Why was Andrew Johnson President?
Lincoln thought he needed the Tennessee governor. He didn’t.
Andrew Johnson is currently remembered as one of the worst presidents in American history. He rightfully receives much of the blame for the ultimate failure of Reconstruction. His racism and incompetence stand out among a host of fellow racists and incompetents in the history of the American presidency. In recent years, the historical judgment of several formerly maligned presidents such as Ulysses S. Grant has improved, while no revisionists have taken it upon themselves to change Johnson’s legacy.
Therefore, it came as no surprise that political gadfly Andrew Yang’s tweet about Johnson on Monday led to such strong criticism. Following his failed run as New York mayor, Yang has taken on the position of third-party advocate. He founded the Forward Party in October 2021 and has argued for a kind of nonpartisan politics ever since. He followed those arguments up with a novel argument: “Lincoln won the presidency on the brand new Republican ticket in 1860 with 39.8% in a four-way race. He took a Democrat, Andrew Johnson as his running mate in 1864.” The response was immediate. Liberals from Mehdi Hasan to John Legend castigated Yang for ostensibly supporting such a white supremacist candidate. Mediaite summed up the response with this blaring headline: “Andrew Yang Gets Obliterated After Invoking Andrew…