• The President's signature stamp

    Andrew Johnson

    National Historic Site Tennessee

The Freedmen's Bureau Bill

Freedmen's Bureau Bill

First Veto:

1. Johnson was opposed to the use of the military during peacetime.

2. Johnson felt the Bill was a Federal encroachment into state matters.

3. Johnson felt this was "class legislation" for a particular segment of society that:

a. Would keep the ex-slaves from being self-sustaining, and

b. Had not been done for struggling whites (like he had been as an ex-apprentice).

4. Johnson did not feel that Congress should be making these decisions for unrepresented states.

Second veto:

Johnson's second objections were the same as his first.

 

Did You Know?

ivory basket sample

Queen Emma of the Sandwich Islands (now known as the Hawaiian Islands) came to visit President Andrew Johnson in Washington. It was the first time a Queen had visited the White House. She gave this ivory basket to President and Mrs. Johnson. It is now on display in the Andrew Johnson NHS museum.