Alexander, Thomas B. "Strange Bedfellows: The Interlocking Careers of T.A.R. Nelson, Andrew Johnson and W.G. (Parson) Brownlow." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 51 (1979): 54-77.
JOHNSON, Andrew
1808–1875
Biography
JOHNSON, Andrew, (father–in–law of David Trotter Patterson), a Representative and a Senator from Tennessee and a Vice President and 17th President of the United States; born in Raleigh, N.C., on December 29, 1808; self-educated; at the age of 13 was apprenticed to a tailor; moved to Tennessee in 1826; employed as a tailor; alderman of Greeneville, Tenn., 1828-1830; mayor of Greeneville 1834-1838; member, State house of representatives 1835-1837, 1839-1841; elected to the State senate in 1841; elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and to the four succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1843-March 3, 1853); chairman, Committee on Public Expenditures (Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses); did not seek renomination, having become a gubernatorial candidate; Governor of Tennessee 1853-1857; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from October 8, 1857, to March 4, 1862, when he resigned; chairman, Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses (Thirty-sixth Congress), Committee on the District of Columbia (Thirty-sixth Congress); appointed by President Abraham Lincoln Military Governor of Tennessee in 1862; elected Vice President of the United States on the Republican ticket with Abraham Lincoln in 1864 and was inaugurated on March 4, 1865; became President of the United States on April 15, 1865, upon the death of Abraham Lincoln; wide differences arising between the President and the Congress, a resolution for his impeachment passed the House of Representatives on February 24, 1868; eleven articles were set out in the resolution and the trial before the Senate lasted three months, at the conclusion of which he was acquitted (May 26, 1868) by a vote of thirty-five for conviction to nineteen for acquittal, the necessary two-thirds vote for impeachment not having been obtained; retired to his home in Tennessee upon the expiration of the presidential term, March 3, 1869; unsuccessful candidate for election to the United States Senate in 1869 and to the House of Representatives in 1872; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1875, until his death near Elizabethton, Carter County, Tenn., July 31, 1875; interment in the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery, Greeneville, Greene County, Tenn.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
[ Top ]External Research Collections
Alabama Department of Archives and History
Montgomery, AL
Papers:
Congressional, presidential, and personal papers scattered in various collections, including Lewis E. Parsons papers; Benjamin F. Perry papers; Joseph Wheeler papers; the records of the Alabama Governors, 1865-1866; and Semmes family papers, 1859-1913.
Boston Public Library
Boston, MA
Papers:
38 items. Finding aid.
Brooklyn Historical Society
Brooklyn, NY
Papers:
March 2, 1867. 1 item. Naval appointment.
Chicago Historical Society
Chicago, IL
Papers:
Account book (1829-1833) for Johnson's tailor shop; and correspondence in various collections.
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH
Papers:
Correspondence in the James Willis Patterson papers, 1865-1892. Photocopies of originals in New Hampshire Historical Society. Also discussed in letter (May 28, 1868) from Salmon P. Chase to Associate Justice Samuel Nelson.
Duke University
Special Collections Library
Durham, NC
Papers:
1853-1926. 50 items. Correspondence, petitions for pardon, photographs, and portrait.
Emory University
Robert W. Woodruff Library
Atlanta, GA
Papers:
In William Sydnor Thomson papers, 1858-1881; and Alexander Hamilton Stephens papers, 1821-1969.
Filson Club Historical Society
Louisville, KY
Papers:
Miscellaneous letters, requests for pardon, and documents in various collections.
Harvard University
Fogg Art Museum
Cambridge, MA
Papers:
In Mathew Brady photograph collection, 1860.
Harvard University
Houghton Library
Cambridge, MA
Papers:
Correspondence in various collections.
Rutherford B. Hayes Library
Fremont, OH
Papers:
Ca. 150 letters to and from Johnson in various collections.
Henry E. Huntington Library
San Marino, CA
Papers:
Ca. 36 miscellaneous letters; 8 letters to his son Robert; and a ledger book (1831-1841) of business transactions.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
Correspondence in James Buchanan papers, 1775-1868; and John Rutter Brooks papers, 1753-1903.
