legislation aimed at protecting blacks.
Civil War hero Ulysses Grant, the Republican candidate, won the election and became the 18th U.S. president.
Johnson’s Later Years
Johnson’s interest in politics and public office did not end once he left the White House in March 1869 and returned home to Tennessee. Instead Johnson is the most important figure in what built the “Lost Cause” garbage.
Hans Trefousse
Andrew Johnson
17th President – Term: 1865-1869
[VIDEO] Andrew Johnson – 17th President of the United States of America
Learn more about the 17th President of the United States, Andrew Johnson.
By the next morning, Lincoln was dead at age 56. He granted amnesty to most former Confederates and allowed the rebel states to elect new governments.
Andrew Johnson
In November 1860, Abraham Lincoln, a former U.S. congressman from Illinois and member of the anti-slavery Republican Party, was elected America’s 16th president.
That same day, Johnson was sworn in as president at his Washington hotel by the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Salmon Chase (1808-1873).
As it happened, Johnson himself escaped death, because the assassin Booth’s original plot had also targeted the vice president and U.S. Secretary of State William Seward (1801-1872).