![]() ![]() Illustration of a schoolhouse being burned to ashes during the Memphis riot | Historic Sites In Tennessee (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons) While Abraham Lincoln appealed to the “angels of our better nature,” historians fault Johnson for appealing to Americans darker instincts. Johnson’s decision to support the return of the prewar social and economic system-except for slavery-cut short any hope of a redistribution of land to the freed people or a more far-reaching reform program in the South. Most importantly, Johnson’s strong commitment to obstructing political and civil rights for blacks is principally responsible for the failure of Reconstruction to solve the race problem in the South and perhaps in America as well. Obstructing Political & Civil Rights For African Americans Instead of forging a compromise between Radical Republicans and moderates, his actions united the opposition against him.”Īndrew Johnson opposed the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Fourteenth Amendment. He is viewed to have been a rigid, dictatorial racist who was unable to compromise or to accept a political reality at odds with his own ideas. “Because of his gross incompetence in federal office and his incredible miscalculation of the extent of public support for his policies, Johnson is judged as a great failure in making a satisfying and just peace. It is the view of most historians that he was the worst possible person to have served as President at the end of the American Civil War.Īs Professor of History Elizabeth Varon notes, The Worst Possible Person The Portrait of United States President Andrew Johnson was taken on June 16, 1865, (2 months after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln). We begin our top 10 countdown of the best historic sites in Tennessee at #10 with the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site.Īndrew Johnson was an impactful President of the United States, but not necessarily in ways that would endear him to today’s Tennesseans. ![]() Johnson lived in Greeneville for much of his active life. The Andrew Johnson National Historic Site Visitor Center and museum in Greeneville, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |