Give reasons for the troubled presidency of Andrew Johnson and the failure of Reconstruction. (1865 – 1868)
1865-1867 Johnson seemed at first the ideal replacement for Lincoln. (Give reasons for this)
Johnson acted quickly as President. (What did Johnson announce and do)
Johnson’s short cut to reconciliation did not work (Why did Johnson’s plans fail – refer to how the South responded to his changes and refer to the Black Codes)
From December 1865 Andrew Johnson was on a collision course with Congress. He made many mistakes. (Refer to Johnson’s way of handling others and refer to the veto’s he passed)
Congress fought back against Johnson (Explain how the Congress responded. Refer to the passing of the fourteenth amendment and what it was. How did it cancel some of Johnson’s pardons?)
Johnson formed a new party, the NUP (How did this new party do in the 1866 election? What did it mean to Presidential reconstruction?)
1867-1868 Congress pushed through the Reconstruction Act in 1867 despite Johnson’s attempts to veto it. (What did the Reconstruction act do? Why were the Radical Republicans still unhappy with this “compromise”?
The South were furious with Reconstruction (How did the South respond to the reconstruction act – Refer to the KKK)
The Republicans passed laws to restrict the powers of the President. They prohibited the President from issuing direct military orders and passed the Tenure of Office Act. This would stop the President from being able to remove key members of the government without consent from the Senate. They knew the President disliked his secretary of war, Edward Stanton who was a radical republican. Johnson walked into the trap by trying to remove Stanton. (What did the House of Representatives do in response? What happened to Johnson over the next seven weeks? How did this end his leadership of the Republican Party?)