In the spring of 1868, America was focused on Congress to see if the President was going to be removed from office. Individuals were impeached and removed from office before, however, President Andrew Johnson was the first president to be impeached. Many have regarded Johnson as one of the worst presidents in the history of the United States because of his racism, stubbornness, disastrous Reconstruction policies, and his impeachment trial. Johnson’s impeachment would be the defining point of his presidency and his legacy. This raises the numerous questions such as why was Johnson put on trial; what made Republicans hell-bent on impeaching him; and was Andrew Johnson’s impeachment justified. Johnson was not what the United States had expected; …show more content…
Andrew Johnson’s impeachment trial was not justified because of the unconstitutionality of the Tenure of Office Act and the extreme biases of the radicals in the Republican Party. When current President Abraham Lincoln was running for reelection in 1864, he decided not to select Hannibal Hamlin as his vice president. Instead, Andrew Johnson was chosen because he was a man who was from a different political party who could help him restore the Union. While running in 1864, Lincoln and Johnson ran under the party name of the National Union to broaden their appeal. The assassination of President Lincoln would see Johnson become the seventeenth President of the United States. Lincoln’s assassination was part of a larger conspiracy to assassinate …show more content…
The beginning of the speech went fairly well as he was honoring Washington, however, he ended up ridiculing Congress. President Johnson usually spoke harshly about Congress and his mouth had the tendency to get him in trouble. In his speech, Johnson said, “I find men I care not by what name you call them…who still stand opposed to the restoration of the Union of these States.” He later would call out Thaddeus Stevens, Charles Sumner, and Wendell Phillips for plotting his assassination. In his speech, Johnson said, “I say that I have no doubt the intention was to incite assassination, and so get out of the way the obstacle from place and power.” Thaddeus Stevens and the radical Republicans viewed Johnson’s speech as a declaration of war. Andrew Johnson was a man who was not afraid to speak out against Congress. During his term as president, he would attack, ridicule, and place the blame on Congress for simply disagreeing with
Click here to unlock this and over one million essays
Show MoreJohnson conveyed this through evoking God to justify his causes, history to demonstrate how America has survived numerous transgressions, and nationalism to consolidate everyone under a similar cause. Johnson seemed optimistic towards all Americans to strive for equality for minorities. He had a sense of sincerity with calmed the oppressions felt in the South. This illustrated the feelings of nationalism throughout the United States. I felt that America could conquer any dilemmas it faces through the power of the citizens.
Both Lincoln and Johnson had different ways to approach Reconstruction. Both did support the Ten Percent Plan. This plan allowed each southern state that were part of the rebellion to return to the Union. Just as long as 10% of their voters would take a loyalty oath and they approve the Thirteenth Amendment to abolish slavery. Johnson wasn’t as moral as Lincoln didn’t have the same political judgement.
In February, 1868 President Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives, the Senate tried the case in a trial, which lasted from March to May 1868. During the Civil War the far-reaching Republicans wanted to give the African-Americans more freedom and rights that the conservative Republicans, both were on the side of the North. He was impeached for violating the “Tenure of Office Act”, which had been passed over Johnsons veto. It prohibited the president from dismissing certain federal official without the Senate approval, and for denouncing Congress as unfit to legislate. In 1867, President Johnson made an effort to test the constitutionality of the act by swapping Stanton with General Ulysses S. Grant.
XIX. Conclusion A. The justification of his impeachment trial will be continuously debated by historians and political theorist as time moves on. 1. Johnson will always live in the shadows of Abraham Lincoln and will forever be remembered as the president who was impeached and “no impeached president can escape criticism, regardless of the validity of the underlying
Other than the few minor “cheap shots” made about Johnson, there was one statement that Blight makes that gives an indication of the black plight after the Civil War; “He was not only not anti-slavery, he was an open racist.” Johnson believed America should be a white man’s country forever, even though originally it was controlled by another
Andrew Johnson Jense Mercado Andrew Johnson was born in december 29,1808 in Raleigh,NC.He later then died in July 31, 1875 in Elizabethton TN.His political party was democratic, his presidential term was from April 15, 1864 to March 4 ,1868.Bill Clinton was the only other president to get impeached, he was impeached by the House Of Representative but acquitted by the Senate. Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached. Bill Clinton was impeached on two charges perjury and obstruction of justice. Clinton lied under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky but that was not the ground of the impeachment. Impeachment is a formal process in wich an official are accused of unlawful activity,the outcome of which depending on the country.
