which he took as unconditional backing for a quick reinstatement of the South. He received some support from the white South. He underestimated the determination of the Northerners to ensure that the war had not been fought for nothing. The war was fought over taxes, remember. Abraham Lincoln declared war on the South. He said, you either pay taxes or I will invade you. The South said, we'll pay you for all the property that you have here, all the bases and everything else, but leave us alone. We have formed a government under freedom. He wouldn't allow that. He wanted the tax money. The South had to acknowledge its defeat and that slavery had ended. And a lot of the African-Americans were to be improved, but the voting rights were less important. Only a handful of northern states, mostly in New England, gave the African-American men the right to vote on the same basis as whites. Not very many in the north gave them the right to vote. another number of the southern states passed black codes binding African-American laborers to farms on an annual contract that they could not quit. And this is what was going on anyway. Andrew Johnson was under contract, but there was only one year contract. Andrew Johnson was under an 11-year contract from the age of 10 to 21. The African-Americans had a position above slavery because they were free. They could be bound to the land for one year at a time. The Republicans did not want this to happen because they feared that the Democrats would gain power and they wouldn't have control over the South. So they wouldn't allow it. So they began their carpet-bagging problems. where the banks took over the plantations and the farms and the railroads. And then, of course, you know, that the railroads were given free reign. They gave them so many acres on both sides of the railroads that they began to build free of charge. And if it was somebody else's land, so too bad. That's what happened to Jesse James. You have to realize also the Democratic, or the District of Columbia blacks were not allowed to vote. Those in the nation's capital were not allowed to vote. There was an Illinois Senator, Lyman Trumbull. He was one of the leaders of the moderate Republicans and chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He wanted to reach an understanding with the President. He ushered in a bill to the Congress, the Freedmen's Bureau, beyond its schedule to abolition in 1867, and the Civil Rights Bill to grant citizenship to freedmen. Trumbull met several times with Johnson and was convinced that the President would sign the measures. Johnson rarely contradicted Visitor, often fooling those that were with him that he was thinking that he was in accord with them. The President opposed bills as infringements on state sovereignty. Trumbull's bills were unpopular with the white Southerners, whom Johnson hoped to include in his new party. Johnson vetoed the Freedmen's Bill, February 8, 1866, in delight of the white Southerners and puzzled anger of the Republican legislators. Then he was considered the veto master. He was considered the tyrant. Johnson believed that the radicals would now be isolated and defeated and that the moderate republic would form behind him and he did not understand that the moderates also wanted to see African Americans defeat treated fairly. What are you going to do with these people that have been freed? The new state didn't want black slave labor, or even conscripted labor, to compete with free white labor. On Washington's birthday, Johnson gave an impromptu speech to supporters who had marched to the White House and called for an address in honor of the first president. In his honor, hour-long speech, he instead referred to himself over 200 times. More damagingly, he also spoke of men still opposed to the Union to whom he could not extend the hand of friendship that he gave to the South. Johnson named Pennsylvania Congressman Thaddeus Stevens, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner, and abolitionist Wendell Phillips, and accused them of plotting his assassination, and Republicans viewed the address as a declaration of war while one Democrat, Alley, estimated Johnson's speech cost the party 200,000 votes in the 1866 congressional midterm elections. He just named his enemies publicly. You know, an honest Republican or an honest Democrat wouldn't do that. But this man was. He was strongly urged by Moderates to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and Johnson broke decisive with both of them vetoing it March the 27th. In his veto message he objected to the measure because it conferred citizenship on the freedmen at a time when 11 out of 36 states were unrepresented in Congress and that it discriminated in favor of African Americans against whites. Within three weeks, Congress had overwritten his veto. The veto, often seen as a mistake of Johnson's presidency, convinced moderates there was no hope of working with him. They decided to impeach the president. And he was a lot less aggressive than Abraham Lincoln was, but he was from the wrong party. The party running Washington, D.C. was the Republican Party. and as it would become more and more radical all the time. Congress also proposed the 14th Amendment to the states written by Turnbull and others and it was set for the ratification of the state legislatures and process in which the president plays no part, though Johnson opposed it. The amendment was designed to put key provisions in the Civil Rights Act into the Constitution, but also went even further than that. The amendment extended citizenship to every person born in the United States except American Indians. Whoa! Except American Indians which owned the continent. Wow! Did anybody catch that? Slavery wasn't over yet, was it? Slavery wasn't over in the North with the great big