Andrew Johnson became president in 1829. He became a Greenville alderman along with a tanner and a plaster. Andrew Johnson was the first president to be impeached, and he became chief exeutive upon the assisination of Abraham Lincoln. At the end of the Civil War, Johnson inherited a wartime dispute between Lincoln and congress over how to treat the South after the war.
             A lot of Republicans in congress opposed Johnson's views, but the senate failed, by one vote, to remove Johnson from office. Throughout his life and his presidentcy, Johnson aroused either strong support or fierce dislike. Some people view him as an unfit leader who was to generous to the southerners after the war. Some people also portrayed him as a leader of universal vision who accurately saw the harsh treatment of the southern states would increase divisions in the Union.
             Scholars believe Johnson's acquittal in the impeachment trial preserved the independance of the presidency. In 1835, the voters elected him to the Tennessee House of Representive. He opposed a bill for state assistance in the construction of railroads because he feared dishonesty, and waistful spending.
             Many northerners questioned Johnson's plan, especially after the begining of 1866. They doubted the fitness of the southern states because of reports of violence against blacks and their white supporters, the passing of laws unfair to blacks, and the frequent election of former Confederate leaders.
             When congress met in December 1865, they rejected plan and would not seat newly elected southern congressmen, and some congressman criticized Johnson's plan.
             His impeachment had long been a goal of the radicals. On Feburary 24,1868 the House of Representitves voted 126 to 47 to impeach Johnson. On March 5,1868 the senate organized itself as a court to hear the impeachment. At the trial on March 13,1868 the galleries buzzed with spectators.
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