Inauguration of Andrew Johnson
Encyclopedia
The inauguration of Andrew Johnson as the 17th President of the United States
took place on April 15, 1865 after the assassination
of President Abraham Lincoln
. The inauguration marked the commencement of the only term of Andrew Johnson
as President. Chief Justice
Salmon P. Chase
administered the Oath of office.
As President Lincoln lay dying, Vice President Johnson visited the room where he lay, and when Mrs. Lincoln
saw him, it was reported, she screamed and demanded he be removed. So he went back to his room at Kirkwood house. According to newspaper reports, the Vice President had gotten stinking drunk, and when aides to the now-dead president came to fetch the Vice-President they were unable to wake him for several minutes. When he was finally awake, the accounts read, "he had puffy eyes and his hair was caked with mud from the street," and that a barber and doctor were summoned to clean him up for the ten-o'clock ceremony, which all accounts agree went smoothly.
After the ceremony, now President Johnson gave an impromptu inaugural address, which began with him begging the cabinet to remain with him and then attacking the Confederacy with such venom, that one witness remarked "It would have been better had he been struck dumb."
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
took place on April 15, 1865 after the assassination
Abraham Lincoln assassination
The assassination of United States President Abraham Lincoln took place on Good Friday, April 14, 1865, as the American Civil War was drawing to a close. The assassination occurred five days after the commanding General of the Army of Northern Virginia, Robert E. Lee, and his battered Army of...
of President Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. The inauguration marked the commencement of the only term of Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
as President. Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon P. Chase
Salmon Portland Chase was an American politician and jurist who served as U.S. Senator from Ohio and the 23rd Governor of Ohio; as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln; and as the sixth Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.Chase was one of the most prominent members...
administered the Oath of office.
As President Lincoln lay dying, Vice President Johnson visited the room where he lay, and when Mrs. Lincoln
Mary Todd Lincoln
Mary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
saw him, it was reported, she screamed and demanded he be removed. So he went back to his room at Kirkwood house. According to newspaper reports, the Vice President had gotten stinking drunk, and when aides to the now-dead president came to fetch the Vice-President they were unable to wake him for several minutes. When he was finally awake, the accounts read, "he had puffy eyes and his hair was caked with mud from the street," and that a barber and doctor were summoned to clean him up for the ten-o'clock ceremony, which all accounts agree went smoothly.
After the ceremony, now President Johnson gave an impromptu inaugural address, which began with him begging the cabinet to remain with him and then attacking the Confederacy with such venom, that one witness remarked "It would have been better had he been struck dumb."