Andrew Johnson

Hello! My name is Andrew Johnson. I was born in a small log cabin in Raleigh, North Carolina, on December 29th, 1808. My family didn't have much money, so I didn't get to go to school like many kids do today. When I was a boy, I started working as a tailor's apprentice. That means I learned how to sew and make clothes for people. I moved to a town called Greeneville in Tennessee and opened my very own tailor shop. It was there I met my wonderful wife, Eliza. She was a great teacher and helped me get much better at reading and writing.

While I enjoyed being a tailor, I also wanted to help my community. I started getting involved in politics to help make life better for ordinary people like me. First, I was elected to help lead my town, and then the people of Tennessee chose me to be their governor in 1853. I worked hard for my state. I believed that the United States should stay one big, united country, which was a very important idea because a big disagreement was starting to brew between the northern and southern states.

Soon, our country was fighting a terrible conflict called the Civil War. During this difficult time, President Abraham Lincoln asked me to be his vice president. Then, in 1865, something very sad happened: President Lincoln was assassinated. Suddenly, it was my job to become the 17th President of the United States. My biggest task was to help bring all the states back together and heal the country after the long war. This period was called Reconstruction, and it was one of the most challenging times in our nation's history.

Being president during Reconstruction was very, very hard. I had my own ideas about how to reunite the country, but many powerful people in the government had different ideas. We disagreed so much that in 1868, they held a special vote called an impeachment to try and remove me from my job. It was a very stressful time, but in the end, I was able to stay and finish my term as president.

After I left the White House, I returned to Tennessee. I lived to be 66 years old. Today, people remember me as the president who took over during the very difficult time right after the Civil War. My story shows that even someone from a simple background can grow up to lead the entire country.