Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
National Historic Site of a Controversial President»
Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, chose Andrew Johnson, an anti-secessionist Southern Democrat, as his running mate for his re-election campaign in order to promote his message of unity following the Civil War. Their ticket easily won the election. Johnson became the 17th president of the United States, only six weeks after being sworn in as VP, following Lincoln’s assassination.
Johnson was deeply unpopular, at odds with the Republican Congress over Reconstruction policies. His strict constitutionalism and opposition to civil liberties for the freedmen ultimately culminated in his impeachment by Congress. He was acquitted by only one vote and served the duration of his term as a ‘lame duck.’
Gettysburg Lecture on the Andrew Johnson Impeachment»
In a prior post, I’d shared a brief living history C-Span video taken at the National Historic Site. For this post, I am linking to a lecture given by a park ranger at Gettysburg on the controversy surrounding Johnson that lead to his impeachment. Gettysburg hosts a lecture series on weekends in the winter. This video is over an hour long, but is well-presented and gives easy-to-understand insight into a troubled and divisive period in history.
Andrew Johnson NHS Posts:
- Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
- Andrew Johnson NHS Virtual Tour
- Andrew Johnson Gettysburg Impeachment Lecture
Location: 101 N College St, Greeneville, TN
Designation: National Historic Site
Date designated/established: 12/11/1963
Date of my visit: August 12, 2013
