Andrew Johnson's Radical Reconstruction

The actions and words of Andrew Johnson were very contradictory. The cartoon states: "Treason is a crime and must be made odious, and traitors must be punished". He told the people of a reconstruction plan that was supposed to punish the confederate rebels. Johnson did the opposite by ordering many pardons The Northern Republicans in Congress were ostracized because he continually vetoed their attempts at reconstruction.

Without congress controlling reconstruction President Johnson would have been able to do whatever he wanted and this could be a bad thing considering some of his

Johnson entered the office of the presidency as the successor to John F. Kennedy. Following JFK’s tragic death, Johnson wished to enact policies that drew inspiration from the “New Frontier” (PBS 2014). This collection of initiatives and programs make up The Great Society. There was a major focus on Civil Rights and constant battles regarding that subject throughout Johnson’s term. Johnson pushed for reforms in education and an individual’s ability to afford it.

Johnson had plenty of altercations with foreign policies due to Johnson being President during the Vietnam War. Though he had some domestic ordeals to handle as well, Johnson was concentrated on helping that area. Some of the domestic issues that Johnson had to deal with were that families were having trouble with money. Johnson was trying to stress the issue that we as a nation are a rich nation with money, so go out and get jobs make something out of ourselves with an education. There was a major race and civil right issue that raised issues, as well with his major idea to this “Great Society”.

As the story continued to unfold, I was pulled into the scandals surrounding Johnson that I had no idea had existed. The author brought awareness to all of the financial misdoings that engulfed Johnson’s Vice Presidency. Not only did he unearth the scandals, he also presented the multitude of evidence supporting those accusations. For a moment, it seemed as though Johnson was trapped in an inescapable corner that would prevent him from ever reaching the presidency. But suddenly, tragedy struck.

Andrew Jackson was seen as a common man the voice of the people by some. By others he was King Andrew, trampling the constitution and instigating tyranny. Jackson’s presidency impacted democracy, through his use of the veto power, and his claim of Clay creating a “corrupt bargain”, which is not a turning point for a rise in democracy despite him giving white male suffrage. During Jackson’s use of executive power weakened voice of the people.

Andrew Jackson was the first "people’s president”. His humble frontier heritage and heroic title won support throughout the nation. Jackson was in touch with the common man and had respect for him. This for once, allowed the “people” to have a more dominant role in government, which is something that America prides itself upon today. However, this “people’s president” presidency was plagued with controversy.

    One reason that reveals President Johnson’s principled motivation can be found in Doc A. L.B.J first job after college was being a teacher in Cotulla, Texas. He was teaching Mexican children who were poor but tried their best to learn and look nice for school. He wanted to teach this school of 5,6, and 7 graders because at the time there was poverty and segregation and was willing help even if

Brittany Randall-Neppl APUSH Period 6 Mr. Kloster 12/19/2014 Andrew Jackson: Champion of the Common Man or Tyrant Andrew Jackson was born into a common life but overcame his mediocre beginnings to become a powerful politician; in 1828 he was elected president of the United States. However, he abused this position of power and made several choices that were detrimental to the welfare and rights of the American people. Jackson implemented the spoils system on a national scale and had unofficial members of his cabinet who did not have to answer to Congress. After South Carolinians were upset by the Tariff of 1832 he was angry toward those who did not agree with it. He also destroyed the National Bank and authorized the Specie Circular.

Andrew Johnson could be described as a book. From the outer cover, the public sees Johnson as an accidental president who has made several mistakes. Concluding him as one of the worst Presidents in known history, but when you finally turn back the cover, his pages are not as black and white as what you would expect. There are many ways people perceived Andrew Johnson; some have positive views giving him the credit that he was very intelligent. He was also a skilled public speaker, had an honest leadership reputation, and a known quality of “getting under peoples skin”.

In the conversation, Johnson says to the senator, “Dick, you’ve got to get out of my way, I’m going to run you over.” The senator then replied, “You may do that, but, by God, it’s going to cost you the South and cost you the election.” Johnson replied, “If that’s the price I’ve got to pay, I’ll pay it gladly.” This shows that Johnson was behind his plans and wished for them to be instated under genuine backing of the Civil Rights Act of

Johnson “suffered from a deep-rooted neediness, a desire to be liked by everyone, to outdo his predecessors, and to be known as the best president in American history.” To do so he used deception, charm and persuasion in order to gain support from the mass amounts of people with differing opinions. Achieving political consensus was something Johnson did well, utilizing his term as Senator to sharpen these skills. He always wanted the approval of his advisers and the American public, and he viewed criticisms of his policies as personal attacks which led him to double his resolve and intensify his efforts. A truly tenacious man Johnson’s modest

Abraham Lincoln’s vs Andrew Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan Lincoln shared the uncommon belief that the confederate states could still be part of the union and that the cause of the rebellion was only a few within the states which lead him to begin the reconstruction in December of 1863. This resulted in plans with lenient guidelines and although they were challenged by Wade-Davis Bill, Lincoln still rejected his ideas and kept his policies in place. Lincoln also allowed land to be given the newly freed slave or homeless white by distributing the land that had been confiscated from former land owners however this fell through once Johnson took office. After Lincoln’s death when Johnson was elected many things started to turn away from giving blacks equal rights and resulted in many things such a black codes which kept newly freed slaves from having the same rights as whites. When Lincoln first acted after the civil war, he offered policies that would allow the confederate slaves to become part of the union again and would allow a pardon for those states.

Andrew Jackson passed the Indian removal act He was a plantation owner, who bought and sold slaves. Jackson signed a law that he had proposed the Indian Removal Act, which legalized ethnic cleansing. Within seven years 46,000 indigenous people were removed from their homelands east of the Mississippi. Their removal gave 25 million acres of land “to white settlement and to slavery,” according to PBS he was a strict constructionist or a federal-power expansionist? He set himself to destroy the Second Bank of the United States in a Jeffersonian rage.

Jackson’s election as president marked an end to the wealthy politician’s steak. People viewed Jackson as the representation of the up-and-coming middle and working class of America. Therefore, Jackson embraced the role of protecting the “common men”.