Biography

Without sufficient schooling, he trained as a tailor. Johnson then moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, where he opened a tailor shop in 1826. A year later he married Eliza McCardle, who helped him learn to read and write. Johnson's business began to prosper and gained him great public profile in the local community. There he became increasingly politically active. Johnson served in Congress from 1843 to 1853. He then served as Governor of Tennessee until 1857.

In the same year he was finally elected to the US Senate. At the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, Johnson was the only southern senator to support the continued existence of the Union. In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee. There he supported the state's reincorporation into the Union and convened a constitutional convention that abolished slavery in Tennessee in January 1865. In 1864, Johnson was elevated to vice president of the United States. After Lincoln died on April 15, 1865 as a result of an assassination attempt, Johnson assumed the presidency. The new president carried the heavy legacy of restoring the American Union after the Civil War.

He initiated the adoption of new constitutions for the southern states and implemented amnesties. However, since the southern states undermined anti-slavery regulations in many areas, Johnson increasingly came into conflict with Congress with his Reconstruction policy. The conflict reached its climax when the President vetoed a congressional legislative initiative in 1866 that aimed to increase rights for freed slaves. On February 25, 1868, Congress initiated impeachment proceedings against the US President. The primary motive for the impeachment proceedings was Johnson's violation of formal rules.

However, the real reason for the unusual measure - Johnson was the first and only US president to be affected by it - was the obvious resistance with which the president met the will of Congress. The impeachment failed by one vote in the Senate. Johnson was able to continue in office until he handed it over to his successor Ulysses Grant in 1869. In 1875, Johnson was re-elected to the U.S. Senate as a representative from Tennessee. However, a stroke prevented him from performing this function.

Andrew Johnson died shortly thereafter on July 31, 1875 in Carter Station, Tennessee.
- IMDb mini biography by: Christian_Wolfgang_Barth