Andrew Johnson: A Life from Beginning to End

In historical surveys, Andrew Johnson has been consistently ranked as one of the worst presidents for well over 150 years. But despite his bad reputation, there is much more to the life of Andrew Johnson than these rankings suggest.

Andrew Johnson was a man who had long walked a political tightrope. He was a Southern Democrat who opposed the Democrat-dominated Southern states when they seceded from the Union—in fact, he was the only Southern senator to remain loyal to the United States. His strong stance earned him the respect of Republican President Abraham Lincoln—so much so that Lincoln made him his vice president during the 1864 presidential election. This was meant to be a gesture of unity, bridging the divide between parties and between Americans. Little did anyone know (least of all Andrew Johnson himself) that Lincoln would be assassinated just weeks into his second term, making Johnson president. He was thrust into a position he never imagined, forced to lead a nation through its most critical period of transformation. He continued to walk his tightrope every step of the way, but this time, the nation's future hung in the balance.