Andrew Johnson & Abe Lincoln

Abraham

Lincoln

Andrew

Johnson

Abe Lincoln & Andrew Johnson

Commander-in-Chief (Grade:A)

Head of State (Grade: A+)

Grade: B+ Justification:

Chief Executive (Grade:A+)

Chief Legislator (Grade:D-)

• Called state militia into federal service after the Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter (April 15,1861)
• Justified, the South was trying to succeed from the Union
• Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the rebellion
• General John C. Fremont issued military order to free slaves of Confederate supporters in Missouri = Lincoln revoked it so not to upset the border states & Northern Democrats (He believed if he lost Kentucky he'd lose the whole war)
• Authorized organization of black regiments
• Did not get along with majority of military leaders because they didn't always comply/agree with his goals/strategies
• McClellan flat out went against the President's suggestion that would've worked (during campaign against General Joseph E. Johnston's army)
• Many generals didn't want to act immediately/take risks as Lincoln wanted them to
• McClellan, Henry W. Halleck, Don C. Buell = didn't agree with Lincoln
• Only commander who listened to Lincoln/didn't make him mad was Grant
• Lincoln's military strategies: Act fast, act now, advance on two ore more fronts simultaneously

• Speaking style: logical, eloquent, not fluffed up/was pretty straight to the point, used hand gestures often, usually started his speeches out awkwardly
• Most famous speech is the Gettysburg Address, 1863
• less than 3 minutes, 265 words, dedicated cemetery to fallen soldiers at Battle of Gettysburg, issued plea to country to honor the dead who fought for liberty & equality
• Public opinion fluctuated as the Civil War went on
• Confederates obviously always didn't like him
• Members of the Union supported him when the war was going well (when facing re-election in 1864, stalemates & increasing Union casualties made public opinion negative but the capturing of Atlanta & Mobile made opinion positive/neutral)
• Gave hundreds of speeches (kind of mandatory when you're in a war/fighting slavery/trying to keep the country together)

• Despite all the good he did as president, he often overlooked Congress.
• Without an appropriation from Congress, Lincoln distributed $2 million from the Treasury of War materials and asked for military volunteers without ever declaring war.
• His executive order, the Emancipation Proclamation, done under his war powers, but Congress was skeptical of it.

• Issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared all the slaves in the states still in rebellion to be free.
• This executive order was issued under his war powers and was an essential move toward the end of the civil war.
• He was supportive of improving the national infrastructure, and the protective tariff.
• He helped to bring about peace through his moderate views on slavery and firm belief in the Union.
• He selected a strong cabinet composed of many of his political rivals.

Head of State (Grade:F)

Chief Executive (Grade:D)

Commander-in-Chief (Grade:F)

Chief Legislator (Grade:D-)

• He did not involve Congress in the reconstruction process, but rather did most of it while they were not in session.
• When Congress reconvened, the radical Republicans tried to work against his policies.
• He vetoed he Civil Rights Act of 1866, which established Negroes as American citizens and forbade discrimination against them. This was the first veto to be overridden by Congress.
• The radicals passed laws placing restrictions on him and when he violated one, the House voted 11 articles of impeachment against him. When he was tried in the Senate, he was acquitted by one vote.

• Reconstructed Confederate States
• pardoned people who'd take an oath of allegiance; unless they were rich men/leaders, then they had to get Presidential pardons
• led to former Confederates being elected to office in Southern states= black codes

• As a Democrat, he was for state's rights and smaller government.
• He was for more lenient reconstruction policies and often butted heads with Congress.
• He failed to create peace and stability after the war.
• He was "largely viewed as the worst possible person to have been President at the end of the Civil War."

• Basically no one liked him
• He broke with his home state (TN) to keep his seat in the Senate = Southerners viewed him as a traitor, the Union liked him for that (very shortly)
• Opposed the Emancipation Proclamation but after gaining exemption for TN & realized it'd help end the war he accepted it = everyone viewed him as self contradictory, made it seem like he just wanted higher office
• Congressional Republicans didn't like him- while congress was in recess, he pushed through his own policies (pardons for rebels)
• He vetoed the Civil Rights Act & Freedmen's Bureau bill (Overridden by Congress, Congress just continued on Reconstructing Confederate states to enforce rights for Southern blacks)
• Congress passed Tenure of Office Act=President can't remove fed. officials w/out Senate's approval
• Johnson broke this = why he was impeached
• Gave a series of speeches, more than once he was drunk=antagonized his audiences=public even more so didn't like him

Sources

"Abraham Lincoln." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d.

Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://www.biography.com/people/abraham-lincoln-9382540>.

"Abraham Lincoln." Civil War. Civil War Trust, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <

http:www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/abraham-lincoln.html>.

"Abraham Lincoln." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

<http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/abraham-lincoln>.

"Andrew Johnson." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2015. <http://

www.biography.com/people/andrew-johnson-9355722#17th-president-of-the-united-states>.

"Andrew Johnson." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2015.

<http://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/andrew-johnson>.

"Miller Center." Miller Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://millercenter.org/>

"The White House." The White House. The White House, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. <http://www.whitehouse.gov/>.

by: Shelby Eaton & Mary Brockman