Papers of Andrew Johnson, Volume 16: May 1869-July 1875, The

Edited By Paul H. Bergeron. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2000. 804 pp. $65.00. ISBN 1-57233-091-0.

After his tumultuous term in office, no one would have blamed Andrew Johnson if he had left Washington for a quiet retirement back home in Tennessee. Impeachment had left Johnson with a damaged reputation and had stripped him of much of his influence. But instead of dropping out of the public eye, Johnson immediately set about salvaging his political career. By the early summer of 1869 Johnson began to campaign for a seat in the Senate. Opposed by a number of vocal Radical Republicans and former Confederates, he lost by four votes. Nevertheless, he maintained a public role. One of his supporters noted that his continued presence on the public stage made his enemies "afraid that you are meditating something very naughty" (p. 191). In fact, Johnson still planned to return to the Senate. He believed that election to the upper chamber would exonerate him for his earlier travails and be sweet revenge as well. In 1874 Johnson emerged victorious with the help of Democrats and a few Republicans. Congratulations poured in from across the state and nation.

Johnson's return to the body that had narrowly acquitted him came without fanfare. His only speech to the Senate was extremely critical of President Grant's Reconstruction policies. He returned home to Greeneville soon after the session ended only to die on July 31, 1875. He was laid to rest clutching a copy of the Constitution and wrapped in an American flag.

This final volume of the Johnson papers maintains the high standards of earlier offerings. The documents are faithfully reproduced, the annotations are detailed and informative, and the introductory essays place the selections in proper historical context. Students of Reconstruction or presidential history will benefit from these excellent volumes.

RICHARD D. STARNES

Western Carolina University

Copyright University of Alabama Press Jan 2003
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