Knox College
Seymour Library
Galesburg, IL
Papers:
1 letter (May 18, 1865) and 1 endorsement on pardon recommendation (October 20, 1868) in Bookfellow Foundation autograph collection, 1793-1945; and 1 letter (March 12, 1852) and 1 pardon (October 19, 1868) in Sang autograph collection, 1751-1954.
Levi Jackson State Park
Mountain Life Museum
London, KY
Papers:
February 24, 1868. 1 item. Impeachment document containing the signatures of 125 members of Congress who sought to impeach Johnson, and 47 against.
Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers:
1783-1932. 234 containers. Correspondence, business records, messages and speeches, and records as military governor of Tennessee. Available on 55 microfilm reels. Also 16 containers, 1852-1876, chiefly printed matter excluded from microfilm edition of Andrew Johnson papers. Finding aid.
Additional Papers:
Correspondence and references in American Colonization Society records; William O. Bourne papers; Breckenridge family papers; Pierre G.T. Beauregard papers; George W. Campbell papers; Records of Commissioners of the District of Columbia, 1791-1869; John A.J. Creswell papers; Jabez L.M. Curry papers; and George F. Milton papers.
Louisiana State University
Louisiana and Lower Mississippi Valley Collections
Baton Rouge, LA
Papers:
Correspondence in Miscellaneous papers, 1844-1967.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, MA
Papers:
26 items (1852-1868) in various collections.
Memphis State University Library
Memphis, TN
Papers:
Mentioned in diary in Caleb Goldsmith Forshey papers, 1838-1879.
Morristown National Historic Park
Morristown, NJ
Papers:
9 letters, 3 while serving as senator, in L.W. Smith collection.
New Jersey Historical Society
Newark, NJ
Papers:
In Lincoln and Johnson Club of the Third Ward records, 1864.
New-York Historical Society
New York, NY
Papers:
1842-1868. 36 items.
North Carolina Division of Archives and History
Raleigh, NC
Papers:
1854-1939. 24 items. Miscellaneous papers, biographical sketch, printed matter, photographs, and memorabilia. Finding aid.
Pierpont Morgan Library
New York, NY
Papers:
Ca. 50 items (1844-1867) in various collections.
Stanford University Libraries
Special Collections
Stanford, CA
Papers:
In John Franklin Miller papers, 1848-1886; Presidential autographs collection, 1794-1954; Edward Lee Plumb papers, 1856-1912; Elmer E. Robinson Americana, 1765-1950; Edward Otho Cresap Ord letters, 1854-1885; Frederick Steels papers, 1845-1965 (bulk 1862-1868); and Harwood family papers, 1722-1962.
State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Archives Division
Madison, WI
Papers:
3 letters (1855) in Thomas T. Smiley papers, 1813-1880.
Staten Island Institute of Arts and Sciences Archives
Staten Island, NY
Papers:
Correspondence regarding impeachment in George William Curtis papers, 1784-1955.
Tennessee Historical Society
Nashville, TN
Papers:
Ca. 100 items including letters, clippings, broadsides, portraits, a scrapbook and other memorabilia in several collections.
Tennessee State Library and Archives
Nashville, TN
Papers:
1853-1857, 1862-1865. Gubernatorial papers.
Additional Papers:
Ca. 100 items (1846-1875) in part transcripts and photocopies, including correspondence, clippings, scrapbook, documents, and memorabilia; and correspondence in the Joseph Fowler Smith papers, 1809-1902. Finding aid.
University of North Carolina
Southern Historical Collection
Chapel Hill, NC
Papers:
4 items, including letters (photocopies) from Johnson as U.S. representative concerning politics in Leonidas Baugh papers, 1847-1859; and miscellaneous items in other collections.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
May 16, 1868. 1 item. Ticket of admittance to Senate Gallery for impeachment of Johnson. Signed by George T. Brown, Sergeant at Arms.
University of Rochester
Rush Rhees Library
Rochester, NY
Papers:
74 letters by and 20 to Johnson (1857-1868) in William Henry Seward papers, 1776-1921, and various collections. Also discussed in Sir Frederick William Adolphus Bruce papers, 1865-1867. Finding aid.
University of Tennessee
Knoxville, TN
Papers:
Correspondence, family reminiscences, clippings and photographs in Fay W. Brabson papers; St. George L. Sioussat papers; Margaret G. Blanton papers; and Basil M. Duke papers.
