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Andrew Johnson Presidential $1 Coin — 17th President, 1865 - 1869
Andrew Johnson became the 17th president of the United States after the 1865 assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was an unlikely man for the job: he had been a poor tailor in Tennessee before he entered politics. A fast learner with a flair for oratory, he worked his way up through Tennessee politics to the U.S. Senate. During the Civil War he was the only Southern Democrat to support Lincoln, and that helped him be chosen for the vice-presidency in the elections of 1864. Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth on 14 April 1865 and died the next day, making Johnson president after just six weeks as vice-president. As chief executive he clashed with Radical Republicans, who held a majority in the U.S. Congress, and had little support from postwar Southern legislators. Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867, restricting presidential powers, and when Johnson defied them, he was impeached in 1868. A few months later the Senate acquitted him by one vote. It was on Johnson's watch, in 1867, that the United States bought Alaska from Russia for $7 million. Johnson did not run for reelection, and was followed as president by the popular Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant. Johnson was reelected to the U.S. Senate in 1875, four months before his death, becoming the only ex-president to serve in the Senate.
Johnson married Eliza McCardle in 1827; he was 18 and she 16 at the time of their wedding. They had five children: Martha (1828-1901), Charles (1830-1863), Mary (1832-1883), Robert (1834-1869), and much later, Andrew Jr. (1852-1879)... The purchase of Alaska is often called "Seward's Folly," after William Seward, the Secretary of State who promoted the deal. Gold was discovered in Alaska in the 1890s, making Johnson and Seward look like geniuses
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808, Andrew Johnson grew up in poverty. He was apprenticed to a tailor as a boy and later opened a tailor shop in Greeneville, Tenn., married Eliza McCardle and participated in debates at the local academy. Entering politics, he became an adept stump speaker, championing the common man and vilifying the plantation aristocracy. As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in the 1840s and 1850s, he advocated a homestead bill to provide a free farm for poor men. In 1864, the Republican Party nominated Johnson, a Democrat, for vice president.
After President Abraham Lincoln's death, President Johnson proceeded with a moderate approach to reconstruct the southern states. Radical Republicans in Congress, however, had their own plans and again placed southern states under military rule. They passed laws placing restrictions upon the President. When Johnson allegedly violated the Tenure of Office Act by dismissing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the House of Representatives voted 11 articles of impeachment against him. He was tried by the Senate in the spring of 1868 and acquitted by one vote. While he was President, the U.S. acquired the Alaska territory and Midway Islands in the Pacific. After leaving the presidency, Johnson went back to Tennessee, remaining politically active. In 1874, Tennessee returned Johnson to the Senate, making him the only former President to have served in the Senate. He died a few months later on July 31, 1875.
• Born: 29 December 1808
• Birthplace: Raleigh, North Carolina
• Died: 31 July 1875
• Best Known As: The president who followed Abraham Lincoln
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