Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson 29 Dec 1808 - 31 Jul 1875

Seventeenth president, 1865-1869

A onetime tailor whose wife had taught him to read, Andrew Johnson had a gift for public speaking, which helped launch his political career. In 1864, Abraham Lincoln, in a gesture of unity, chose Johnson-a Southern Democrat from Tennessee but a staunch defender of the Union-as his running mate to help hold the border states. When Johnson succeeded to the presidency after Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, it became evident that his view of Reconstruction, which would return power to the white Southern planters and allow the former Confederate states to deprive formerly enslaved people of their rights, clashed not only with Lincoln's views but with the Republican majority in Congress. Johnson was impeached on charges of violating the 1867 Tenure of Office Act and avoided conviction by only one vote.

The signed but undated painting by Washington B. Cooper, a noted Tennessee portraitist, was probably completed during Johnson's presidency.

Credit: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution