(b. December 29, 1808; d. July 31, 1875) Seventeenth president of the United States (1865–1869); first chief executive to be impeached.

Andrew Johnson, a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, grew up in impoverished circumstances. In 1826, he and his family moved to Greeneville, Tennessee, where he opened a tailor shop. It was his wife, Eliza McCardle, whom he married the following year, who taught him to read and write. He took an interest in politics and proved an effective stump speaker. Beginning in 1828, he held public offices, including alderman, mayor, state representative, state senator, and U.S. congressman. He was elected governor of Tennessee in 1853 and four years later was elected to the U.S. Senate. Although he defended slavery, he supported the Union and refused to leave the Senate when the Civil War broke out in 1861.

Lincoln initially rewarded Johnson's loyalty by appointing him military governor of Tennessee after federal forces...