Concerning President Johnson

Last class in US History; we took our second test of the year. At first, I thought the test would be difficult, but I realized that from what I’ve learned, it wasn’t so bad at all. As I was going through the test, I noticed at the very last, I had to pick one out of five topics to write an essay on. I was especially interested in the second topic, whether or whether not the impeachment of Johnson by Congress was necessary. I would say yes, but I realized that this topic was quite interesting to me, as it involved how the motives of a high status person can make an effect on the rest of the said nation.

Johnson was a vice president to Abraham Lincoln. The interesting thing was that he was from the South. It was thought that Lincoln would elect him to be liked in some way from Southerners. Well Johnson was an interesting character, as he was relatively unseen or unheard while he was vice president. He would make such a huge impact to Reconstruction; no one would think it would be the same man.

After Lincoln assassination, Johnson would soon run as president, and would bring his own bag of ideas to the table. It would be said that the initial idea of Johnson was to favor the Southern states over all others. This is especially proven when Johnson made thousands of pardons to ex-Confederates. At first, it would seem reasonable for Johnson to do this, because Congress would restrict many of ex-Confederate’s rights as punishment.

The main thing that pretty much makes Johnson look like a villain was his veto to the Freedmen’s Bureau, constructed by Congress. The Freedmen’s Bureau was a program to help educate freed slaves as well as provide them with healthcare; just to give them a fresh start to succeed. Johnson’s veto of that doesn’t really seem clear other than the conclusion of racism. Thankfully, Congress would answer to this change by vetoing Johnson’s veto, and later impeaching him.

In reality, Johnson can be viewed as both a hero and a villain. He was hero to the Southerners whose punishment seemed a little too harsh. He was a villain to freed slaves as he restricted their rights through his ideas to change Reconstruction. If anything, Johnson was too inexperienced to fully think about the decisions he made, which could have both helped the Southerners and the freed slaves. This just goes to show the greed of having power and selfish motives.