The Civil War Presidents: Andrew Johnson (Part 2: Vice-Presidency to Reconstruction)
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln was running for re-election. He had a Vice-President (Hannibal Hamlin) who had been loyal and competent, but Lincoln wanted a running mate in the next election who offered some political advantage. Hamlin was from Maine, a solid Republican state. Lincoln considered several War Democrats for second spot on the ticket in 1864. In May of 1864, the President sent General Daniel Sickles to Nashville. Sickles denied he was there either to investigate or interview the military governor Andrew Johnson, but Johnson's biographer Hans L. Trefousse is convinced that Sickles's trip was advance work leading to Johnson's subsequent nomination for vice president.
Lincoln was impressed by Johnson's administration of Tennessee. Annette Gordon-Reed, who wrote a biography of Johnson for the American Presidents Series writes: "having Johnson, the southern War Democrat, on the ticket sent the right message about the folly of secession and the continuing capacity for union within the country."
In the 1864 campaign, Lincoln ran under the banner of the National Union Party, rather than the Republicans. The party held its convention in Baltimore in June. Lincoln was easily nominated on the first ballot. Johnson was nominated for vice president and on the first ballot, he led with 200 votes to 150 for Hamlin and 108 for New York war Democrat Daniel Dickinson. On the second ballot, Kentucky switched to vote for Johnson, and other states followed. On the second ballot Johnson received 491 votes to Hamlin's 17 and eight for Dickinson. The nomination was made unanimous. When he received the news, Lincoln was happy with the result. He told the press, "Andy Johnson, I think, is a good man." When word reached Nashville, Johnson gave a speech in which he said that his selection as a Southerner meant that the rebel states had not actually left the Union.
It was unusual at the time for a candidate to actively campaign, but Johnson gave a number of speeches in some of the border states and in Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. Lincoln and Johnson won the election, winning every state except New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky.
Just before Johnson left for his inauguration, the voters of Tennessee ratified a new state constitution on February 22, 1865, one which abolished slavery. One of Johnson's final acts as military governor was to certify the results.
Johnson traveled to Washington to be sworn in. On the evening of March 3, Johnson attended a party in his honor at which he drank heavily. He was hung over the following morning at the Capitol, and he asked Vice President Hamlin for some whiskey. Hamlin produced a bottle, and Johnson took two stiff drinks, stating "I need all the strength for the occasion I can have." In the Senate Chamber, Johnson delivered a rambling address as Lincoln, the Congress, and other dignitaries looked on, dumfounded. Johnson was said to be almost incoherent at times, forgetting people's names, and when he paused, Vice-President Hamlin interjected and hastily swore Johnson in as vice president. Lincoln, was then sworn in, and delivered his very eloquent Second Inaugural Address. When later asked about Johnson's spectacle, Lincoln stated, in response to criticism of Johnson's behavior, that "I have known Andy Johnson for many years; he made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard."
Johnson had a very inactive Vice-Presidency. He had planned on leaving for Tennessee to re-establish his family in Greeneville, but he remained after word came that General Ulysses S. Grant had captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. On the afternoon of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and Johnson met for the first time since the inauguration. According to Hans Trefousse, Johnson wanted to convince Lincoln "not to be too lenient with traitors". That night, Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth. The shooting of the President was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward the same night. Seward was attacked, stabbed and barely survived his wounds. Johnson escaped attack because his would-be assassin, George Atzerodt, got drunk instead of killing the Johnson.
Leonard J. Farwell, a fellow boarder at the Kirkwood House where Johnson was staying, awoke Johnson with news of Lincoln's shooting at Ford's Theater. Johnson rushed to the President's deathbed. He later said, "they shall suffer for this!" Lincoln died at 7:22 am the next morning and Johnson was sworn in sometime between 10 and 11 am by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, in the presence of most of the Cabinet. Johnson was described by the newspapers as "solemn and dignified". At noon, Johnson conducted his first Cabinet meeting in the Treasury Secretary's office, and he asked all members to remain in their positions.
On the day of the assassination, Booth came to the Kirkwood House and left one of his cards with Johnson's private secretary, William A. Browning, with an inscription, "Are you at home? Don't wish to disturb you. J. Wilkes Booth." This would cause some conspiracy theorists to speculate that Johnson was part of the conspiracy and that the botched attack on Johnson was merely a ruse.
Johnson presided over Lincoln's funeral ceremonies in Washington in a dignified manner, as Lincoln's body was sent home to Springfield, Illinois, for burial.
Shortly after Lincoln's death, General William Tecumseh Sherman reported he had reached an armistice agreement with Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston for the surrender of Confederate forces in North Carolina in exchange for the existing state government remaining in power and private property rights to be respected. This did not even acknowledge the freedom of those in slavery. This was not acceptable to Johnson or the Cabinet who sent word for Sherman to secure the surrender without making political deals. Sherman obeyed the order.
