The President Andrew Johnson Collection
The President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library is housed in the second oldest building on the
Tusculum College campus-"Old College". The building was built in 1841 for a total of $4,245.62. Andrew
Johnson gave a $20.00 donation for the construction of the building, one of the largest local donations
according to the minutes of the Board of Trustees.
Johnson often found himself on the campus where he
met with students and developed his debating skills. Andrew Johnson also served as a trustee of
Tusculum College from 1844 to 1875.
President Johnson's great granddaughter, Margaret Johnson Patterson Bartlett, graduated from Tusculum
College in 1924. She donated the initial artifacts for the museum and her estate has also acquired
additional artifacts for the museum.
Andrew Johnson was born December 29, 1808, in Raleigh, North Carolina, the son of a hotel porter and
a housekeeper. His father died when he was three, and he never received a day of formal education.
Apprenticed to a tailor as a child, he ran away as a teenager and, after several years, settled in
Greeneville, Tennessee, where he met Eliza McCardle, daughter of a shoemaker, whom he married in
1827. Between the years, 1828 and 1852, the couple had 5 children.
Working as a tailor in Greeneville, Johnson was first elected a Greeneville alderman in 1829 and mayor in
1834. He quickly progressed up the political ladder to state legislator and senator. In Washington, he
served for ten years in the House of Representatives. During his two terms as elected Governor of
Tennessee he strongly supported public education and libraries. He was elected to the United States
Senate in 1857 where he championed the Homestead Act, which gave 160 acres of free land to any
family who lived on it for three years. A staunch supporter of the United States Constitution, he remained
loyal to the Union and was appointed Military Governor of Tennessee by Abraham Lincoln in 1862.
Johnson was chosen by President Lincoln as his running mate in 1864. Johnson became vice-president
and then president upon Lincoln's assassination on April 15, 1865. He tried to implement Lincoln's plan
for reconstruction of the southern states but was unsuccessful. Impeached by a hostile House of
Representatives, he was cleared of charges in a close vote by the Senate. Upon completion of his term as
president in 1869, he returned to Greeneville. In 1874, Tennessee once again elected him to the United
States Senate, and he died in office July 31, 1875, at his daughter Mary's home.
The Andrew Johnson Collection contains approximately 100 three-dimensional artifacts, ranging from the
former President's top hat and political memorabilia to a copy of Lincoln's life-mask, a gift to Pres.
Johnson. In addition, the collection contains Johnson's personal library of over 800 volumes, and over
500 volumes of books belonging to his children and grandchildren. It also contains over five linear feet of
paper items relating to the President and his family.
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The President Andrew Johnson Collection
The collection contains approximately 100 three-dimensional artifacts, ranging from the
former President's top hat and political memorabilia to a copy of Lincoln's life-mask.
Read more about the collection.
Tusculum College Archives
Over 350 linear feet of records reflect the history of the oldest
college in Tennessee.
Read more about the archives.
Selections from our Collections
The selections include books, drawings, and prints from the eighteenth through the turn of the twentieth centuries
View selections
More Information About
Doak House Museum
Dept. of Museum Studies
Tusculum College
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