The Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages Arising from the uncompromised opinions and struggle for power, between the politicians, the impeachment of the president turned out to be a most significant incident in American history. This essay examines the impeachment of President Andrew Johnson and the political conflicts that contributed to it.
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of United States. Andrew Johnson was born to a poor family in Raleigh, North Carolina, in 1808. (“Andrew Johnson”). After his father’s death, he was apprenticed to a local tailor, at the age of fourteen. He learnt the trade for several years and then fled away, moving west to Greeneville, Tennessee, where he set up a tailoring shop and married Eliza McCardle. (“Andrew Johnson”). Born to illiterate parents, he had not mastered the basis of reading and grammar, until he met his wife. Even though he was holding very little formal education, he was gifted with great oration skills, which helped him in his political life. He was yet another example in the US history, after Lincoln, emerging from a poor family with no formal education, into becoming the President of a country. Whereas, Lincoln is esteemed for his contributions as a president, Johnson, his successor, turned out to be the most regretful example because of his impeachment.
In the aftermath of American Civil War, the country was struggling with reunification of its Southern states through a plan of reconstruction. The formulated plan of reconstruction by the president Abraham Lincoln was intended to be carried out by Andrew Johnson, who became the president after the assassination of Lincoln. It was stated that the policy was lenient towards the defeated south, granting amnesty to the South, excluding the ex-Confederates. (Davidson). ...Download file to see next pagesRead More