United States

Reconstruction under Andrew Johnson

At first it seemed that Johnson might be able to work more cooperatively with Congress in the process of Reconstruction. A former representative and a former senator, he understood congressmen. A loyal Unionist who had stood by his country even at the risk of his life when Tennessee seceded, he was certain not to compromise with secession; and his experience as military governor of that state showed him to be politically shrewd and tough toward the slaveholders. “Johnson, we have faith in you,” Radical Benjamin F. Wade assured the new president on the day he took the oath of office. “By the gods, there will be no trouble running the government.”

Johnson, Andrew: oath of officeAndrew Johnson taking the oath of office in the parlour of the Kirkwood House, Washington, D.C., April 15, 1865. Newsprint from Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, 1866.Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.