University of Virginia
Alderman Library
Charlottesville, VA
Papers:
Correspondence in various collections. Finding aid.
Yale University Libraries
Manuscripts and Archives
New Haven, CT
Papers:
55 microfilm reels of originals (1783-1932) in the Library of Congress. Includes correspondence, letterbooks, messages, financial records, diaries, presidential files, and related material.
Additional Papers:
In Jeremiah S. Black papers, 1813-1894 (bulk 1842-1884), microfilm of originals at Library of Congress; Isaac Munroe St. John papers, 1850-1879; Southard Hay collection, 1750-1885; and Alfred White Van Sinderen collection, 1782-1969.
Tennessee Presidents Center
The Papers of Andrew Johnson
Knoxville, TN
Research Libraries Information Network
In addition to the institutions listed above, items are also cataloged in collections at: American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, MA; Brigham Young University, Special Collections, Provo, UT; Brown University, Providence, RI; Haverford College Library, Haverford, PA; Idaho State Historical Society, Boise, ID; Indiana State Library, Indianapolis, IN; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD; New York State Library, Manuscripts and Special Collections, Albany, NY; Rosenbach Museum and Library, Philadelphia, PA; Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Art, Washington, DC; State Historical Society of North Dakota, Bismarck, ND; State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Madison, WI; Syracuse University, George Arents Research Library, Syracuse, NY; University of California, Bancroft Library, Berkeley, CA; University of Iowa Libraries, Iowa City, IA; University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library, Ann Arbor, MI; and Virginia State Library and Archives, Richmond, VA.
[ Top ]
Bibliography / Further Reading
Baumgardner, James L. "Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, and the Federal Patronage: An Attempt to Save Tennessee for the Union?" East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 45 (1973): 51-60.
Beauregard, Erving E. "The Chief Prosecutor of President Andrew Johnson." The Midwest Quarterly 31 (1990): 408-422.
Benedict, Michael Les. The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1973.
___. "A New Look at the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson." Political Science Quarterly 113 (Fall 1998): 493-511.
Bowen, David Warren. Andrew Johnson and the Negro. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1989.
___. "Andrew Johnson and the Negro." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 40 (1968): 28-49.
Brabson, Fay Warrington. Andrew Johnson: A Life in Pursuit of the Right Course, 1808-1875. Durham, NC: Seeman Printery, 1972.
Castel, Albert. "Andrew Johnson: His Historiographical Rise and Fall." Mid-America 45 (July 1963): 175-84.
Crouch, Barry A. "The Merchant and the Senator: An Attempt to Save East Tennessee for the Union." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 46 (1974): 53-75.
Crowther, Edward W. " 'Jacob's Ladder': The Religious Views of Andrew Johnson." Journal of East Tennessee History 65 (1993): 53-69.
Dickinson, John N., comp. Andrew Johnson, 1808-1875: Chronology, Documents, Bibliographical Aids. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Oceana Publications, 1970.
Fehrenbacher, Don E. "The Making of a Myth: Lincoln and the Vice-Presidential Nomination of 1864." Civil War History 41 (December 1995): 273-90.
Freshley, Dwight L. "Vacillation and Venom: Andrew Johnson versus William L. Yancey." Southern Speech Journal 28 (Winter 1962): 98-108.
Graf, LeRoy P. "Andrew Johnson and the Coming of the War." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 19 (September 1960): 208-21.
Graf, LeRoy P., Ralph W. Haskins, and Paul H. Bergeron, eds. The Papers of Andrew Johnson. 16 vols. to date. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1967-. Series also includes a special volume, edited by Brooks D. Simpson, LeRoy P. Graf, and John Muldowney, Advice After Appomattox (1987).
Graf, LeRoy P., Ralph W. Haskins, and Patricia P. Clark, eds. "The Pension Office to Congressman Andrew Johnson: A List, 1843-1853." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 38 (1966): 97-108.
Hager, Paul Alcott. "Andrew Johnson of East Tennessee." Ph.D. dissertation, Johns Hopkins University, 1975.
Haskins, Ralph W. "Andrew Johnson and the Preservation of the Union." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 33 (1961): 43-60.
___. "Internecine Strife in Tennessee: Andrew Johnson Versus Parson Brownlow." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 24 (Winter 1965): 321-40.
