Other Interesting Facts and Trivia:
- Johnson never attended a day of school.
- At age 14, Johnson's mother apprenticed him to a tailor. People read aloud to him at work and Johnson taught himself how to read. Later, his wife taught him writing and math.
- Johnson believed that states should be able to make their own decisions about slavery. He also believed that it was wrong to leave the Union. He was the only Southern senator to remain loyal to the Union. Lincoln asked Johnson to be his vice president for his 2nd term.
- After Lincoln's death, he let the South decide how to treat the newly freed slaves which made the North angry.
- In 1868, Congress impeached President Johnson. There was a trial to remove him from office, but he was found not guilty by one vote.
- The fourteenth amendment to the Constitution was passed by Congress during Johnson's presidency in 1866. It made former slaves full citizens of the United States even though Johnson did not want former slaves to have the same legal rights as white people. |
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