Andrew Johnson was the 17th U.S. president (1865-1869) who took over after Lincoln's assassination and pushed a lenient Reconstruction plan that clashed with Radical Republicans in Congress, leading to the Tenure of Office Act and his 1868 impeachment.
Andrew Johnson was a Tennessee Democrat who became the 17th president when Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865, just as the Civil War ended. He inherited the biggest question in American history up to that point. How do you bring eleven seceded states back into the Union, and what does freedom actually mean for four million formerly enslaved people?
Johnson's answer was lenient toward the white South. He pardoned most former Confederates, let Southern states rejoin quickly with few conditions, and stood by as those states passed Black Codes restricting African Americans' freedom. He vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Freedmen's Bureau bill, putting him on a collision course with Radical Republicans in Congress who wanted federal protection for Black citizenship and voting rights. Congress overrode his vetoes, passed the 14th Amendment over his objections, and eventually impeached him in 1868 after he violated the Tenure of Office Act. He survived removal by a single Senate vote, but his presidency was effectively over.
Johnson sits at the heart of Unit 5, specifically Topics 5.10 (Reconstruction) and 5.11 (Failure of Reconstruction). Learning objective APUSH 5.10.A asks you to explain the effects of government policy during Reconstruction, and Johnson IS the policy fight. His vetoes and pardons forced Congress to take over Reconstruction, which is how you get the 14th and 15th Amendments (KC-5.3.II.A) and a totally new relationship between the federal government and the states (KC-5.3.II.i). For APUSH 5.11.A, Johnson's leniency helps explain why Reconstruction failed to deliver lasting change. White Southern landowners kept their land, freedpeople got sharecropping instead of self-sufficiency (KC-5.3.II.D), and the door was left open for segregation and violence to strip away Black rights (KC-5.3.II.E). His story also extends the Unit 4 pattern from Topic 4.3, where regional interests trump national policy, into the postwar era.
Keep studying APUSH Unit 5
Reconstruction (Unit 5)
Johnson is the reason 'Presidential Reconstruction' and 'Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction' are two different phases. His lenient version ran 1865-1867 until Congress got fed up and seized control. You can't explain the shift without him.
Tenure of Office Act & Impeachment (Unit 5)
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867 specifically to box Johnson in by requiring Senate approval to fire cabinet officers. When he fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton anyway, the House impeached him. He was acquitted by one vote, but the episode shows Congress flexing power over the presidency.
10% Plan and Abraham Lincoln (Unit 5)
Lincoln's 10% Plan was already lenient, and Johnson took that leniency further while dropping Lincoln's political skill. Comparing the two presidents' visions for reunion is a classic comparison setup, since Johnson's pardons and tolerance of Black Codes went well beyond anything Lincoln signed off on.
Politics and Regional Interests (Unit 4)
Topic 4.3 teaches that regional interests often trumped national concerns in debates over slavery and federal power. Johnson, a Southern Unionist defending white Southern interests against a Northern-dominated Congress, is that same pattern playing out after the war ended.
Johnson shows up most often in multiple-choice questions that ask you to compare his approach to Reconstruction with the Radical Republicans' approach, explain what the impeachment was really about (a struggle over who controls Reconstruction, not just one fired cabinet member), or identify the Tenure of Office Act as Congress's tool to limit his power. No released FRQ has used his name verbatim, but he's prime evidence for any essay on Reconstruction's failures, federal power versus states' rights, or continuity and change in citizenship from 1860 to 1877. The move that earns points is using Johnson to explain WHY Congress acted, his vetoes triggered the 14th Amendment and Military Reconstruction, rather than just narrating his biography.
Two presidents named Andrew, both Tennessee Democrats, both clashed with Congress, and they're easy to swap on test day. Andrew Jackson (president 1829-1837, Unit 4) is the Bank War, Indian Removal, and the spoils system. Andrew Johnson (president 1865-1869, Unit 5) is Reconstruction, the veto battles with Radical Republicans, and the 1868 impeachment. If the question mentions Reconstruction, freedmen, or impeachment, it's Johnson. If it mentions the National Bank, nullification, or removal of Native Americans, it's Jackson.
Andrew Johnson became the 17th president in 1865 after Lincoln's assassination and ran a lenient Presidential Reconstruction that pardoned former Confederates and tolerated Black Codes.
His vetoes of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Freedmen's Bureau bill pushed Congress to override him and pass the 14th Amendment, shifting control of Reconstruction to the Radical Republicans.
Congress passed the Tenure of Office Act in 1867 to limit his power, and when he violated it by firing Secretary of War Stanton, the House impeached him in 1868.
Johnson was acquitted in the Senate by a single vote, so he stayed in office but lost real control over Reconstruction policy.
On the exam, Johnson works as evidence for why Reconstruction failed to secure lasting rights for African Americans and how the Civil War era redefined federal power and citizenship.
Johnson ran a lenient Presidential Reconstruction from 1865 to 1867. He pardoned most former Confederates, allowed Southern states back into the Union with minimal conditions, and vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Freedmen's Bureau bill, prompting Congress to override him and take over Reconstruction.
No. The House impeached him in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act, but the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds needed to convict, so he finished his term. Impeachment is the charge; removal requires Senate conviction.
Andrew Jackson was president from 1829 to 1837 and belongs to Unit 4 (Bank War, Indian Removal). Andrew Johnson was president from 1865 to 1869 and belongs to Unit 5 (Reconstruction, impeachment). Same first name, same state, totally different eras.
Johnson blocked their agenda. He vetoed civil rights legislation, opposed the 14th Amendment, and let Southern states pass Black Codes restricting freedpeople. Radicals wanted federal protection for Black citizenship and voting rights, so they overrode his vetoes and eventually impeached him.
Officially, he violated the Tenure of Office Act by firing Secretary of War Edwin Stanton without Senate approval. Really, the impeachment was the climax of the power struggle over who would control Reconstruction, Congress or the president.
Connect this key term to the AP exam workflow: review the course, practice questions, and check related study tools.
Review units, study guides, and course resources.
Check this vocabulary in multiple-choice context.
Apply key concepts in written AP responses.
Estimate the exam score you are working toward.
Review the highest-yield facts before practice.
Put the full course together before test day.