Hays, Willard. "Andrew Johnson's Reputation." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 31 (1959): 1-31; 32 (1960): 18-50.
Henry, J. Milton. "The Revolution in Tennessee, February 1861, to June 1861." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 18 (June 1959): 99-119.
Jones, James Sawyer. Life of Andrew Johnson, Seventeenth President of the United States. 1901. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1975.
Jones, Robert B. "The Press and the Legislature: Andrew Johnson's Election to the U.S. Senate in 1875." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 62 (2003): 238-257.
McCaslin, Richard B., comp. Andrew Johnson: A Bibliography. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1992.
McKellar, Kenneth. "Andrew Johnson," in Tennessee Senators as seen by one of their Successors. Kingsport, Tenn.: Southern Publishers, Inc., 1942, 273-315.
McKitrick, Eric L. Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction. 1960. Reprint. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.
___, ed. Andrew Johnson: A Profile. New York: Hill & Wang, 1969.
Middleton, Thomas J. "Andrew Johnson and the Homestead Law." Sewanee Review 15 (July 1907): 316-20.
Milton, George Fort. The Age of Hate: Andrew Johnson and the Radicals. 1930. Reprint. Hamden, CT: Archon Books, 1965.
Moore, Powell. "James K. Polk and the 'Immortal Thirteen'." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 11 (1939): 20-33.
Moore, Robert J. "Andrew Johnson: The Second Swing 'Round the Circle." Proceedings of the South Carolina Historical Association (1966): 40-48.
Notaro, Carmen Anthony. "History of the Biographic Treatment of Andrew Johnson in the Twentieth Century." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 24 (Summer 1965): 143-55.
Rable, George C. "Anatomy of a Unionist: Andrew Johnson in the Secession Crisis." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 32 (Winter 1973): 332-54.
Riches, William Terence Martin. "The Commoners: Andrew Johnson and Abraham Lincoln to 1861." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Tennessee, 1976.
Russell, Robert G. "Andrew Johnson and the Charleston Convention of 1860." Eastern Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 47 (1975): 46-75.
___. "Prelude to the Presidency: The Election of Andrew Johnson to the Senate." Tennessee Historical Quarterly 26 (Summer 1967): 148-76.
Sawrey, Robert. "Northern Voices: Advice to Andrew Johnson, 1865-1866." Mid-America 81 (Winter 1999): 27-50.
Seward, Frederick William. Andrew Johnson. J.B. Lippincott Co., 1890.
Sigelman, Lee, Christopher J. Deering, and Burdette A. Loomis, "'Wading Knee Deep in Words, Words, Words': Senatorial Rhetoric in the Johnson and Clinton Impeachment Trials." Congress & The Presidency 28 (Autumn 2001): 119-39.
Sioussat, St. George L. "Andrew Johnson and the Early Phases of the Homestead Bill." Tennessee Historical Magazine 6 (July 1920): 14-45. Reprinted from Mississippi Valley Historical Review 5 (December 1918): 253-87.
Stampp, Kenneth M. Andrew Johnson and the Failure of the Agrarian Dream: An Inaugural Lecture Delivered Before the University of Oxford on 18 May 1962. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1962.
Steele, Robert V.P. [Lately Thomas]. The First President Johnson: The Three Lives of the Seventeenth President of the United States of America. New York: William Morrow & Co., 1968.
Stewart, David O. Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2009.
Stryker, Lloyd Paul. Andrew Johnson: A Study in Courage. 1929. Reprint. St. Clair Shores, MI: Scholarly Press, 1971.
Trefousse, Hans L. Impeachment of a President: Andrew Johnson, the Blacks, and Reconstruction. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1975.
___. Andrew Johnson: A Biography. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1989.
U.S. Congress. Memorial Addresses on the Life and Character of Andrew Johnson (a Senator from Tennessee). 44th Cong., 1st sess., 1875-1876. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1876.
Williams, Harry. "Andrew Johnson as a Member of the Committee on the Conduct of the War." East Tennessee Historical Society's Publications 12 (1940): 70-83.
Winston, Robert Watson. Andrew Johnson, Plebeian and Patriot. 1928. Reprint. Norwalk, CT: Easton Press, 1987.