“Honest conviction is my courage; the Constitution is my guide.”
-Andrew Johnson
Born: December 29, 1808 — in Raleigh, North Carolina
Died: July 31, 1875 — in Elizabethton, Tennessee (aged 66)
Presidency: April 15, 1865 – March 4, 1869
(He became president after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination and served out the remainder of Lincoln’s second term).
Andrew Johnson was known for his mental toughness or, depending on the perspective, stubbornness. Rising from poverty in a North Carolina log cabin to the presidency, his life was defined by controversy, family tragedy, and eccentric habits that make him far more interesting than history books suggest.
Johnson’s early years were marked by hardship. He literally ran away from his apprenticeship as a tailor. He remained illiterate until he was seventeen, when Eliza McCardle, his future wife, taught him to read, write, and do basic math. Her influence transformed him from a runaway boy into a property owner and aspiring politician. His lack of formal education, matched only by Abraham Lincoln among presidents, became central to his popular image as a “man of the people.”
Like many previous presidents, Johnson's presidency was overshadowed by sorrow. Eliza’s tuberculosis kept her out of the public eye, so their daughters served as hostesses. Five grandchildren and a son-in-law brought liveliness to the White House, but tragedy struck repeatedly. All three of his sons died young.
Charles, age 33, died in a horse riding accident during the Civil War.
Robert, 44, succumbed to alcoholism after years of struggle as his father’s private secretary.
Andrew Jr., just 26, declined rapidly from alcoholism and the pressures of running The National Union, a pro-administration newspaper.
After these losses, Johnson became the family’s anchor. Several grandchildren, who had lived in the White House, lived with him at his Greeneville, Tennessee home after his term ended. There, he provided financial support and guidance, creating a multigenerational household in his final years.
Johnson’s reputation for drunkenness took hold at Lincoln’s 1864 inauguration, where he appeared intoxicated after (reportedly) taking whiskey for a fever. Though likely exaggerated, the reputation lingered. He preferred checkers, circuses, and political debates to Washington society or formal religion, creating an outsider image.
Johnson’s presidency was defined by his constant clash with Congress over Reconstruction. He pursued a lenient approach to reintegrating Southern states, angering Radical Republicans determined to guarantee civil rights for formerly enslaved people. He vetoed major Reconstruction bills, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866, only to be overridden.
The breaking point came with the Tenure of Office Act, requiring Senate approval to remove certain officials. Johnson defied it by firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, triggering his impeachment in 1868, the first in U.S. history. He survived removal by a single Senate vote but emerged politically weakened.
Amid the political turmoil, one of Johnson’s most significant accomplishments unfolded almost quietly: the purchase of Alaska in 1867. Negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward, the United States acquired the vast territory from Russia for $7.2 million—about two cents an acre. At the time, critics mocked the deal as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox,” dismissing Alaska as a frozen wasteland with little value. Yet history proved otherwise. The purchase expanded U.S. territory by 586,000 square miles and later revealed enormous natural wealth in gold, oil, and fisheries. Though Johnson himself received little credit for the acquisition, the Alaska deal became one of the most farsighted land purchases in American history.
Johnson’s life embodied the American dream, yet his legacy is entangled with slave ownership, Reconstruction battles, and impeachment.
Fun Fact:
Andrew Johnson may have been the only president to share his bedroom with a family of mice... by choice. He not only tolerated them, he made sure they were well fed.
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