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Legislation can neither be wise nor just which seeks the welfare of a single interest at the expense and to the injury of many...  Veto Message

Veto Message

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Legacy

Johnson became president upon Lincoln’s assassination. However, he had not been Lincoln’s first vice president. Hannibal Hamlin had served as vice president during Lincoln’s first term, but was removed from the Republican ticket during Lincoln’s reelection campaign. Johnson was selected to run as Lincoln’s running mate for his second term because he was a southerner who had proven himself dedicated to healing the country. Indeed, he was the only southern Senator who opposed secession and also refused to relinquish his office as the southern states seceded.

Johnson was thrust into office in the turbulent wake of the Civil War, and he was dedicated to rebuilding the Union as Lincoln had envisioned, with leniency toward the South. Johnson pardoned everyone who took an oath of allegiance, but required Confederate leaders to seek special presidential pardons. Radical Republican members of Congress opposed Johnson’s lenient methods and passed their own legislation, including restrictions against the president. Johnson remained at odds with Congress and much of the public regarding Reconstruction throughout his tenure. Ultimately the Radical Republicans enacted their own plan, which enforced military rule in the southern states.