Andrew Johnson Quotes
I would rather be a free man than be President and a slave.
Shortly after his presidential term expired:
Andrew Johnson, 1808-1875, 17th President of the United States (War Democrat, TN), Speech, Baltimore, MD, Quoted in The New York World, March 12, 1869
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, coming to office as the Civil War concluded. He favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union without protection for the former slaves. This led to conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives in 1868. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote.
