Dez Prez Rankings: #37 out of 39

37 out of 39
Andrew Johnson (17th president)
Term: 1865-69
Party: Democrat-Union

Andrew Johnson has the dubious distinction of being one of two presidents to be impeached (the other being Bill Clinton). Recall from your Civics class, removing a president is a two step process. The House of Representatives impeaches a president, and then the Senate holds a trial with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court presiding. Johnson and Clinton were both acquitted (and therefore stayed in office). Johnson was acquitted by one vote.

Andrew Johnson was a man with strong prejudices and grudges. As Abraham Lincoln’s vice-president (added to the ticket for balance because he was a Southerner), he was expected to do as all vice-presidents are supposed to do, that is go away after the election is over. But, as you may have heard, Lincoln was shot, so Johnson became The Man. And he wanted everyone to know it. A slaveowner and outspoken racist, Johnson saw no reason to try and improve race relations in the South after the Civil War ended. He did not feel that the former slaves may need a little protection in this brave new world of the South. Johnson came from humble beginnings, and he never forgave the arrogant planter class in the South who treated poor southern whites almost as if they were also slaves. So a man who hates both blacks and the Southern elites in power is now in charge of their postwar fates. He was in favor of the Black Codes passed throughout the South to keep the newly freed slaves in the same social position they had occupied under the whip. He also demanded that Confederate leaders come personally to him and grovel for forgiveness in order for them to regain their full rights as American citizens.

Johnson had a golden opportunity to impose a moderate but effective Reconstruction policy on the South if he had been willing to work with moderates in Congress. Instead, he refused to work with the moderates due to his prejudices and strict constructionist constitutional views by opposing the Freedman’s Bureau, various civil rights bills, and most importantly, the 14th Amendment.

So this sets into motion an unfortunate chain of events: Johnson campaigns in the midterms for congressmen who would support his Reconstruction policies. Yet Johnson is so unpopular that almost all of the congressional candidates that he stumps for lose. The Radical Republicans gain power and circumvent Johnson completely and impose a much harsher Reconstruction on the South than either Johnson or the moderates (or Lincoln) wanted, which in turn engenders lasting bitterness in the South. The South responded defiantly with Jim Crow and the Ku Klux Klan, and later Reconstruction ended as part of a backroom election deal in 1876. Due to Johnson’s own prejudices and stubborn unwillingness to work with moderates in Congress whom he generally agreed with other than on racial policies, a harsh and divisive Reconstruction was imposed on the South by vengeful Radical Republicans, the repercussions of which were still being felt 100 years later. Racial issues in this country may have unfolded very differently if a different Reconstruction plan had been imposed.


ABOVE: Andrew Johnson has good reason to look pissed off. He is about to be ranked near the bottom of Dez's Presidential Rankings. Also, on the same night that Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth, a co-conspirator was to assassinate Johnson. The assassin assigned to Johnson lost his nerve and went home.

Johnson was impeached by a frustrated Congress who wanted him out of the way because of his flood of vetoes for everything they were trying to accomplish with Reconstruction. They passed the ridiculous Tenure of Office Act which required the president to get congressional permission to fire any official who had been given his position through Senate approval. They passed the law knowing Johnson would violate it because Johnson was at war with many of Lincoln’s cabinet members (who were now his cabinet). Johnson tried to fire Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, and the House pounced with impeachment charges. He was barely acquitted, due to the fact that he made deals not to stand in the way of Radical Reconstruction and that enough Senators determined that even though Johnson was universally hated, impeachment should not be used as a political tool.

Pros:
• Johnson authorizes the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. Seen as a waste of money at the time, once valuable resources were discovered it became one of the best bargains in U.S. history.

Cons:
• Johnson’s racism and bitterness towards Southern elites combines to make him one of the worst possible presidents to steer Reconstruction
• Johnson’s unpopularity and his refusal to work with congressional moderates who actually shared some of his views opens the door for Radical Republicans to impose a harsh Reconstruction that eventually implodes and creates lasting bitterness between the regions
• Although the impeachment was not due to any real wrongdoing on Johnson's part, the fact that he was so despised that the House tried to trump up impeachment charges just to get him out of the way shows a remarkable lack of political skill