Andrew Johnson Part One: Humble Beginnings

image
Author: Amos Cooper
Published: 31 Jul, 2012
Updated: 13 Oct, 2022
1 min read

Andrew Johnson is a US President you might not have heard too much about. One reason could be that he wasn't actually elected. Johnson Served as the Vice-President from March 4, 1865 to April 15, 1865 under none other than Abraham Lincoln. After Lincoln was assassinated on April 14th Johnson took up the mantle of the President of the United States. But who exactly was this man? Although he hasn't been held up in nearly as high regard as Lincoln, Johnson still deserves some credit for standing his ground in the face of total opposition and rising from his humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful men in the world.

Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808 in Raleigh, North Carolina. It's quite possible that out of all the presidents Johnson grew up the poorest. His father was a laborer and his mother a washerwoman, this led to very little income and Johnson ended up living in poverty until the age of 14 when he apprenticed with a tailor. After two years however, Johnson ended up leaving his apprenticeship and fleeing the authorities who wanted to charge him with breaking his indentured servitude. Johnson eventually returned to his employer only to be shooed away. He then left North Carolina with his mother and siblings in favor of moving to Tennessee where Johnson met his wife Eliza McCardle and opened his very own tailoring shop.

Latest articles

An electric sign of the American flag.
ABC's Sara Haines Calls Out 'Narrow View' that Independent Voters Can't Exist in Trump Era
American journalist and co-host of ABC’s The View, Sara Haines, refutes the notion that people can't be independent-minded in their election choices in an era in which the Republican Party is controlled by Trump – a perspective voiced by her colleague, Sunny Houstin that Haines describes as “narrow.”...
06 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read
US map divided in blue and red with a white ballot box on top.
Could Maine Be the First State to Exit the National Popular Vote Compact?
On May 20, the Maine House of Representatives voted 76–71 to withdraw the state from the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC), reversing course just over a year after Maine became the 17th jurisdiction to join the agreement....
04 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read
New York City
Nine Democrats Face Off in NYC Mayoral Debate as Ranked Choice Voting, Cuomo Probe, and Independent Bid from Adams Reshape the Race
A crowded field of nine Democratic candidates will take the stage tonight, June 4, in the first official debate of the 2025 New York City mayoral primary. Held at NBC’s 30 Rock studios and co-sponsored by the city’s Campaign Finance Board, NBC 4 New York, Telemundo 47, and POLITICO New York, the debate comes at a pivotal moment in a race already shaped by political upheaval, criminal investigations, and the unique dynamics of ranked choice voting....
04 Jun, 2025
-
6 min read