masterful machines, the industries of the North. Penalized states that did not give the vote to freedmen and most importantly created new federal civil rights that it could be protected by federal courts. It also guaranteed that the federal debt would be paid in forbade payment of Confederate war debts. It disqualified many former Confederates from office, although this disability could be removed by Congress, not the President. Both houses passed the Freedmen Bureau Act a second time, and again, the President vetoed it, again. His veto was overridden. By the summer of 1866, when Congress finally adjourned, Johnson's method of restoring states to the Union by executive fiat without safeguards for the freedmen was in deep trouble. His home in the state of Tennessee ratified the 14th Amendment despite the President's opposition. Congress immediately publicated that his own state had ratified the 14th Amendment and gone against her favorite son. The political war gained momentum between the Radical Republicans and Johnson and the Northern and Southern allies of the Democratic Party. He called a convention of the National Union Party. Johnson intended to use the discarded name to unite his supporters and gain election to a full term in 1868. The battleground was the election of 1866. Southern states were not allowed to vote. Johnson campaigned rigorously, undertaking public speaking to her known as a swing around circle. His speeches include Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Columbus proved politically disastrous for him because he had too many enemies. Washington, D.C. was led by the radical Republicans now because almost all the Republicans have become radical Republicans. As he spoke, He would engage in arguments with hecklers. He could not control Reconstruction. Johnson blamed that the Democrats were only giving a lukewarm support to the National Union movement. The 14th Amendment had been ratified by none of the southern reporter states except Tennessee, and had been rejected in Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland. You have to remember that some of these states are not in the South, never were. As the amendment required the ratification three-quarters of the states to become part of the Constitution. He believed that the deadlock would be broken in his favor leading to his election in 1868. He vetoed it. He vetoed that, including the District of Columbia voting bill. Congress admitted Nebraska to the Union over veto. The Republicans gained two senators and a state that promptly ratified the amendment. Johnson, fetal of a bill for statehood for a crawler out of territory, was sustained. Enough senators agreed that a district with a population of 30,000 was not yet worthy of statehood that day. Congressman Stevens. introduce a legislature to dissolve the southern state governments and reconstitute them with five military districts. This would last over 100 years of hard feelings. They should have listened to Johnson. They should have. The military district would be under martial law. The Saints would begin again by holding constitutional conventions where African Americans could vote for or become delegates. Former Confederates could not. African Americans could become delegates. Former Confederates could not. Congress added in the bill that the restoration of the Union will only follow if it states the ratification of the 14th Amendment and completion of the process adding to the Constitution Johnson and the Southerners attempted to a compromise whereby the South would agree to modify a version of the Amendment without the disqualification of former Confederates and limited black suffrage. The Republic insisted that the full language of the Amendment and that the deal fell through, although Johnson could not have pocket vetoed the first Reconstruction Act, it was presented to him less than ten days before the end of the 39th Congress. He chose to veto it directly, March 2, 1867. Congress overruled him the same day. The Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act over the President's veto. the spring round circle that he planned to fire cabinet secretaries who did not agree with him, as Lincoln did. This bill required the Senate approval for the firing of cabinet members during the tenure of the President, who appointed them, and one month afterwards was immediately controversial, with some Senators doubting that it was a constitutional amendment. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton was an able and hardworking man but difficult to deal with. Johnson admired him but was exasperated with him as the War Secretary. In combination with the General of the Army, Grant, worked to undermine the President's Southern policy from within its own administration. Johnson had many times considered firing Stanton but respected him for his wartime service. Stanton refused to resign, despite their public disagreements. They considered this ground for Johnson's impeachment. They began to examine the President's bank accounts, summon members of the cabinet to testify. When a federal court released former Confederate President Davis on bail on May 13, he had been captured shortly after the war. The committee investigated whether the President had impeded the prosecution. had learned that Johnson was eager to have Davis tried, a bipartisan majority of the committee voted down the impeachment charges. The committee adjourned on June 3rd. Later in June, Johnson and Stanton battled over the question of whether the military officers placed on command of the South could override civil authorities. The President had Attorney General Henry Stanby issue an opinion backing his position that they could not. Johnson sought to pin down Stanton either as for or thus endorsing Johnson's position or against showing himself