Andrew Johnson's Radical Reconstruction

    One July 2, 1964, pens were used to change the lives of every American citizen. L.B.J was born on a farm near Stonewall in the Hill Country of Central Texas and was really smart and had tons of energy; He decided to become a teacher. Why did L.B.J sign the civil rights act of 1964? If principle decisions are based on strongly-held beliefs, then Cotulla Teaching, Ignoring Southern Reaction, and Change of Heart show that President Johnson was motivated to sign by his principles.

Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites.

The Reconstruction era was a period after the Civil War put in place by Abraham Lincoln. This plan was his attempt to bring the nation together as quickly as possible, by requiring the States new constitution prohibit slavery. On January 1865 congress proposed an amendment to the constitution, which would abolish slavery in the United States. On December 18, 1865 congress changed the Thirteenth Amendment completely abolishing slavery. Such a radically change brought an unbalance to the way of life for many people. Southern whites did not fully embrace citizenship for newly freed blacks, which made for very hostile situations.

President Johnson was a supporter of state rights so he was not going to say or do anything. To him, the power to decide what to do with the newly free African-American was in the hands of the states. But when the Congress had a majority of Republicans after the election, it decided to overrule the southern states and with that, the period called Radical Reconstruction began. First, there was the Civil Rights Act in 1866, passed despite Johnson 's veto. There was no doubt anymore that freedmen were citizens and were to be treated as such. "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all persons born in the United States […] are hereby declared to be citizens of the United

The concept of the Reconstruction was a “second founding” of the nation is based on the results of the Reconstruction. David Blight states in his lecture that the Reconstruction represented “… great change, great experimentation, change…” and the leadership “… rewrote the country you live in.” What evidence is there to support Blight’s argument? Foner’s A Short History of the Reconstruction provides some evidence.

The Thirteenth Amendment took some time to pass. Johnson really didn’t want blacks to have rights. He did everything in his power to make sure African Americans didn’t have freedom. After slavery was abolished the black codes came up in the summer of 1865 in the South. These codes were basically promoting slavery once again but using a different name. Nothing would have happen to abolish the black codes if it weren’t for the moderates. In 1866 the moderates produced two bills. The first bill was Freedman’s Bureau Bill. This bill distributed food, supervised labor contracts, and sponsored school for freedman. Big surprise, Johnson vetoed the bill. Congress tried to override Johnson’s veto but failed. The second bill the moderates proposed was the Civil Rights Act of 1866. This bill basically got rid

The political state of the America during this period are greatly important to understanding reconstruction. Due to the republican president Lincoln’s assassination just days before the official end of the American civil war, the duty of guiding the United States through reconstruction was left to Democrat Andrew Johnson. Johnson shared very little in common with the late president Lincoln. One of their few similarities was the intent to not

Andrew Jackson was born into a common life but overcame his mediocre beginnings to become a powerful politician; in 1828 he was elected president of the United States. However, he abused this position of power and made several choices that were detrimental to the welfare and rights of the American people. Jackson implemented the spoils system on a national scale and had unofficial members of his cabinet who did not have to answer to Congress. After South Carolinians were upset by the Tariff of 1832 he was angry toward those who did not agree with it. He also destroyed the National Bank and authorized the Specie Circular. Because of these infringements on the rights of the people, Andrew Jackson was not a champion of the common man; the nickname “King Andrew,” from his opponents was accurate.

When individuals ponder everything that went into the making of our nation, there is a plethora of different events to consider. Regardless of how many events, good or bad, have occurred in American history, all human beings alike tend to look at our history with tunnel vision—only focusing on the good. Our citizens, past and present, everyday people to politicians, either fail to acknowledge the existence of our historic downfalls or they manipulate these downfalls into something justifiable. Even more so now than ever, when bad things occur in America, they get purposely swept under the rug and forcefully shoved into the depths of the closet. The reconstruction that occurred post-Civil War is no exception to this aforementioned flaw. The

The President I have have chosen is Andrew Johnson. He was the 17th President of the United States serving from 1865-1869. He started out as a vice president when president Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. After that someone had to be elected the new president. Andrew Johnson was chosen. He was apart of the democratic party. During his presidency, some of choices were a success and others were failures. He served many roles as the president but not all of them when well.

Andrew Jackson was seen as a common man the voice of the people by some. By others he was King Andrew, trampling the constitution and instigating tyranny. Jackson’s presidency impacted democracy, through his use of the veto power, and his claim of Clay creating a “corrupt bargain”, which is not a turning point for a rise in democracy despite him giving white male suffrage.

Reconstruction is, “the period, generally dated from 1865 to 1877, during which the nation’s laws and Constitution were rewritten to guarantee the basic rights of the former slaves, and biracial governments came to power throughout the defeated Confederacy.” The fall of reconstruction started with the Grant administration scandals caused by grant’s “hands-off style of leadership” which lead to officials in his administration to enrich themselves through illegal schemes. Many republicans began to question the wisdom of maintaining a strong federal role in the affairs of southern states. Northern Whites chose white unity with white southerners rather than black equality.

Andrew Jackson may be the worst president in American History. Some of the reason why Andrew Jackson was a villain, and one of the worst presidents in US history is he was a notorious gambler, illegally married his wife, passed the indian removal act, and killed a man in a duel. Jackson had a taste for wagering on dice, on cards and even on cockfights. As a teenager, he gambled away all of his grandfather’s inheritance on a trip to Charleston, South Carolina. Jackson’s passion in life was racing and wagering on horses. After moving to Nashville, Tennessee, in the 1780s, Jackson fell in love with the unhappily married Rachel Donelson Robards. Jackson married Robards even though she was still married, but this resurfaced in the nasty 1828 presidential

Andrew Jackson’s victory in the presidential election against John Quincy Adams in 1828 would bring about the “common man era” in America. This was a time during the Jacksonian Democracy that promoted the common man, states’ rights and strict construction. For the first time in the United States history, a man born in humble circumstances (who did not have a college education) from west of the Appalachian Mountains, was now President.

Andrew Jackson was the first "people’s president”. His humble frontier heritage and heroic title won support throughout the nation. Jackson was in touch with the common man and had respect for him. This for once, allowed the “people” to have a more dominant role in government, which is something that America prides itself upon today. However, this “people’s president” presidency was plagued with controversy. Andrew Jackson accomplished a great number of things during his two terms as president, however, some of his actions were quite questionable.