U.S. Presidents & First Ladies

Andrew Johnson

Andrew Johnson, born in 1808 in North Carolina, rose from poverty to serve as U.S. Representative, Senator and Governor of Tennessee. Appointed Military Governor of Tennessee by Abraham Lincoln, Johnson joined Lincoln’s 1864 National Unity ticket. Upon Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, he became the 17th president. This presidential appointment letter was from 1866. Though a staunch Unionist, Johnson’s leniency toward the South angered Congressional Republicans and led to his impeachment in 1868 where he was acquitted by one Senate vote. Johnson left office in 1869 but briefly returned to the Senate in 1875, dying months later.