Video: 'Andrew Johnson: The President Who Wasn’t Lincoln | 5-Minute Videos
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(Tuesday, July 31, 1875, 2:00 a.m. local time) — Former President Andrew Johnson, who had recently returned to national office as a United States Senator, died early this morning after suffering a second stroke at his daughter’s home near Elizabethton, Tennessee. He was 66.
Johnson, the 17th President of the United States (1865-1869), assumed the office in 1865 following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.
He had returned to public life earlier this year, taking a Senate seat in March, making him the only former president ever to do so.
According to family members, Johnson had departed his home on July 28, 1875, en route to Ohio, where he intended to deliver campaign speeches in response to what he believed were false attacks made against him during the state’s gubernatorial race. He stopped for rest at the Carter County farm of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Stover, where his eldest daughter, Mrs. Martha Patterson, was also visiting.
That evening, he suffered a stroke, but initially declined medical attention. His condition worsened the following day, and two physicians were summoned from Elizabethton.
Though he appeared to improve briefly, Johnson was stricken again last night and passed away early today.
Born into poverty in North Carolina, Johnson rose from a tailor’s bench in Tennessee to hold nearly every public office available, from alderman to president. A staunch Unionist and War Democrat, he was chosen as Lincoln’s running mate in 1864 in an effort to unite the divided nation.
His presidency, however, was marked by deep discord with the Republican-controlled Congress over the terms of Reconstruction. He vetoed numerous civil rights bills and resisted protections for newly freed slaves, leading to his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868.
He narrowly escaped removal from office by a single vote in the Senate.
After failing to secure the Democratic presidential nomination in 1868, Johnson returned to Tennessee, where he remained a divisive figure. His election to the Senate earlier this year was hailed by supporters as a political comeback, though his views on Reconstruction have increasingly drawn sharp criticism.
