Andrew Johnson: Difference between revisions

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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; [http://real-life-villains.wikia.com/wiki/Andrew_Jackson Andrew Jackson]. Jackson and Johnson both believed that the union had to be preserved. It could actually be argued that Johnson was the last Jacksonian. Like Jackson, Johnson believed he represented the common man, but that could only be really seen to the common white man. Johnson believed that the former slaves should have truly just returned to the plantation and leave the political world to rights.

Johnson's attitude toward blacks, or “niggers” as he termed them in private conversation, was resolutely negative.

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!”

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 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; [http://real-life-villains.wikia.com/wiki/Andrew_Jackson Andrew Jackson]. Jackson and Johnson both believed that the union had to be preserved. It could actually be argued that Johnson was the last Jacksonian. Like Jackson, Johnson believed he represented the common man, but that could only be really seen to the common white man. Johnson believed that the former slaves should have truly just returned to the plantation and leave the political world to rights.
+Johnson's attitude toward blacks, or “niggers” as he termed them in private conversation, was resolutely negative.
 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!”