...Sarah Emmott Why they impeached Andrew Johnson In the article “Why They Impeached Andrew Johnson” by David Donald, Donald states that Andrew Johnson was impeached due to his selfish and self-centered personality; also Andrew Johnson’s decisions were made to benefit him as a person and not the country. “President Andrew Johnson was called upon for positive leadership, and he did not meet the challenge. Andrew Johnson’s greatest weakness was his insensitivity to public opinion.” says David Donald explaining more of Andrew Johnson’s flaws. Then Donald goes into listing the differences between President Lincoln, who believed in taking the course of action that was held with agreement with public opinion and Andrew Johnson. Donald says that Andrew Johnson seemed not to realize the weakness of his position. He was the representative of no major interest and had no genuine political following. Basically thought the whole article David Donald list adjectives and reasons Andrew Johnson was not a good president and was impeached. David Donald also states that Andrew Johnson’s relationship with Congress was yet another one of the many reasons that Andrew Johnson was impeached. Andrew Johnson was a southern democrat who had no intentions of working with the northern republicans of congress, and one of the main issues was that Andrew Johnson was not going to continue working on the reconstruction that was started by Abraham Lincoln. Donald says that Andrew Johnson relationship with the...
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...President Andrew Johnson Although Andrew Johnson was from the Democratic Party, in 1864, Lincoln chose Johnson as his running mate under the National Union Party banner. When Lincoln died April 15, 1865, Johnson became president. He did not have a Vice President. Johnson now had the job of trying to heal the country after the Civil War left the country in ruins. President Andrew Johnson lifted himself out of extreme poverty to become President of the United States. He was a man with little education who climbed the political ladder and held many different high offices. As a strict constitutionalist, Johnson believed in limiting the powers of the federal government. President Johnson was one of the most bellicose Presidents who “fought” Congress, critics, and many others. President Andrew Johnson faced numerous problems post-Civil War Era including reconstructing the Southern states to combine peacefully with the Union, his battles with Congress, and his career ending impeachment. Following Lincoln’s tragic assassination, President Andrew Johnson took on the accountability of making Reconstruction a reality. Andrew Johnson wanted to use Lincoln’s ideas of reconstruction but in a modified form. Since Congress would be in recess for eight more months Johnson decided to go ahead with his plan. Johnson was initially left to devise a Reconstruction policy without legislative intervention, as Congress was not due to meet again until December 1865. Radical Republicans told the...
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...Abstract: There have been only two times an impeachment of a president occurred in US history. A third was underway until the president resigned from office. However, the question remains about one of these impeached presidents, did former president Bill Clinton deserve to be impeached. There is clear cut evidence that Bill Clinton had broken an oath while working as president, yet some of these matters are personal business. Diving deeper into this matter, finding facts on the reason for the impeachment, what case was made against Bill Clinton to be put on trial, and the main question on if he deserved to be impeached. Introduction: Impeachment is a sole power given to the House of Representatives by the Constitution and makes the Senate...
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...failure. William A. Dunning claimed that the main cause of Reconstruction was “ignorant, illiterate blacks were thrust into positions of power for which they were entirely unfit.” However, there were numerous failures that had nothing to do with how educated blacks were. Contrary to what William A. Dunning thought; Reconstruction failed due to depression, laws were not enforced in order to cause change, and the weaknesses of the individuals who directed Reconstruction. Depression hit Reconstruction in many different forms. The depression of 1873 faced the supreme court with Slaughterhouse...
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...Lincoln’s assassination is significant in U.S. history because of how it was done, his accomplishments as president, and the impact of his death on the US. John Wilkes Booth had originally planned to kidnap Abraham Lincoln in order to continue the exchange of prisoners between the North and the South. Booth had acquired the help of Samuel Arnold, George Atzerodt, David Herold, Michael O’Laughlen, Lewis Powell, and John Surratt to help him kidnap Lincoln. They had planned to do this on March 17, 1865 while Lincoln was riding home from the play, Still Waters Run Deep. The president did not go to the play that night and instead went to a ceremony where a captured confederate flag was being presented to Governor Oliver Morton. The morning of Lincoln’s assassination,...
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...Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. As history takes its course, though, most all of these “revolutionary movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. They had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something had to be done. So, as usually happens, political leaders appeared on the stage, each holding their own plan of Reconstruction, each certain their ideas were the correct ones...
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...States. How would the North and South reunite? At the helm, there was a moderate politician and a reflective thinker – President Abraham Lincoln. One of the greatest statesmen of all time, Lincoln advocated a lenient stance, envisioning a “restoration” whereby the southern states would pledge allegiance and reenter the Union under the Constitution. Lincoln proved to be a great negotiator and worked successfully during the war to join opposing sides to unite behind the Emancipation Proclamation and passage of the 13th Amendment. Lincoln appealed to the common man and was revered by many of his era. One of his greatest admirers was poet Walt Whitman who penned his famous poem “Captain, My Captain” as a tribute to Lincoln and, according to Reynolds in Lincoln and Whitman, called Lincoln “the greatest, best, most characteristic,...
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...How much power does the President really have? Does the President sometimes overstep his boundaries? Can the President also be put in his place by the legislative branch or the judicial branch? The answer to both of the latter questions is yes. Yes the president oversteps his boundaries, but there are also times when he has almost no power and his powers can be taken away from him. There are times when he uses his influence and power to have an affair, when he goes to war without Congress making a declaration of war; there are times when he makes executive agreement that the Senate can do nothing about. There are also times when the president is impeached, which is the greatest of punishments when concerning the president. The president has many powers, both given by the Constitution and inferred. The president has a list of his powers and what he is allowed to do while in office. The Constitution itself gives the president his rights and boundaries. For instance, the president is allowed to be elected to a term for four years according to Article II of the Constitution. “He shall hold his office during the Term of four Years, together with the Vice President…” (Lawler, pg. 411) A follow up to this would be the 22nd Amendment which states that the president cannot be elected for more than two terms. “No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice…” (Lawler, pg 422) This amendment was put into place after Franklin D. Roosevelt ran for...