Johnson placed a $100,000 bounty on Confederate President Davis, who was then a fugitive. He also permitted the execution of Mary Surratt for her part in Lincoln's assassination. Surratt was executed with three others, including George Atzerodt, on July 7, 1865.
Upon taking office, Johnson faced the question of what to do with the Confederacy. He set two goals for Reconstruction: (1) He wanted a speedy restoration of the states, arguing that they had never truly left the Union; (2) Political power in the Southern states should pass from the planter class to the common man, (he called them his "plebians".) Johnson feared that the freedmen, many of whom were still economically bound to their former masters, might vote at their direction. Johnson also sought election in his own right in 1868, a feat no one who had succeeded a deceased president had managed to accomplish thus far in history. (No one would until Theodore Roosevelt.)
The Republican Party had broken into a number of factions. The Radical Republicans sought voting and other civil rights for African-Americans. They believed that the freedmen could be induced to vote Republican in gratitude for emancipation, and could keep the Republicans in power. They also believed that top Confederates should be punished. The Moderate Republicans sought to keep the Democrats out of power at a national level, and prevent former rebels from resuming power, but were not as enthusiastic about the idea of African-American suffrage. Northern Democrats favored the unconditional restoration of the Southern states. They did not support African-American suffrage, which might threaten Democratic control in the South.
Radical Republicans wanted Johnson to insist on rights for freedmen as a condition of restoration to the Union. But Johnson believed that the franchise was a state, not a federal matter. His Cabinet was divided on the issue. On May 29, 1865, Johnson issued two Presidential Proclamations. One recognized the Virginia government led by provisional Governor Francis Pierpont. The second provided amnesty for all ex-rebels except those holding property valued at $20,000 or more. He ordered constitutional conventions in other former rebel states.
Johnson received support from the white South, but many Northerners felt that the war had not been fought for nothing. It was important for these people that the South acknowledge its defeat, that slavery be ended, and that the lives of African-Americans be improved. Voting rights were not seen as a priority, since only a handful of Northern states (mostly in New England) gave African-American men the right to vote on the same basis as whites. A number of Southern states passed Black Codes, binding African-American laborers to farms on annual contracts they could not quit, and allowing law enforcement at whim to arrest them for vagrancy and rent out their labor. Most Southerners elected to Congress were former Confederates, with the most prominent being Georgia Senator-designate and former Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens. Congress refused to seat the Southern legislators and established a committee to recommend appropriate Reconstruction legislation. Northerners were outraged at the idea of unrepentant Confederate leaders, such as Stephens, rejoining the federal government. They saw the Black Codes placing African-Americans in the same position as slavery. Republicans also feared that restoration of the Southern states would return the Democrats to power.
As Johnson biographer David O. Stewart wrote, "the violence and poverty that oppressed the South would galvanize the opposition to Johnson".
Lincoln was impressed by Johnson's administration of Tennessee. Annette Gordon-Reed, who wrote a biography of Johnson for the American Presidents Series writes: "having Johnson, the southern War Democrat, on the ticket sent the right message about the folly of secession and the continuing capacity for union within the country."
In the 1864 campaign, Lincoln ran under the banner of the National Union Party, rather than the Republicans. The party held its convention in Baltimore in June. Lincoln was easily nominated on the first ballot. Johnson was nominated for vice president and on the first ballot, he led with 200 votes to 150 for Hamlin and 108 for New York war Democrat Daniel Dickinson. On the second ballot, Kentucky switched to vote for Johnson, and other states followed. On the second ballot Johnson received 491 votes to Hamlin's 17 and eight for Dickinson. The nomination was made unanimous. When he received the news, Lincoln was happy with the result. He told the press, "Andy Johnson, I think, is a good man." When word reached Nashville, Johnson gave a speech in which he said that his selection as a Southerner meant that the rebel states had not actually left the Union.
It was unusual at the time for a candidate to actively campaign, but Johnson gave a number of speeches in some of the border states and in Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana. Lincoln and Johnson won the election, winning every state except New Jersey, Delaware and Kentucky.
Just before Johnson left for his inauguration, the voters of Tennessee ratified a new state constitution on February 22, 1865, one which abolished slavery. One of Johnson's final acts as military governor was to certify the results.
Johnson traveled to Washington to be sworn in. On the evening of March 3, Johnson attended a party in his honor at which he drank heavily. He was hung over the following morning at the Capitol, and he asked Vice President Hamlin for some whiskey. Hamlin produced a bottle, and Johnson took two stiff drinks, stating "I need all the strength for the occasion I can have." In the Senate Chamber, Johnson delivered a rambling address as Lincoln, the Congress, and other dignitaries looked on, dumfounded. Johnson was said to be almost incoherent at times, forgetting people's names, and when he paused, Vice-President Hamlin interjected and hastily swore Johnson in as vice president. Lincoln, was then sworn in, and delivered his very eloquent Second Inaugural Address. When later asked about Johnson's spectacle, Lincoln stated, in response to criticism of Johnson's behavior, that "I have known Andy Johnson for many years; he made a bad slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard."
