Andrew Johnson was born on December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was the youngest one of the family. His parents were Jacob and Mary McDonough Johnson. Andrew Johnson's family were very poor. His father worked as a porter and sexton an Raleigh, North Carolina. When Johnson was still young his father died. After a while his mother remarried, but the family was still too poor and they didn't have enough money to send Johnson to school.

At the age ten, Johnson was apprenticed to a tailor so that he would learn a trade. When he was 17, he and his family traveled to eastern Tennessee, where they settled. After the only tailor shop moved else where, Johnson opened a tailor shop in a small shape building. Soon after opening his shop Johnson married to Eliza McCardle, in 1827. She was a very intelligent lady, with some schooling. With the help of his wife's intelligence, Johnson improved his writing, arithmetic, and reading.

The Johnson's had three son's, Charles Johnson, Robert Johnson, and Andrew Johnson Jr., and two daughters, Martha Johnson, and Mary Johnson. Andrew Johnson wanted the best for his family, so he applied his self to his shop and earned enough money to buy the family a farm of about 100 acres. In 1829 Johnson's political career began, he ran successfully for alderman on a platform that appealed to Greeneville's working class. In 1834 he was elected mayor of Greeneville's. From 1835-1837 and from 1839-1843 he served in the Tennessee house of representatives. After entering p[politics he identified his self as a democrat. In 1852 he ran for governor of Tennessee and got elected in a very close race. In 1857 he was elected to the United States Senate by the Tennessee legislature because they wanted tom acknowledge his political strength.

In June of 1864 the Republicans re nominated President Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson , a war democrat, was nominated as Lincoln's running mate in place of Vice President Hannibal Hamlin.

In November of 1864 the Lincoln-Johnson slate was elected. On March 4, 1865 was Johnson's inauguration day, but Johnson felt sick and weak and was ill with typhoid fever. Before the ceremony he had taken some wine, and during the ceremony he made a long, rambling speech, boasting of his rose from humble origins. His enemies used that unfortunate incident to label him as an alcoholic. However, Lincoln defended Johnson by stating " I have known Andy Johnson for many years; Andy ain't a drunkard."

Only six weeks after Johnson was sworn in as a Vice President, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wikes Booth. Johnson was supposed to be assassinated on the same night of April14, 1865, but one of Booth's accomplices failed to carry out his part of the plan. On April 15 ,1856 a few hours after President Lincoln had died, Vice president Andrew Johnson was sworn in as President of the United States by Salmon P. Chase.

Johnson faced many difficult issues upon becoming president. Although, most of them concerned reuniting the country torn apart by war, in several international situations.

In foreign affairs, Johnson allowed to be guided by his secretary of state, William H. Sward. Seward’s most farsighted act of diplomacy was acquisition of Alaska for $ 7,200,000. However, in 1867, when the purchase was made, it ridiculed as "Seward’s Folly." In 1863, by force of arms, France had set up European Prince as the so-called emperor of Mexico. This was a flagrant violation of the United States policy called the Monroe Doctrine, which forbade European intervention in the western hemisphere. During the war, Seward had been unable to do more then register the disapproval of the United States. By 1867, however, Seward’s firm pressure on France had resulted in the withdraw of all troops from Mexico.

On February 24,1868 a revolution impeachment was passed by the committee and the House of Representatives which was appointed to " report articles of impeachment " against president Andrew Johnson. Johnson was acquitted impeachment charges. He was also charged with conspiring against President Lincoln before he was assassinated. He was able to survive that charge against him because Lincoln and him were good friends and he was a loyal supported to him and he had nothing to do with his death.

In May of 1868, while the impeachment was still in process, the Republicans nominated Grant as their Presidential candidate. Johnson hoped to receive the Democratic nomination, but he didn’t. He was not able to get 212 votes. There for, he never got enough votes and finally the convention chose Governor Horatio Seymour of New York as it’s candidate.

Johnson and Congress continued to battle each other until Johnson’s last day in office. On March 20, 1875, he delivered his last speech he was to make. He vigorously attacked President’s Grant’s policies and third-term ambitions. Johnson closed his speech by saying " Let peace and prosperity be restored to the land. May God bless this people; may God save the Constitution."

After that he returned to Tennessee. While visiting his daughter, suffered a terribly paralytic stroke. He died in 1875, and he was buried in Greeneville.