Andrew Johnson was elected President of the United States in 1865. He ruled one term and was able to forever enter his name in history.
He was a rather controversial figure. Even now in American society there is no consensus regarding the evaluation of this person. Many of his decisions forever changed US domestic and foreign policy. And legal precedents survived Johnson for decades.
Andrew Johnson: biography
The future president was born on April 15, 1865 in North Carolina. His parents were ordinary farmers. Little Andrew worked with them to help care for the crop. After the death of elder Johnson, the provision of the family falls on the shoulders of the mother, who works as a laundress. Due to the difficult financial situation, Andrew gets a job with a tailor. As an apprentice, he also gains basic writing and reading skills. Thus, the workshop replaced his school. After coming of age, Andrew Johnson leaves his home and relocates to Grenville. There he opens his own business - a workshop. He marries the daughter of a local shoemaker.
Start a career politician
In his free time, he is constantly engaged in self-education. He studies the basic sciences. His entrepreneurial acumen and skills gained during training allow him to go up. Profit from the workshop allows Johnson to start investing. In Tennessee, he enters a local college. Becomes interested in politics. Often communicates with influential people in the state.
In the forty-third year, Andrew Johnson is elected to Congress. Being in the government, he begins to actively spread his influence. Profit from business is growing, which allows you to influence the economic processes throughout the state. Ten years later, Johnson was elected governor.
A. Lincoln personally comes to meet with the new head of state. At this time, unrest in the south of the country is already beginning. The conflict of interests threatens to develop into an armed confrontation, so the president is talking with all the influential people of the South.
The beginning of the Civil War
Andrew Johnson represented Tennessee, a slave state. The basis of its economy was the agricultural sector. The southern lands were very fertile, the climate was suitable for growing cotton, tobacco and various cereals. However, there was a serious lack of industrialization. Almost all of the country's industry was concentrated in the North. The most influential people in Tennessee were slaveholders. Lack of labor (almost all emigrants from Europe settled in the North) was compensated by slaves brought from Africa. By the sixtieth year of the nineteenth century, more than three million slaves lived in the southern United States .
The industrial North had more seats in the Senate and enacted laws that were not beneficial to slave owners. Therefore, trying to preserve the socio-economic life of their states, the South leaves the Union. This leads to the start of the Civil War. A. Lincoln immediately announces mobilization and begins the blockade. Johnson remains faithful to the president. Unlike other governors of the South, he does not support the Confederation and secession.
And while retaining his position. In April of the sixty-first, Andrew is involved in drafting a Crittenden-Johnson resolution. It states that the Union’s troops are pursuing peace goals and are waging war to preserve the state, and not to abolish slavery.
Defector or patriot?
After the outbreak of hostilities, Johnson fled to the territory controlled by the northerners. He receives from Lincoln the post of vice president. Many contemporaries believe that this appointment is associated with the populist aspirations of Lincoln. As if he believed that the appointment of such a high post southerner will reduce the wave of hatred in the rebellious states. It is noteworthy that the new vice president of the United States of America was drunk to death at his inauguration. Johnson made a "fiery" speech in which he boasted of his origin (supposedly "popular") and criticized the political system in the Russian Empire.
After the appointment, Andrew also received a military rank. However, he did not directly participate in the hostilities. On April 15, Lincoln is killed.
The killers also planned to remove Johnson, but could not get to him. As a result, the 17th president of the United States receives a post not as a result of the election, but because of the death of his predecessor.
Johnson board
As president, Johnson continued to pursue a consistent policy, the course of which he had developed while still being governor. However, immediately after taking office, he began to have problems. The Democratic Party refused its support. Moreover, he began to revise the policy regarding the defeated states. Andrew made great concessions to the secessionists. Many even began to suspect him of sympathy for the Confederation. After a quarrel with the party, Johnson began to have problems with Congress. One of his first decrees, 17 the US president vetoed a bill that established the obligations of the southern states.
Conflict with the Executive
After that, Congress voted in favor of a bill establishing the equal rights of all US citizens, regardless of race. Johnson also blocked him. The crisis intensified after a direct confrontation with the cabinet. One of the president’s most ardent opponents was Secretary of Defense Stanton. He refused to comply with many orders of the White House.
The administration was unable to find a common language on this issue with Congress, so Stanton will remove Andrew Johnson from office. The US President personally issues the relevant order. However, the Senate does not support such a decision. Almost unanimously, the minister is returned to his post. Such an open speech against the White House worsened Johnson's position.
He decides not to give up and enter into an open confrontation. Andrew appoints his protégé, General Thomas, to replace the allegedly dismissed Secretary of Defense. Such a decision excites Congress. Stanton refuses to leave his post, a unique situation arises in the country. Two branches of government issue decrees that contradict each other. In response to the actions of the president, the Senate addresses the House of Representatives. The latter initiate the impeachment procedure. However, Johnson manages to negotiate with some senators, and he remains in his post.
End of board
In the sixty-seventh year, Andrew makes a fateful deal with the Russian Empire over Alaska.
For relatively little money, the United States buys a huge territory, which in the future will cover all the costs of its acquisition. However, at that time this event went unnoticed. The President of the United States of America finally lost the confidence of the people and did not even begin to run for a new term.