Biography On Joseph S. Fowler Essay Example

not to fight for the rights of the freed slaves as most of the Southern States had imposed laws that restrict the rights of the freed slaves. During this period, the Northern leading politicians had demanded the retribution of the South. This led the Congress to pass a long series of acts, which thereby brought direct federal control of the larger part of the North that was empowered by the local blacks, (Schroeder-Lein and Zuczek). This also ultimately led to the imposition of measures that were restrictive to the whites. Johnson fought these acts during his period in office. He used his power to exercise 29 vetoes and among these, 15 were overridden. Another achievement that Johnson managed to accomplish during his tenure is the passing of the Thirteenth and the Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Also, in 1868, article of his impeachment was brought forth by the House of Representatives, in which he was charged with the violation of the Tenure of Office Bill.

This bill did not allow him to remove anyone from the office without the approval of the Senate. He managed to defeat this bill by one vote that came from Edmund Ross. The last accomplishment of Andrew was pushing for the purchase of Alaska from the Russian for $7.2 million. As a Democrat, he campaigned for the populist measures and backed the state’s rights, (Schroeder-Lein and Zuczek). He served as the mayor of Greenville by 1834 where he began aspiring as an upcoming politician. He considered himself as the Jacksonian Democrat and gained a lot of support from the locals through his tell-it-like-it-is and common-man style. He climbed the rank to

serve as a legislator in the U.S. House of Representatives. He later served as the governor of Tennessee. He also served as a senator during which he aligned with the state’s rights and the proslavery wing of the Democratic Party.

Despite identifying himself with this fellow Southerners’ slavery views, he strongly opposed the call to break the Union over the ideology. He was considered a traitor in his hometown and Tennessee pulled out of the Union immediately after the election of Abraham Lincoln as the president of the U.S. Johnson’s properties in his hometown were confiscated, and his family was driven out of Tennessee. Following these incidences, the Northerners considered Johnson’s stand as a heroic stand as he joined the Free States. Even though Johnson was committed to saving the Union, he never believed in the emancipation of the slaves during the commencement of the civil war. President Lincoln made Johnson the military governor of Tennessee when he managed to convince the President to keep Tennessee from the proclamation of emancipation.

By around 1863, Johnson changed his mind and began to support emancipation as a measure of war to punish the Confederates and robbing them of their properties. Lincoln made Johnson his running mate to help secure his seat as the president by fusing the war Democrats with the Republicans into a Union Party. The two won the elections against their rivals General George B. McClellan and George Pendleton The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson Johnson’s impeachment was a result of political rivalry and the burst of ideologies that arose after the end of the American Civil War. There was the rise of uncompromised beliefs and disputes of

power in the U.S. as it was struggling to fight for re-unity. His political impeachment began when he violated the Tenure of Office Act by the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton from his cabinet. This act had been passed over the Johnson’s veto in 1867 to prevent the presidential dismissal of appointed officials without the approval of the Congress.

The removal of Stanton was to get rid of the disagreement between the president and his cabinet. However, this act of dismissal was also found to be a test of the Tenure of Office Act. Andrew had the notion that the Tenure of Office Act was unconstitutional and had to be tried in court. However, instead of trying the act, it was the president that was taken for trial. The House of Representatives then voted for the impeachment of the president and the Senate tried the case. This trial began in March and ended in May 1868. The Senate, through their votes, acquitted Andrew Johnson by one vote less than the two-thirds that were needed to convict. There were 35 guilty and 19 not guilty votes. Joseph Fowler voted ‘not guilty’ in Johnson’s trial. Johnson was impeached but was not removed from office.

Works Cited

1. Benedict, Michael L. The Impeachment and Trial of Andrew Johnson. New York: Norton, 1999. Print.
2. "Joseph Smith Fowler | Entries | Tennessee Encyclopedia". Tennesseeencyclopedia.net. N.p., 2016. Web. 7 May 2016.
3. https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=504
4. Schroeder-Lein, Glenna R, and Richard Zuczek. Andrew Johnson: A Biographical Companion. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO, 2001. Print. /docProps/thumbnail.wmf