1. “How did Lincoln and Johnson each approach reconstruction?” Johnson did not have Lincoln’s moral sense and political judgement when it came to reconstruction. “As wartime president, Lincoln had offered amnesty to all but high-ranking Confederates” (464). Lincoln had proposed that when ten percent of a rebellious states voters had sworn loyalty (taken an oath), then the state would be restored to the Union as long as it had approved the thirteenth amendment to abolish slavery.
vice president in 1865, Lincoln was murdered. After Abe Lincoln got shot, he was sworn in as president 3 hours after Abe died. Therefore he didn’t beat anyone in any general election. Andrew served as the 17th president and served less than 1term. He was president from 1867-1869.
Soon after he was murder. Obviously he was catching other people 's attention for someone to do this. This person was intimidated by Lincoln. in another hand there was Andrew Johnson, he also wanted to rebuild the union soon after lincoln was murdered. Reconstruction failed in the Civil War, some failures from the North effectively rebuilt the South.
Every president of the United States should reflect an impeccable character. George Washington was trustworthy and well respected among the citizens. John Adams, a founding father, even helped draft the Declaration of Independence. Occasionally, a president will be elected who lacks the appropriate behavior of a president, even though he can guide the people. Andrew Jackson was such a man.
Johnson participates in a joint-session with Congress advocating strongly for the Civil Rights legislation, mentioning the eulogy of J.F.K.’s presidency. Johnson’s aggressiveness with mentioning Kennedy’s power when he was president helped to push the legislation but there was still a lot of work to do. The House of Representatives wrote a “petition of discharge” trying to skip over the rules committee and what they had on their agenda. The rules committee which was headed by Howard W. Smith, was publicly supported. To avoid public embarrassment, Smith pushed the legislation through the rules committee himself.
Andrew Jackson, being a tyrant, abused his power in his time of presidency. He was the 7th president, but before Jackson’s presidency, he had no political experience. One of the only things that really qualified him was the hardships he went through when he was younger. His father had died while Jackson was young and Jackson received the reputation as a “self-made man”, or an independent man.
Donald Trump Should Be Impeached Donald Trump is the 45th president of the United States however is not known to be a not a great president. Trump has said many ignorant and racist remarks, and has no regrets for anyone. Donald has not only offended America, but has offended various countries as well. Trump has been considered the worst president in history, therefore he should be impeached. (Thesis) Donald Trump has been called out for his ridiculous statements, overconfidence and prejudice beliefs.
The Great Society On May 22nd of 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson spoke to the graduating class of the University of Michigan on The Great Society, saying "The Great Society rest on abundance and liberty for all. It demands an end racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time”, words that were spoken by President Johnson. The main passage of “The Great Society” by Lyndon Baines Johnson was mainly concentrated on eliminating poverty and racial injustice as revealed through his parallelism and anaphora. With this compelling speech, Lyndon inspired many young Americans to take actions to better their country using persuasive proofs such as ethos, logos, and pathos His persuasive techniques that applied directly to the students’ emotions inspired them to construct a better America just like President Johnson’s plan.
During Andrew Jackson’s presidency, he was not the best president. Some might consider him the worst. Most of Jackson’s actions during his presidency were deemed unconstitutional and illegal but were allowed due to the people’s support for Jackson. His plans for America didn’t include women, blacks or Indians. Jackson replaced all the Cabinet members with his selection friends, also known as the “Kitchen Cabinet”.