- Listenly
- Public Library
- All Authors
- Andrew Johnson
author
Andrew Johnson
1808–1875
Rising from poverty in North Carolina to the White House, he became one of the most dramatic figures of 19th-century American politics. Best known as Abraham Lincoln’s successor, his presidency was shaped by fierce battles over Reconstruction and ended with the first impeachment of a U.S. president.
1 Audiobook
State of the Union Addresses
by Andrew Johnson
About the author
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808, he had little formal schooling and learned the tailoring trade as a boy. After moving to Tennessee, he built a political career that carried him from local office to Congress, the governorship, and the U.S. Senate.
During the Civil War, he stood out as the only Southern senator who remained loyal to the Union after his state seceded. Abraham Lincoln later chose him as vice president, and he became president in April 1865 after Lincoln’s assassination.
His time in office was dominated by the struggle over how the nation should rebuild after the war. He clashed repeatedly with Congress over Reconstruction, was impeached by the House of Representatives, and avoided removal from office by a single Senate vote. He later returned to the Senate shortly before his death in 1875.