Andrew Johnson collection, 1822-1870, bulk 1860s

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Summary

Creators:
Johnson, Andrew, 1808-1875
Abstract:
This collection consists of 14 letters from U.S. President Andrew Johnson, eight letters from others, two signed checks, and a copy of Johnson's apprenticeship order, 1822 to 1870.
Extent:
4.5 Linear Feet (1 flat box, 1 oversize folder)
Language:
Materials are in English.
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Andrew Johnson collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of 14 letters from Andrew Johnson, eight letters from others, two signed checks, and a copy of Johnson's apprenticeship order; material dates from 1822 to 1870. Johnson's letters are primarily to his son, Robert Johnson, and his son-in-law, David Trotter Patterson. These letters discuss politics in Tennessee and nationally, including the Democratic Party and presidential elections; events in Greeneville and Nashville, Tennessee; foreign relations; appointments; and personal matters of Robert Johnson. Letters from others, most of which are to Johnson or family members, primarily concern Tennessee and the Civil War.

Biographical / historical:

Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808-July 31, 1875), the seventeenth president of the United States, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, the son of a porter and a seamstress. He was apprenticed as a tailor and relocated to Tennessee, where he set up a tailor shop in Greeneville. In 1827, he married Eliza McCardle (1810-1876); the couple had five children. In 1835 and 1839, Johnson was elected as a Democrat to the Tennessee House of Representatives, and in 1841 to the state's Senate. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1843, serving until 1853 when he became governor of Tennessee. In 1857, he was elected to the U.S. Senate. During the Civil War, Johnson was appointed military governor of Tennessee following the recapture of parts of the state by Union troops. In 1864, he was elected vice president on the National Union Party ticket with Republican Abraham Lincoln and became president after Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865. In May, he offered amnesty to most former Confederates who signed an oath of loyalty. An enslaver prior to the Civil War, Johnson did not endorse Black suffrage during the post-war Reconstruction period, considering voting rights to be a state matter. He also opposed the Freedman's Bureau Bill in 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868. The purchase of Alaska, negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward, was completed during Johnson's presidency in 1867. In February 1868, he was impeached by the House of Representatives over his violating the Tenure of Office Act by removing Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; a Senate trial failed to remove Johnson from office. The Democratic Party did not choose Johnson as their candidate in the 1868 presidential election. In his remaining months in office, he issued amnesty to former Confederates and pardons to surviving Lincoln assassination conspirators. In 1874, Johnson was again elected to the U.S. Senate, but served only five months before his death by stroke at age 66.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Anderson Galleries, George S. Hellman collection sale, November 1919.
Custodial history:

Collection had been given by Johnson's daughter Martha Patterson to her friend Laura Carter Holloway Langford, author of The Ladies of the White House; or, In the Home of the Presidents (1870). Langford apparently sold the material to New York collector George S. Hellman.

Processing information:

This collection was reprocessed in 2021 by Melissa Haley as part of the American Presidential Papers Project. Previously assigned item-level call numbers have been retained; material was rehoused during reprocessing. The number of pages for each item is noted in parentheses in item-level Scope and Contents notes. Page count for letters includes enclosures but not envelopes or addressed covers. Previously assigned legacy terminology regarding autograph status was retained; items marked autograph indicate the item is in the handwriting of the author of the letter or document.

Arrangement:

Collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.

Terms of access:

The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item]. Andrew Johnson collection, The Huntington Library, San Marino, California.

Location of this collection:
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108, US
Contact:
(626) 405-2191
reference@huntington.org
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