to be opposed to his president. And the rest of the cabinet evaded the point in meetings and written communications. Congress convened in July and it passed a reconstruction act against Johnson's position. Waited for his veto, overrode it, and in addition to clarifying the powers of the generals, the legislation also deprived the President of control over the Army in the South with Congress in recess until November. Johnson decided to fire Stanton and relieve one of the military commanders, General Philip Sheridan. who had dismissed the Governor of Tennessee and installed a replacement with little popular support. Johnson was initially deterred by a strong objection from Grant, but on August 5th the President demanded Stanton's resignation. And the Secretary refused to quit. Congress was out of session. Johnson then suspended him pending the next meeting of Congress as permitted under the tenure of office. Grant agreed. to serve as temporary replacement while continued to lead the Army. Grant, under protest, followed Johnson's order transferring Sheridan and another of the District Commanders, Daniel Siekels, who had angered Johnson by firmly following the Congress' plan. The President also issued a proclamation pardoning most of the Confederates exempting those who held office under the Confederacy or who had served as federal office before the war but had breached their oaths. The Republicans became very angry when he was going to pardon them. Remember now, the Republican Party had become the radical Republican Party. The Democrats took control of the Ohio General Assembly, allowing them to defeat, for re-election, one of Johnson's strongest opponents, Senator Benjamin Wade. Voters in Ohio and Connecticut and Minnesota turned down propositions to grant African Americans the right to vote. They didn't want these newcomers in their area voting. Congress kept trying to impeach Johnson. Johnson notified Congress of Stanton's suspension and Grant's interim appointment. On January 1868, the Senate disapproved of his actions and reinstated Stanton, contending that the President had violated the Tenure of Offices Act. Grant stepped aside under Johnson's objection. Johnson had dismissed Stanton and appointed Lorenzo Thomas to replace him. Stanton refused to leave his office. January 24, 1868, the House impeached the President for intentionally violating the Tenure of Office Act by a vote of 128 to 47. The House subsequently adopted 11 articles of impeachment, for the most part alleging that he had violated the Tenure of Office Act and had questioned the legitimacy of Congress. March the 5th, 1868, the impeachment trial began in the Senate and lasted for almost three months. Thaddeus Stevens, you know, was a real radical Republican. They acted as managers for the House of Prosecutors, William M. Everts Benjamin R. Curtis and former Attorney General Stanbury were Johnson's counsel. Chief Justice Chase served as presiding judge. Basically, in the long run, by I believe one vote, Andrew Johnson was not impeached. Johnson was confident of the result in advance of the verdict in the days leading up to the ballot. Newspapers reported that Stevens and his radicals had given up. On March 16th, the Senate voted on the 11th article of impeachment accusing Johnson of firing Stanton in violation of the Tenure of Office Act once the Senate had overruled his suspension. 35 senators voted guilty and 19 not guilty, thus falling short. of a single vote of the two-thirds majority required to end the conviction. Seven Republicans, Senators Grimes, Ross, Turnbill, William Pitt, Fessenden, Joseph S. Fowler, John B. Henderson, and Peter G. VanWinkle voted to acquit the President. with Stephen's bitterly disappointment at the result. Grant was nominated for president. During his office, Johnson gained Alaska. He helped to build public schools. He helped to protect the working man and the common man. He established the Homestead Act, which gave common man the opportunity to gain property, 160 acres, plus the wife, 160 acres. Johnson signed the Southern Homestead Act into law, believing that the legislation would assist poor wives. 28,000 land claims were successfully padded in. Fraud was rampant under Republican... What? Fraud was rampant under Republican administration. Oh. But big business. Much of the best land was reserved for railroads. reserved for grants to big business. In June 1868, Johnson signed an eight-hour law passed by Congress that established an eight-hour workday for laborers. Thinking about the common man, an eight-hour workday and mechanics employed by the federal Johnson said the shortest number of hours consistent with the interest of all parties, the employer and the employees, was the best interest of all. Johnson was immediately disappointed because the wages were cut by 20%. He tried to pardon the criminal proceedings against Confederates not already indicted, meaning that only Davis and a few others still might face trial. All the time that Johnson was in office, the conflict with the now Radical Republicans, was a war. Grant became president in his place. He regretted Grant's victory in part because of his former enemy, Stanton. Johnson urged in his farewell address that all would be well. He celebrated his 60th birthday in late December with a party for several hundred children. He always reached out to the children and the poor. He did not include the President-elect Grant. He opened the house to the children. On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a final amnesty, this one covering everyone, including Davis. He also issued his final months in office pardons for crimes, including the one for Dr. Samuel Mudd. Remember when he treated the man that killed Lincoln? He didn't know who he was. And he went to prison. But it's Johnson that pardoned Mudd. Your name is Mudd. That was an old cliché. He had been in prison, but had been in prison at Fort Jefferson on Florida's dry Tongass. March 3, the President hosted a large public reception at the White House on his final day in office. Grant had made it known that he was unwilling to ride in the same carriage with Johnson, as was customary. Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all, despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind. He spent the morning of March 4th finishing a last-minute business and then shortly afterward noon rode from the White Isle to the home of a friend. Johnson remained for some weeks in Washington. When he returned to Greenville for the first time in eight years he was honored with a large public celebration along the way. They knew the man. especially in Tennessee where cities were hostile and during the war hung out welcome banners. He had arranged to purchase a large farm near Greenville to live on after his presidency. Some expected him to run for governor of Tennessee and for the Senate again. Johnson found Greenville boring. His private life was embittered by his son committing suicide in 1869. He launched a Senate bid soon after returning home in Tennessee, had gone Republican, but court rulings restoring the vote to some whites, to some whites. And the violence of the Ku Klux Klan kept down the African-American vote. Remember the reason for the Ku Klux Klan? is because they were, the blacks were taking advantage of and destroying the white society in the areas where they had power. Carpetbagging. I'm not saying the Ku Klux Klan is good. It was a protection system. All of this led to a Democratic victory in the legislative elections in 1869. Johnson was seen as a likely victor in the Senate election, although hated by the Radical Republicans and also by some Democrats because of his balloting or wartime activities. At one time he was within a single vote of victory in the legislature's ballot and the Republicans eventually elected Henry Cooper over Johnson, 54 to 51. In 1872 there was a special election for a large congressional seat for Tennessee. Johnson initially sought the Democratic nomination, but when he saw that it would go to former Confederate Benjamin Benjamin F. Cheatham, he decided to run as an independent. The former president was defeated, finishing third. In 1873, Johnson contracted cholera during an epidemic, but recovered. That year he lost about $73,000 when the First National Bank of Washington went under. Though he's eventually repaid much of the sum, he began looking towards the next Senate election to take place in the legislature in early 1875. Johnson began to woo the farmers of Green's Movement with his Jeffersonian leanings. That means little government. He easily gained their support and he spoke throughout the state in his final campaign And a few African Americans outside of the large towns were now able to vote as Reconstruction faded into Tennessee. The Democrats elected 92 legislators and the Republicans 8, and Johnson went to Nashville for the legislative session. When the balloting for the Senate seat began on January 20, 1875, he led by 30 votes. but did not have the required majority as three former Confederate generals, one former colonel, and a former Democratic congressman split the vote with him. Johnson's opponents tried to consider a single and agree on a single candidate, but failed. He was elected on January 26th on the 54th ballot with a margin of a single vote. Nashville erupted in rejoicing. Thank God for the vindication. Johnson's comeback gained national attention. The St. Louis Republican calling it the most magnificent personal triumph which the history of American politics can show. At his swearing-in on March 5, 1875, he was greeted with flowers and sworn in alongside Hamlin, his predecessor as Vice President, by incumbent Vice President Henry Wilson. As the Senator had voted for Johnson's ouster, many Republicans ignored Senator Johnson, though some such as Ohio's John Sherman, who had voted for conviction, shook his hand, Johnson remains the only former president to serve in the Senate. He spoke only once in a short session in March of 22, lambasting President Grant for the use of federal troops in support for Louisiana's Reconstruction government. The former president asked, how far off is military despotism? It had been all during his term. Military despotism had invaded the South. over taxes. And then, Lieberman and Lincoln had blamed it on slavery, and he became a hero. And he concluded his speech, May God bless this people and God save the Constitution. Johnson died of a stroke. They buried his body wrapped in American flag and a copy of the U.S. Constitution placed under his head in his casket, according to his wishes. The burial ground was dedicated as the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery in 1906, with his home and tailor shop in part of the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site. Johnson was demonized by many people. He had great intellectual force. He worked many times under great opposition. He would not defy or bend his will to compromise. in any way. He believed the South should be returned to the government of the United States intact. The post-war South he tried to remedy and to what we might call heal the wounds of the The radical Republicans would not. He stood for unity of the nation and not division. He tried to put the nation back in one piece. Andrew Johnson received a bad rap, a bad reputation. were believing and trying to do what was right. I give him, out of one to ten, a ten under the conditions that he was under. He tried to do what was right. The Radical Republicans wanted to punish the South. Andrew Johnson wanted to restore the South and restore the Union. The only