LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Andrew Johnson
built 655 days ago
When the Civil War came, Johnson denounced the secessionists, and by June 1861 he was the only Southern senator to remain in his seat and refuse to join the Confederacy. He sponsored a resolution in the Senate declaring that the aim of the war was reunion and not the emancipation of slaves.
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Johnson vetoed legislation that would refuse to seat any Senator or Representative from the old Confederacy. The Congress overrode the veto: it was the first time the congress had over-ridden the veto of an important bill.
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Johnson pardoned all who would take an oath of allegiance to the Union. The conflict that surrounded this issue escalated to the point that Congress acted to impeach him. The impeachment effort was one vote short.
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Faced with this reality, Johnson made a successful race for governor, and he was reelected in 1855. The governor's office was weak by design, and Johnson accomplished very little, other than an increase in the revenues to support public schools. His principal achievement was to gain extensive public exposure, though, and thereby enhance his future career.
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By applying himself to his trade, Johnson earned a comfortable living for his family. In time he accumulated enough savings to buy a farm of about 40 hectares (100 acres). The Johnsons had two daughters, Martha and Mary, and three sons, Charles, Robert, and Andrew.
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Ultimately, the consensus of scholars, historians, and even the Supreme Court was that removing Johnson on the specified charges would have set a dangerous precedent. In 1887 the Tenure of Office Act was repealed. In 1926 the Supreme Court rendered an ex post facto (retroactive) judgment declaring it unconstitutional (272 U.S. 52, 47 S. Ct. 21).
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Andrew Johnson