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->''There are some who lack confidence in the integrity and capacity of the people to govern themselves. To all who entertain such fears I will most respectfully say that I entertain none... If a man is not capable, and is not to be trusted with the government of himself, is he to be trusted with the government of others... Who, then, will govern? The answer must be, Man — for we have no angels in the shape of men, as yet, who are willing to take charge of our political affairs."
-->-- '''Andrew Johnson'''

->''[[HaveAGayOldTime This Johnson is a queer man.]]"
-->-- '''Abraham Lincoln''' on Johnson

Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) was the seventeenth President of the United States (serving from 1865 to 1869) and the sixth from the Democratic Party. Technically speaking, he was elected from the National Union Party (which replaced the Republicans during TheAmericanCivilWar), but historians generally count him as a Democrat. He never went to school, so he had to teach himself how to read and write. Johnson was previously a Congressman from Tennessee (serving in both houses at different points), and was the only Senator from a seceding state to stay with the Union. He was also the Governor of Tennessee at one point, and was later made the state's Military Governor during the Civil War; while holding that position he ordered slavery abolished in Tennessee in October of 1864. Johnson himself, ironically, was a former slaveowner, and the last US President to own slaves at any point in his life. Johnson freed his personal slaves on August 8, 1863, and to commemorate that event, August 8 is officially celebrated as "Emancipation Day" in Tennessee.

For the Election of 1864, AbrahamLincoln chose Johnson as his running mate for reelection because, as the only Southern Senator left, he could broaden Lincoln's appeal in the slave states that didn't leave the Union. Johnson was expected to merely rack up a few extra votes for Lincoln and serve a forgettable term as Vice President, and then Lincoln got shot. Oops.

Being a Southerner himself, Johnson wasn't willing to penalize his own region too harshly. As such, he disagreed ''a lot'' with the Republican-dominated Congress, vetoing many of the Reconstruction bills and amendments (which were usually passed over his veto). It didn't take long before he surpassed AndrewJackson's record for most president vetoes up to that point in history, and more than a few members of his Cabinet resigned in protest. Regarding civil rights for African Americans, Johnson infamously stated, [[ValuesDissonance "This is a country for white men, and by God, as long as I am President, it shall be a government for white men."]] Eventually, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act, which stated that the president couldn't fire any of his appointees without Congressional consent. [[BatmanGambit The Radical Republicans knew Johnson would see this as a challenge to his authority, and violate it just to see what happened.]] He did when he fired Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a Radical Republican raising havoc in Johnson's Cabinet. Congress then impeached Johnson, the first time in American history that the president was impeached. Also, [[PassThePopcorn they sold tickets to the trial]]. Like BillClinton many years later, the House found him guilty but the Senate acquitted him by a single vote. Johnson's lawyer pointed out that Lincoln made the appointment and, technically speaking, Johnson wouldn't have had to gain Congress' approval to fire him. Additionally, many of the Senators argued that the nation had gone through enough lately and that such a major change in leadership wasn't necessary. (Some cases of bribery have also been reported.)

Johnson was allowed to complete his inherited term, but, as a result, he was largely powerless and Congress essentially had more power than the president for the next few decades of American history. In 1887, the Tenure of Office Act was repealed by Congress, and subsequent rulings by the United States Supreme Court seemed to support Johnson's position that he was entitled to fire Stanton without Congressional approval. The Supreme Court's ruling on a similar piece of later legislation in ''Myers v. United States'' (1926) affirmed the ability of the President to remove a Postmaster without Congressional approval, and stated in its majority opinion "that the Tenure of Office Act of 1867...was invalid."

Other notable actions while in office were admitting Nebraska to the Union, forcing France to get out of Mexico (which is why Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo and Mexicans basically ignore it), and signing Secretary of State William H. Seward's purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867. Nicknamed "Seward's Folly" at the time, the $7.2 million purchase was considered a waste of money at the time, though the discovery of gold and, later, oil in Alaska disproved this. For (arguably) helping to delay equal civil rights for nearly a century, weakening Reconstruction and giving the South too much power too soon, and the scandal of his impeachment, he is generally considered to be one of the worst Presidents, though one could easily argue it's not ''entirely'' his fault. He was reelected as a Senator from Tennessee in 1875, and died less than six months later.

!!Tropes associated with Johnson:
* CommanderContrarian: 29 vetos, breaking Andrew Jackson's record.
* {{Determinator}}: Was characterized as extremely stubborn, and thin-skinned to criticism.
* PuppetKing: After breaking Andrew Jackson's record for most ever vetos, Congress pretty much allied against him and overturned his vetos ''fifteen times''.
* SpiritualSuccessor: Emulated AndrewJackson, who was also from his state.
* ToughActToFollow: Have fun trying to follow up after ''Abraham Lincoln''.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: He too was targeted for assassination by an accomplice of John Wilkes Booth, but the assassin chickened out.

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