Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina into a poor working class family. His father died when Andrew was only three years old attempting to rescue someone from drowning. Andrew and his brother William lived with their mother Polly and worked as indentured servants to a tailor for room and board. Both Andrew and his brother ran away from Raleigh and worked in Greenville, Tennessee as tailors. It was in Tennessee that
Andrew met and married Eliza McCardle. Eliza taught Andrew to read and write.
Johnson entered politics in 1830, when at the age of twenty-two, he was elected mayor of Greenville, Tennessee. He served as mayor for three years before advancing to the Tennessee House of Representatives. In 1841, he was elected to the Tennessee State Senate, where he served until 1853. “In his message to the legislature he dwelt upon the homestead law and other measures for the benefit of the working class and earned the title of “mechanic governor”.” (Richardson) Johnson served as Governor of Tennessee from 1853-1857. Following his term as governor, he represented Tennessee in the United States Senate until 1862, when Abraham Lincoln appointed him Military Governor of Tennessee.
When Lincoln ran for reelection in 1864, he named Andrew Johnson as Vice President because he was a southerner who was also pro Union. At his swearing in for Vice President, Johnson was drunk. “The verdict was universal. Johnson’s speech, which he wanted to be the effort of his life, had been a disaster. From that day on, whenever he made a controversial statement, many assumed he had been drunk.” (Stewart) A black man was in the crowd who
Watson 3 heard Lincoln’s Innaugural Address and had this to say about And...
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...ort Biography. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911.
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Gordon-Reed, Annette. Andrew Johnson: The American Presidents. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011.
Richardson, James Daniel. A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents Volume 6, part 2. n.d.
Ross, Edmund G. History of the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives and His Trial by the Senate for High Crimes and Misdemeanors in Office. New York: Burt Franklin, 1868.
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The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass: 1844-1860. Vol. 5. New York: International Publishers, 1975.
Andrew Jackson was elected by popular vote and became the seventh president of the United States in March 4, 1829.[1] In his presidency, I have known and perceived that he has done few of great actions. But in my opinion, I would not claim that he was either a good or bad president because I learned about his attainments in life, being a president, a fighter in wars, etc.; however, I have also learned some of his unimpressive performance that led to some people who did not find it convenient.
Andrew Jackson has been described as a great hero of his time and a man who was atrocious and would destroy the Union. Andrew Jackson accomplished a great number of things during his life but some of his actions were quite questionable. Looking from the present to the past gives insight into areas where the events can be examined more objectively. However, it is vital when examining past events to keep in mind the mindsets of the past. People had a different point of view and a different perspective than the current one. This must be kept in the forward part of the mind to understand the actions of those in the past. This paper will serve as a guide into the life of Andrew Jackson, his trials and tribulations, decisions and contradictions. From the beginning of his life, he was headstrong and that would lead him straight into the history books.
Boston: G.K. Hall, 1999. Foner, Philip S. The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume II Pre-Civil War Decade. 1850 - 1860 -. NY: International Publishers Co., Inc., 1950.
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. Prestwick House, Inc., 1845. Copyright 2004 by Prestwick House. All rights reserved.
Johnson enrolled in DuSable High School and was an excelling student. Because of his achievements, Johnson was invited in 1936, to speak at a dinner held by the Urban League. Harry Pace, the President of the Supreme Liberty Life Insurance Company, was so impressed with Johnson's speech that he offered him a job and a scholarship to attend college part-time. But his interest focused primarily on the operations at the insurance firm and eventually he dropped his studies at the University of Chicago. In 1939 at the age of 21 he became the editor of Pace's in-house magazine. Collecting articles culled from national publications, Johnson realizes he had struck gold.
As President, Johnson decided to follow Lincolns plans by granting amnesty to almost all former confederates; establishing a Provisional government; and ratifying the thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. However, Johnson was not the same man as Lincoln for he was quite unpopular, especially with Congress. As the south was in a transitional period, its politics were changing as well. First, the Reconstruction Act allowed blacks to v...
In American history many acts of cruelty and or unjustified beliefs were acted upon. Some of these events were led by citizens and in some cases, such as the case of Andrew Jackson, led by presidents. Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States of America from 1829-1837.1 His presidency and policies, such as the Indian Removal Act, and his part in The Second Bank of the U.S and South Carolina’s Tariff, will be remembered for years. They consisted of such personal opinion and were so controversial few will ever forget.
Only three times in the 226 year history of the office of the President of the United States has the idea of impeachment reared its head. Only twice has a president been impeached, and only one president has been driven out of office due to possible high crimes and misdemeanors. Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton both were impeached by the House of Representatives, and faced trial in the Senate. Both presidents were acquitted of their supposed transgressions, and were allowed to remain in office. Richard Nixon, despite never experiencing impeachment, vacated his office due to increasing pressure to resign and spare the Senate from going through the process due to his obvious guilt. Nixon was actually in violation of his duties as President, but Clinton and Johnson were impeached by political rivals. Nixon’s actions were considered in such grave violation of the Constitution, that he did not keep his office, whereas Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton stayed.
“Andrew Jackson.” Presidential Administration Profiles for Students. Ed. Kelle S. Sisung and Gerda-Ann Raffaelle. Detroit: Gale Group, 2003. U.S. History in Context. Web. 7 Mar. 2014.
Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass. The Classic Slave Narratives. Ed. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. New York: New American Library, 1987. 243-331.
Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Professor David Hennessy, 1845.
Douglas, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave (The Harper Single Volume American Literature 3rd edition) 1845:p.1017-1081