• William Andrew Johnson
    Harris & Ewing
    staff
    Washington, D.C.
    U.S. Capitol
    Residence staff
    This photograph of William Andrew Johnson was taken in February 1937. William Andrew Johnson was born into slavery in the household of Andrew Johnson and brought to the Johnson White House to work as a free servant after his emancipation. In 1937, after being interviewed by journalist Ernie Pyle, William Johnson gained national recognition as the last surviving individual to be formerly enslaved by an American president. As a result, he was invited to the White House to meet President Franklin D. Roosevelt, where the president gifted Johnson a silver-headed, engraved cane. In this photograph, Johnson is pictured with the cane on the steps of the United States Capitol Building.
  • Abraham Lincoln’s Last Reception
    Unknown
    receptions
    State Floor
    East Room
    inaugurations
    This is a color lithograph from 1865 entitled "Abraham Lincoln's Last Reception". The lithograph depicts the reception (possibly in the East Room) following his second inauguration. The print accurately depicts First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln attending the reception. Vice President Andrew Johnson, General Ulysses S. Grant, and his wife Julia Grant did not attend the event.
  • Andrew Johnson
    Bureau of Engraving and Printing
    portrait
    engraving
    This engraving of President Andrew Johnson was produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Johnson became president on April 15, 1865, following the death of President Abraham Lincoln. Johnson had served in the United States House of Representatives and as a Senator for the state of Tennessee, advocated for the homestead bill, and was military governor for Tennessee under President Lincoln.
  • Andrew Johnson
    Mathew Brady
    portrait
    This portrait photograph of President Andrew Johnson was taken by Mathew Brady. Johnson became the 17th President of the United States on April 15, 1865, after the assassination President Abraham Lincoln. Brady is best known for his photographs of the Civil War. He also took portrait photographs of Presidents Grant, Hayes, Lincoln, and Garfield.
  • President Andrew Johnson Pardoning Rebels at the White House
    Harper's Weekly
    Civil War
    military
    This wood engraving was published in "Harper's Weekly" of President Andrew Johnson pardoning former Confederates at the White House. Johnson's decision to pardon Confederate rebels came in May 1865, shortly before his plan for Reconstruction policies in the United States. While there were exemptions to the proclamation, these pardons were generally for any Confederates who had not held office during the war, had not ascended above the rank of colonel in the army or lieutenant in the navy, and owned less than $20,000 worth of property. This policy upset many Republicans who believed that Johnson was far too lenient on the South for its rebellion against the federal government.
  • Lincoln's Second Inaugural, 1865
    Allyn Cox
    inauguration
    This mural depicting President Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address on March 4, 1865 was painted by artist Allyn Cox. The center scene in the mural shows President Lincoln on the steps of the East Portico of the just-completed United States Capitol. Seated behind Lincoln is Vice President Andrew Johnson and standing next to Johnson is Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Salmon P. Chase. This historical image of the inauguration is buttressed by a painting of a Civil War-era soldier on the left, symbolizing sacrifice in the name of freedom and reunification, and an African American voter on the right, reinforcing the strength of the 15th Amendment and the right of African American men to vote. This mural resides in the Cox Corridors of the Capitol. Cox painted numerous murals throughout the Capitol and completed the "Frieze of American History" in the Capitol Rotunda that was originally started by Constantino Brumidi in 1878.
  • Andrew Johnson
    Eliphalet Frazer Andrews
    official portrait
    This oil on canvas painting of President Andrew Johnson was done by celebrated portraitist Eliphalet Frazer Andrews. As Abraham Lincoln's vice president, Johnson succeeded to the presidency after Lincoln's assassination in April 1865 and left office on March 4, 1869. Johnson is one of only two US Presidents to serve in Congress after leaving the White House, the other being John Quincy Adams. Johnson served in the Senate. He had served as governor of Tennessee prior to his time in the White House.