Johnson had a very inactive Vice-Presidency. He had planned on leaving for Tennessee to re-establish his family in Greeneville, but he remained after word came that General Ulysses S. Grant had captured the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. On the afternoon of April 14, 1865, Lincoln and Johnson met for the first time since the inauguration. According to Hans Trefousse, Johnson wanted to convince Lincoln "not to be too lenient with traitors". That night, Lincoln was shot and mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth. The shooting of the President was part of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln, Johnson, and Seward the same night. Seward was attacked, stabbed and barely survived his wounds. Johnson escaped attack because his would-be assassin, George Atzerodt, got drunk instead of killing the Johnson.
Leonard J. Farwell, a fellow boarder at the Kirkwood House where Johnson was staying, awoke Johnson with news of Lincoln's shooting at Ford's Theater. Johnson rushed to the President's deathbed. He later said, "they shall suffer for this!" Lincoln died at 7:22 am the next morning and Johnson was sworn in sometime between 10 and 11 am by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, in the presence of most of the Cabinet. Johnson was described by the newspapers as "solemn and dignified". At noon, Johnson conducted his first Cabinet meeting in the Treasury Secretary's office, and he asked all members to remain in their positions.
On the day of the assassination, Booth came to the Kirkwood House and left one of his cards with Johnson's private secretary, William A. Browning, with an inscription, "Are you at home? Don't wish to disturb you. J. Wilkes Booth." This would cause some conspiracy theorists to speculate that Johnson was part of the conspiracy and that the botched attack on Johnson was merely a ruse.
Johnson presided over Lincoln's funeral ceremonies in Washington in a dignified manner, as Lincoln's body was sent home to Springfield, Illinois, for burial.
Shortly after Lincoln's death, General William Tecumseh Sherman reported he had reached an armistice agreement with Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston for the surrender of Confederate forces in North Carolina in exchange for the existing state government remaining in power and private property rights to be respected. This did not even acknowledge the freedom of those in slavery. This was not acceptable to Johnson or the Cabinet who sent word for Sherman to secure the surrender without making political deals. Sherman obeyed the order.
Johnson placed a $100,000 bounty on Confederate President Davis, who was then a fugitive. He also permitted the execution of Mary Surratt for her part in Lincoln's assassination. Surratt was executed with three others, including George Atzerodt, on July 7, 1865.
Upon taking office, Johnson faced the question of what to do with the Confederacy. He set two goals for Reconstruction: (1) He wanted a speedy restoration of the states, arguing that they had never truly left the Union; (2) Political power in the Southern states should pass from the planter class to the common man, (he called them his "plebians".) Johnson feared that the freedmen, many of whom were still economically bound to their former masters, might vote at their direction. Johnson also sought election in his own right in 1868, a feat no one who had succeeded a deceased president had managed to accomplish thus far in history. (No one would until Theodore Roosevelt.)
The Republican Party had broken into a number of factions. The Radical Republicans sought voting and other civil rights for African-Americans. They believed that the freedmen could be induced to vote Republican in gratitude for emancipation, and could keep the Republicans in power. They also believed that top Confederates should be punished. The Moderate Republicans sought to keep the Democrats out of power at a national level, and prevent former rebels from resuming power, but were not as enthusiastic about the idea of African-American suffrage. Northern Democrats favored the unconditional restoration of the Southern states. They did not support African-American suffrage, which might threaten Democratic control in the South.
Radical Republicans wanted Johnson to insist on rights for freedmen as a condition of restoration to the Union. But Johnson believed that the franchise was a state, not a federal matter. His Cabinet was divided on the issue. On May 29, 1865, Johnson issued two Presidential Proclamations. One recognized the Virginia government led by provisional Governor Francis Pierpont. The second provided amnesty for all ex-rebels except those holding property valued at $20,000 or more. He ordered constitutional conventions in other former rebel states.
Johnson received support from the white South, but many Northerners felt that the war had not been fought for nothing. It was important for these people that the South acknowledge its defeat, that slavery be ended, and that the lives of African-Americans be improved. Voting rights were not seen as a priority, since only a handful of Northern states (mostly in New England) gave African-American men the right to vote on the same basis as whites. A number of Southern states passed Black Codes, binding African-American laborers to farms on annual contracts they could not quit, and allowing law enforcement at whim to arrest them for vagrancy and rent out their labor. Most Southerners elected to Congress were former Confederates, with the most prominent being Georgia Senator-designate and former Confederate vice president Alexander Stephens. Congress refused to seat the Southern legislators and established a committee to recommend appropriate Reconstruction legislation. Northerners were outraged at the idea of unrepentant Confederate leaders, such as Stephens, rejoining the federal government. They saw the Black Codes placing African-Americans in the same position as slavery. Republicans also feared that restoration of the Southern states would return the Democrats to power.
As Johnson biographer David O. Stewart wrote, "the violence and poverty that oppressed the South would galvanize the opposition to Johnson".