Johnson's Last Years
Andrew Johnson wanted to be nominated for president in 1868. The Republicans didn’t want him. The Democrats chose the war hero Ulysses S. Grant who was elected.
At his inauguration, Grant refused to share his carriage with Johnson as was customary. Johnson refused to attend Grant’s inauguration. Instead, Johnson worked in his office until noon, when Grant was scheduled to take the oath of office. Johnson then left the White House, no longer president.
When he returned home to Tennessee, Johnson was more warmly received than when he left. People saw him as someone who had tried to protect the South from Reconstruction. He received invitations to visit in Memphis, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, and Nashville.
Dig Deeper: See letter of Tennessean welcoming Johnson home.
Johnson continued to seek political office. He campaigned for a U.S. Senate seat in 1869 and a U. S. House seat in 1872. He lost both of these elections. He finally won a Senate race in 1875.
Johnson saw his election as vindication or proof that he had been right. Some newspapers hailed him as the “honest giant” in comparison to the Grant administration which was plagued with corruption scandals.
When he took the oath of office in the U.S. Senate chambers, senators burst into cheers. When a reporter asked if he would try to get even with those who tried to remove him as president, Johnson said, “I have no enemies to punish, nor friends to reward.”
Johnson is the only person in United States’ history to serve in the Senate after being president. He did not get to enjoy his return to office for long. Johnson died in July 1875.
Johnson was buried, at his request, “wrapped in American flag with his head resting on a copy of the Constitution.” He remained the defender of the Union and U.S. Constitution in life and death.
Dig Deeper: What accomplishments did Johnson achieve while president?
Andrew Johnson is buried in the Andrew Johnson National Cemetery near his home in Greenville, Tennessee. (To learn more about the cemetery and see his grave: http://www.nps.gov/anjo/cemeteryhist.htm)
Picture Credits:
- Johnson's Greeneville home where he spent his last years. Today it is part of a National Historic Park. Photograph by Tennessee State Photographic Services
- A drawing depicting the “Death of the Honorable Andrew Johnson, U.S. Senator from Tennessee and Ex-President of the United States.” Library of Congress.
- A photograph of the Greene County Courthouse where Andrew Johnson's body laid in state before his funeral in August 1875. The photographer was listed as L.W. Keen. Courtesy of the Andrew Johnson Historic Site
- Photograph titled “Funeral of Ex-President Andrew Johnson at Greeneville, Tennessee on August 3, 1875. Library of Congress.
- Andrew Johnson's casket on the funeral bier being moved in Greeneville on August 3, 1875. Courtesy of the Andrew Johnson Historic Site
- Burial place of Andrew and Eliza Johnson in Greenville. The land was purchased by Johnson in 1852, and he requested that he be buried on this location. The family erected the tall obelisk over the graves in 1878. It is now part of the Andrew Johnson Historic Site. Photograph courtesy of the Historic Site
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