Origins
Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina, into circumstances of profound poverty. His father, Jacob Johnson, died when Andrew was three years old, leaving the family destitute. Johnson received no formal education and was apprenticed to a tailor at age ten. He taught himself to read and later had his wife, Eliza McCardle, whom he married in 1827, help him improve his writing and arithmetic. This self-made background profoundly shaped Johnson’s political identity, as he frequently invoked his humble origins and championed himself as a defender of common white laborers against both wealthy planters and, as he saw it, federal overreach.
Johnson’s political career began in Greeneville, Tennessee, where he established a successful tailoring business before entering local politics. He served as alderman and mayor before winning election to the Tennessee legislature in 1835. He subsequently served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843-1853), followed by two terms as Governor of Tennessee (1853-1857), and then as U.S. Senator (1857-1862). A Democrat who supported slavery but opposed secession, Johnson was the only senator from a seceding state to retain his seat when the Civil War began. This conspicuous Unionism led Abraham Lincoln to select him as his running mate on the National Union ticket in 1864, a strategic choice designed to appeal to War Democrats and border state voters. Johnson assumed the presidency on April 15, 1865, following Lincoln’s assassination.
Presidency
Johnson’s domestic policy centered on Reconstruction, and his approach placed him in direct conflict with the Republican-controlled Congress. He pursued a lenient restoration policy toward the former Confederate states, granting widespread pardons to former rebels, permitting Southern states to establish “Black Codes” that severely restricted the freedoms of formerly enslaved people, and vetoing the Freedman’s Bureau Bill and the Civil Rights Act of 1866. Congress overrode his vetoes and passed the Fourteenth Amendment over his objections. The escalating conflict culminated in Johnson’s impeachment by the House of Representatives in February 1868, primarily for violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. The Senate acquitted him by a single vote in May 1868, allowing him to complete his term.
Foreign affairs during Johnson’s presidency included notable achievements, largely attributed to Secretary of State William Seward. The administration successfully pressured France to withdraw support from Emperor Maximilian in Mexico, upholding the Monroe Doctrine. Most significantly, Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, a transaction critics initially derided as “Seward’s Folly” but which proved strategically and economically valuable. The administration also navigated tensions with Great Britain regarding the Alabama Claims, though final resolution awaited subsequent administrations.
Historical Significance
Johnson left office in March 1869 with the nation deeply divided over Reconstruction policy. His resistance to meaningful protection for freedpeople emboldened Southern resistance and delayed the full implementation of civil rights guarantees. His successor, Ulysses S. Grant, inherited an unstable political environment in the South and ongoing constitutional tensions over federal authority. Johnson’s combative approach toward Congress established patterns of executive-legislative conflict that persisted throughout the Reconstruction era.
Historical assessments of Johnson have shifted considerably over time. Early twentieth-century historians, influenced by the Dunning School, portrayed him sympathetically as a defender of constitutional principles against radical excess. This interpretation has been thoroughly revised. Contemporary scholars generally view Johnson as a significant obstacle to racial justice whose policies enabled the restoration of white supremacy in the South. His impeachment, once seen as purely partisan, is now understood within the context of fundamental disagreements over citizenship, federal power, and the meaning of Union victory. Johnson remains among the most negatively evaluated presidents in scholarly rankings.
Key Developments
- December 29, 1808: Born in Raleigh, North Carolina
- May 17, 1827: Married Eliza McCardle in Greeneville, Tennessee
- 1843: Elected to U.S. House of Representatives, beginning five consecutive terms
- 1857: Elected to U.S. Senate from Tennessee
- March 4, 1862: Appointed Military Governor of Tennessee by President Lincoln
- November 8, 1864: Elected Vice President on National Union ticket
- April 15, 1865: Assumed presidency following Lincoln’s assassination
- April 9, 1866: Civil Rights Act passed over Johnson’s veto
- March 30, 1867: Alaska Purchase Treaty signed
- February 24, 1868: Impeached by House of Representatives
- May 26, 1868: Acquitted by Senate, remaining in office
- March 4, 1869: Left office; succeeded by Ulysses S. Grant
- July 31, 1875: Died in Carter County, Tennessee