The Johnson Presidents, Andrew vs Lyndon in 100 years apart

Andrew Johnson (left) and Lyndon Johnson (right) were both Presidents, born and died 100 years apart.

Andrew Johnson vs Lyndon Johnson

Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson were not related, but they do have in common, but different, they were both born 100 years apart, Andrew born in 1808, Lyndon born in 1908, and passed away almost 100 years apart, Andrew in 1875, and Lyndon in 1973. Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson both became Presidents after the assassinations of two, bigger than life Presidents, they both served 100 years apart, Andrew (1865-69) and Lyndon (1963-69). 

Presidencies

Both Johnsons became Presidents after the assassinations of two bigger than life Presidents, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy. Andrew was Lincoln's vice president, and Lyndon was Kennedy's vice president, under U.S. Constitutional law, when a President either resigns, gets removed from power, or passes away, the Vice President takes over as the next President of the United States. 

Andrew Johnson and Lyndon Johnson were both Democrats, during the time when there were still Democrats who held a conservative worldview on Civil Rights for African-Americans, Andrew was against Civil Rights, and so was Lyndon in his earlier political career. 

Relationship with African-Americans

Andrew Johnson supported the Union against the Confederacy but didn't mean he was against Slavery, when Johnson became President after Lincoln's death in 1865, Johnson infringed the rights of emancipated Blacks in the South, vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and supported the Ku-Klux-Klan. 

Lyndon Johnson opposed Civil Rights in his political beginning, but unlike Andrew, something changed, when Kennedy was killed in 1963, Johnson wanted to maintain and enacted Kennedy's political vision for America, that's going to include improving the lives of Black people, that Kennedy promised to Blacks in 1960. Unlike Andrew who reversed and shutdown Lincoln's legacy, Johnson continued Kennedy's legacy by agreeing and fought for the Civil Rights Act of 1964, improving Lyndon's image to African-Americans, and a year later after being reelected in a 486-52 electoral college landslide, Lyndon signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, giving Black people in the South the right to vote for the very first time since Reconstruction. Thanks to Lyndon's change of heart, African-Americans today, especially those in the Southern United States like Alabama and Georgia, now enjoy the full-scale Civil Rights to education, housing, and employment. 

Leaving Office in disgrace

Andrew Johnson really left office in disgrace, he was impeached by the Republicans over the firing of a Lincoln appointee, and left office in 1869 and was succeeded by a Republican. The slightly similar situation happened to Lyndon, Lyndon wasn't impeached, but he did left office with a Republican successor who, like Andrew's Republican successor, will be corrupt. Andrew left office in 1869, and Lyndon left office in 1969, 100 years apart.  

Lifespan

Andrew was born in 1808, and Lyndon was born in 1908, 100 years apart, and passed away nearly 100 years apart, Andrew died in 1875, and Lyndon died in 1973. 

Two Southerners

Lyndon and Andrew were both Southerners, Andrew born in Tennessee, and Lyndon born from Texas. 

Two Senators

Lyndon and Andrew both served on the U.S. Senate. Andrew served Tennessee, and Lyndon served Texas. 

History repeats itself

The Johnson Presidents and their similarities show that History does repeat itself, and it can do so over and over again. The Johnsons had alot in common, but when it comes to Civil Rights, Andrew and Lyndon would not agree much. Andrew was an enemy of Civil Rights, and Lyndon was a hero for Civil Rights. This is why History continues to matter, and we can all agree that Lyndon is better than Andrew Johnson.