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Andrew Johnson assumes presidency (VUS.7d)
Chosen as Lincoln’s running-mate in 1864, Johnson was actually a Democrat. The idea was to plan for bringing the Union back together as the war was soon to be over. The actions of John Wilkes Booth changed everything for the Republicans – and Johnson became the President. Marred by battles with Congress, he was considered incredibly ineffective, and even impeached. Read MORE -
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Andrew Johnson Administration
Chosen as Lincoln’s running-mate in 1864, Johnson was actually a Democrat. The idea was to plan for bringing the Union back together as the war was soon to be over. The actions of John Wilkes Booth changed everything for the Republicans – and Johnson became the President. Marred by battles with Congress, he was considered incredibly ineffective, and even impeached. -
Johnson’s Reconstruction Plan (VUS.7d)
President Johnson believed that Reconstruction should be more lenient on the former Confederates. He offered pardons to many high officials and officers, and opposed the ideas of equality for the freedmen. Read MORE -
Amendment 13 Ratified (VUS.7d)
Slavery was abolished permanently in the United States. This amendment to the Constitution is what ends slavery in the US, it was NOT Lincoln and the Emancipation Proclamation. Read MORE -
Veto – Veto – Veto; (VUS.7d)
It started with the Civil Rights Act of 1866, Freedman’s Bureau Act, and The Radical Republican Plan of Reconstruction – all passed over Johnson’s veto. However, as Johnson was at odds with the Radicals who favored equal rights to the freedmen and punitive actions toward the South, he would learn that the Radicals had the power of impeachment. Read MORE -
Radical Reconstruction, based on the Wade-Davis Bill (VUS.7d)
The assassination of Lincoln enabled Radical Republicans to influence the process of Reconstruction in a manner much more punitive towards the former Confederate states. The rebellious states were put under military occupation. Radical Republicans also believed in aggressively guaranteeing voting and other civil rights to African-Americans. Read MORE -
Purchase of Alaska – “Seward’s Folly” (VUS.6b)
At this time, most Americans knew very little about Alaska. It was owned by Russia, and considered a rugged wilderness. Secretary of State William Seward was authorized to purchase the land for $7 million. Ridiculed at the time, this would prove to be one of the best real estate bargains ever[ Read MORE](http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h230.html) -
The First “Long Drive” to Abilene, Kansas (VUS.8a)
The years immediately before and after the Civil War were the era of the American cowboy, marked by
long cattle drives for hundreds of miles over unfenced open land in the West, the only way to get cattle to
market. The goal was to get the cattle to railroad stops – where the beef would be transported to places like Kansas City and Chicago. Read MORE -
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson (VUS.7d)
Because of his repeated fights with the Radicals in Congress, President Johnson was impeached (charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors”) by a majority vote in the House of Representatives. However, when placed on trial before the Senate, he was found “not guilty” by only one vote! Johnson kept his job – but would soon be replaced in the next election. Read MORE -
Amendment 14 Ratified (VUS.7d)
States were prohibited from denying equal rights under the law to any American, and defined American citizens to include the former slaves. Unfortunately, the Southern state governments would find “loopholes” around this, and maintain a segregated society for the next 100 years! Read MORE