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...Leaders have come and gone, all of them having different objectives and plans for the future. As history takes its course, though, most all of these “revolutionary movements” come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a time period in America consisting of many leaders, goals and accomplishments. Though, like all things in life, it did come to an end, the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War. In all respects, Reconstruction was mainly just that. It was a time period of “putting back the pieces”, as people say. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way back in. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. They had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something had to be done. So, as usually happens, political leaders appeared on the stage, each holding their own plan of...
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...had their own objectives and plans for the future. As history has taken its course, though, almost all of these “revolutionary movements” have come to an end. One such movement was Reconstruction. Reconstruction was a violent period that defined the defeated South’s status in the Union and the meaning of freedom for ex-slaves. Though, like many things in life, it did come to an end, and the resulting outcome has been labeled both a success and a failure. When Reconstruction began in 1865, a broken America had just finished fighting the Civil War . In many respects, Reconstruction was a time period of attempted healing and building. It was the point where America attempted to become a full running country once more. This, though, was not an easy task. The memory of massive death was still in the front of everyone’s mind, hardening into resentment and sometimes even hatred. The south was virtually non-existent politically or economically, and searching desperately for a way into the political scene. Along with these things, now living amongst the population were almost four million former slaves, who had no idea how to make a living on their own. The former slaves had been freed by the 13th amendment in 1865, and in the future became a great concern to many political leaders. Still, it was no secret that something had to be done. So, political leaders appeared on the stage, each holding their own plan of Reconstruction, each certain their ideas were the correct ones. One of the...
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...Despite supporting emancipation during Lincoln’s presidency, Johnson was a difficult person to work with and actually held racist views. To begin, Johnson was “unable and unwilling to compromise,” which lead to the tension between him and the Radical Republicans in Congress along with his close impeachment (5). His cold demeanor provided a stark contrast to Lincoln’s political and social actions. Adding to the difficulties was his support and leniency for prior Confederates. He also provided government positions for those who were convicted of treason against the United States. As a result, many of the policies of southern governments followed those of the pre-Civil War, such as the black codes. The South, after Johnson’s policies, created a difficult environment for the blacks that mimicked a life before emancipation. Even after the Radical Republicans openly disagreed with Johnson’s plan and proposed popular new legislature, Johnson vetoed them. By not compromising with others and disproving equality acts, Johnson was nearly impeached and was not able to successfully reconstruct the...
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...beginning. When Lincoln arrived in Richmond he found the city burned to the ground. There was literally nothing left to the city. The damage to the city was not caused by the Union but by the people of Richmond. Upon Lincolns arrival in Richmond the people saw him as an enemy no more, but they showed no gesture or sign of welcoming the president. The people stood in complete silence as Lincoln towered over them. Chapter 15 3. The surrender at Appomattox Court House occurred on April 9, 1865. General Robert E. Lee arrives wearing a brand new uniform. Upon his arrival he sits and waits for General Ulysses S. Grant. He soon arrives wearing a private’s uniform that is missing a button. The two men shake hands, sit down and began discussing how they had met before. Lee changes the conversation to the point of their meeting. General Grant had thoughts earlier about making a historic general give up is army. General Grant writes terms of surrender simply being: “Put down your guns and go home.” Robert E. Lee will not have to give up his sword. They agree to pursue President Lincoln’s goal of rebuilding the nation as one. Chapter 17 4. Booth’s original plan was to kidnap or “capture” Lincoln, as he liked to refer to it as. As booth loses and gains conspirators throughout his plan he begins to think about his plan more in depth. The war is over and to Booth kidnapping Lincoln now is...
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...Senator Bob Dole. During Clinton’s second term, it was overcome with scandal. On December 19, 1998, the U.S. House of Representatives had impeached Clinton for perjury and obstruction of justice in connection with a sexual relationship he had with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky between late 1995 and early 1997. Clinton was the second American president to be impeached. The first, was Andrew Johnson who was impeached in 1868. (History Clinton n.pag.) John F Kennedy was born on May 29, 1917 in Brookline, Massachusetts. John was named after his mom’s Father, John Francis Fitzgerald. He was the second of the nine children, there were four boys and five girls. His parents are Joseph and Rose Kennedy. They were members of two of Boston’s most prominent Irish Catholic families. Despite persistent health problems throughout his childhood and teenage years John was later diagnosed with a rare endocrine disorder called Addison’s disease. (History...
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...period in our nations time some of us would like to forget. Can it really be said, though, that reconstruction was a complete failure? That all it did was make times hard for freed slaves in the U.S. I for one think that Reconstruction was both a success and a failure. When reconstruction first began in 1865, the people of America had just gotten over the brutal and destructive Civil War. In actually, reconstruction...
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...really cared for them and their children. According to the Britannica article it states, “In addition to challenging police brutality, the Black Panther Party launched more than 35 Survival Programs and provided community help, such as education, tuberculosis testing, legal aid, transportation assistance, ambulance service, and the manufacture and distribution of free shoes to poor people. Of particular note was the Free Breakfast for Children Program that spread to every major American city with a Black Panther Party chapter; to the chagrin of Hoover, the government adopted it as a federal program that survived into the 21st century.” I find this very interesting because, it shows how much power the people really have to make a change to the world that most people are looking for, but just don’t know how to get it done. They made huge changes, not only to the African American communities but to communities around the...
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