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, and I never spent a single day in a schoolhouse. When I was a young boy, I became an apprentice to a tailor to learn how to sew clothes. Even though I couldn't go to school, I was hungry to learn. I would ask people to read newspapers and books to me while I worked. In 1826, I moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, and opened my very own tailor shop.

In Tennessee, I met a wonderful woman named Eliza McCardle, and we were married on May 17th, 1827. Eliza was a great teacher, and she helped me improve my reading and writing, and even taught me arithmetic. My tailor shop became a popular spot where people would gather to discuss important ideas. Listening to them and sharing my own thoughts sparked my interest in politics. I wanted to help people like me, so I ran for office, first becoming mayor of Greeneville, and then I was elected to serve in the Tennessee state government and eventually the U.S. Congress in 1843.

By the time I was a U.S. Senator in the 1860s, our country was facing a terrible time. The states were arguing, and it led to the Civil War in 1861. My home state of Tennessee decided to leave the United States, but I believed our country should stay together. I was the only senator from a Southern state who remained loyal to the Union. Because of this, President Abraham Lincoln asked me to be the military governor of Tennessee. Then, in 1864, he asked me to run with him as his Vice President, and we won the election!

My time as Vice President started in March of 1865. But just over a month later, something terrible happened. On April 15th, 1865, President Lincoln was assassinated. Suddenly, I became the 17th President of the United States. The Civil War was over, but the country was broken. My job was to help put it back together during a period we call Reconstruction. I had my own ideas about how to welcome the Southern states back, but many leaders in Congress had very different plans. This led to some very big disagreements.

Our disagreements became so serious that in 1868, Congress decided to impeach me. That's a special process used when lawmakers believe a president has broken a rule. I became the first president to be impeached. It was like a trial, and the Senate had to vote on whether I could keep my job. In the end, they decided I was not guilty by just one single vote. During my presidency, we also did something huge—we bought a giant piece of land from Russia in 1867 that you now know as the state of Alaska!

After I left the White House in 1869, I returned to my home in Tennessee. But my story in politics wasn't quite over. In 1875, the people of Tennessee elected me to be their U.S. Senator again, making me the only former president to ever serve in the Senate. I lived to be 66 years old. My life shows that you can start with very little and still rise to the highest office in the land. I am remembered for my loyalty to the Union during its most difficult time and for leading the country through the first challenging years of Reconstruction.