Editing Andrew Johnson (section)

== Reconstruction ==
Nobody ever wanted Andrew Johnson to become president. The Republicans simply wanted him as the vice president so Lincoln would win the 1864 election. Depending on if you agreed or disagreed with him, you would call him stubborn or principled. Johnson was a close-minded person who never listened to other people and never really cared what other people thought either. This gave him few friends in life and politics. 

For a role model, Andrew Johnson looked to a former president from his home state with a similar name, [[Andrew Jackson]]. He and Johnson both believed that the union had to be preserved. It could actually be argued that Johnson was the last Jacksonian politician. Like Jackson, Johnson believed he represented the common man, but that could only be really seen to the common white man. He believed that the former slaves should have truly just returned to the plantation and leave the political world to whites. Johnson's attitude toward blacks, or “niggers” as he termed them in private conversation, was resolutely negative. 

=== Vice Presidency and Assassination Attempt ===
As Vice-President during Lincoln’s reign, Johnson had a strong disliking for the aristocracy whom he thought were there by the labor of the poor such as his own family. “Glassy-eyed and smelling of whiskey, he reminded Congress, the Supreme Court, the Cabinet, and pretty much everyone within hearing distance that they owed their positions to “plebeians” such as himself, then kissed the Bible and staggered away”. In response, the ''New York Times'' said “To think that one frail life stands between this insolent, clownish creature and the presidency! May God bless and spare Abraham Lincoln!” 

On April 14, 1865, he and Abraham Lincoln met for the first time since  the inauguration. Then, at about 10:15 pm that night, Lincoln was fatally shot by [[John Wilkes Booth]], while watching a play at Ford’s Theater with his wife Mary and two substitute guests. Lincoln’s assassination was part of Booth’s own criminal deed to not only kill Lincoln, but Booth also assigned his fellow henchmen, [[George Atzerodt]], to assassinate Johnson at the Kirkwood Hotel and [[Lewis Powell]] to assassinate Secretary of State [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_H._Seward William Seward] at his mansion. At approximately the same time when Booth shot Lincoln at Ford's Theater and Powell nearly attacking Seward at his mansion, Atzerodt did not have the courage to shoot Johnson at the Kirkwood Hotel. Instead of killing the vice president, he just got drunk and ran away into his cousin's home, where he was arrested for participating in the conspiracy to kill Lincoln and revive the Confederacy. Several hours after Lincoln's death on April 15, 1865, Johnson took his presidential oath whilst completely drunk. In the coming months after Booth’s own murder by Sergeant [https://real-life-heroes.fandom.com/wiki/Boston_Corbett Boston Corbett], Atzerodt was sentenced to be hanged on July 7, 1865, along with Lewis Powell, [[David Herold]], and [[Mary Surratt]]. 

=== Presidency and Impeachment ===
As Reconstruction began, it seemed like there would be a standoff in Congress between the Johnson Administration and the radical Republicans. Both groups had their own solutions to Reconstruction. Then, Congress left on vacation, leaving Johnson alone. While it is expected for the president to enjoy a break from politics, Johnson instead made his own plan for Reconstruction. Nobody knows what Lincoln would have done, but Johnson's plan gave amnesty for former Confederates (indirectly leading to the formation of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]) and for the southern states to reconcile with the North. As for the former slaves, they got no protection from Johnson's plan and were not given rights or the right to vote. 

When Congress returns, Johnson announces that Reconstruction is over and the news is shocking to the Republicans. With a grand majority in Congress, the Republicans started making their own Reconstruction measures. This included the first Civil Rights Act for blacks and even Native Americans. Johnson vetoed it. Congress then tried to extend the Freedmen's Bureau, an organization made during the Lincoln Administration to aid blacks in entering American society. Johnson vetoed it too. That would be the entire relationship between Congress and the president. Congress would pass something and Johnson would always veto it. In fact, Johnson vetoed so many times, that he beat the record at the time held by a president for vetoes. The president that Johnson beat? None other than his hero, Andrew Jackson (Jackson vetoed 12 times during his presidency and Johnson vetoed 29 times). However, in the midterms, the Republicans gained so far a majority in Congress, that they could overrule the president.  The new relationship between Congress and the president was Congress passes, Johnson vetoes, Congress overrules. Their record of overturning Johnson 15 times still stands. Not only did Congress help the former slaves, they severely weakened Johnson's power. They even passed a bill called the Tenure of Office Act, in which Johnson was not allowed to fire Cabinet members without the agreement from Congress. It was a trap and Johnson took the bait. He fired Secretary of War [https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edwin_Stanton Edwin Stanton], violating the Tenure of Office Act, and the Republicans immediately called for an impeachment. 

In a sense, Johnson destroyed his own presidency, legacy, and reputation by not compromising with his opponents, which became apparent that he had his own selfish desires for the Constitution and his own legacy. In February 1868, the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Johnson with 126 to 47 votes, making him the first president to be impeached. A vote in the Senate would decide the fate of Johnson's presidency. If 2/3 of the Senate voted to convict him, the Johnson presidency would be over. Tickets were sold as if it were the Olympics today. Washington D.C.'s high society got all dressed up as well as members of the military and diplomats from foreign nations to watch the impeachment. In the end, Johnson retained the presidency by a single vote. By that time, the 1868 election had begun; but because of his stubbornness, Johnson would not be nominated for the Democratic nomination. He refuse to attend President [https://real-life-heroes.fandom.com/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant Ulysses S. Grant]’s inauguration and finally ended his presidency in disgrace.