Favorite People Tag

The original creator of this tag is Gareth from @bookssongsandothermagic, so be sure to check out his channel.

I would like to elaborate a little on Andrew Johnson. In the video, I say that Johnson supported slavery. Well, he certainly did, because he owned slaves, but it might be a bit misleading to simply label Johnson as a slavery supporter. He wanted to preserve the Union, and at one point said if slavery had to be ended to preserve the Union, so be it. But his actions on the subject of emancipation are mixed. He pushed Lincoln to exempt Tennessee (Johnson's home state) from the Emancipation Proclamation. If you didn't know, the Emancipation Proclamation liberates slaves only in rebel states, not slave states within the Union, which by that time Tennessee was mostly or wholly back in Union hands. What this means is that the Union actually had the ability to liberate the slaves there, but chose not to; the Proclamation applied only in areas where the Union army did not have power, so it was more purely for propaganda purposes and to try to encourage slave insurrection in the Confederacy, while not granting liberty to slaves on the Union side. On the other hand, Johnson did help recruit blacks to join the Union army, and, as president, when Gen. Sherman negotiated a Confederate surrender in exchange for the local government staying in place and the slaves remaining in slavery, Johnson over-ruled Sherman and forced the Confederate unconditional surrender. Similarly, Johnson seems to have had both a hard-line against anyone who joined the Confederacy, while at the same time wanting to get the South back into the Union, and this ultimately included many officials from the Confederate government, including Vice President Alexander H. Stephens, who was elected to Congress after the Civil War. Johnson didn't like the Confederates and was reluctant to offer any leniency towards them, but at the same time wanted them to be back into the fold, which included holding political offices.

So in short, I think it is appropriate to say that Johnson's views on slavery were complex and a bit fluid. He did own slaves, he did think slavery should be decided by the States and that slaves were a property issue, not an issue for the federal government, and he opposed the 14th amendment essentially abolishing slavery, but he vigorously supported the Union. He discouraged secession, in part because he felt so long as the Democrats had the Senate, Lincoln would be powerless to do anything to abolish slavery. As president, he seemed to have thought the Black Codes enacted in the South were unwise or bad moves, but he didn't feel so strongly about it to publicly oppose it; he thought it was a state issue.

So while it may be easy to simply label Johnson a supporter of slavery, I don't think he was like a John C. Calhoun, preaching about how slavery was God's given right to the whites. He cared about the Union more than slavery and the Union above all else. He thought the South was wrong to leave the Union; that was the more pressing issue to him. So while history doesn't look kindly on him, it would have been better if he saw that slavery had to go, I value the fact that he chose to support the Union when everyone else was joining the Confederacy. He could have easily decided that slavery would be protected under the Confederacy, that the South could rule themselves once and for all, that he was a native southerner, and that the Democratic Party could rule themselves in the South. But he didn't. He did what Robert E. Lee could not - he chose the Union over his home state. He considered himself an American first, not a Southerner, supporter of slavery, or a Democrat. He sided with the Union, with the north, with the abolitionists, and with the Republican president. America, the United States, the Union, came first to him. So I think labelling him a supporter of slavery is misleading because his priority was not slavery (ending or preserving). His priority was preserving the Union and preserving his country, which was the United States. That is more the basis upon which I choose to judge Andy Johnson - his devotion to the nation, not his political party. He's not a saint, but I really respect that while everyone else was joining the Confederacy, he went the other way entirely, against his party, against his own personal views on slavery, and against his native South. That took a lot of courage, and he is still hated by everyone to this day.

0:00 Intro
0:28 1. Name your favorite author
8:12 2. Name your favorite comedy actor or comedian
11:54 3. Name your favorite dramatic/serious actor or actress
13:05 4. Name your favorite political figure past or present
28:41 5. Name your favorite film writer or director
29:17 6. Name your favorite new discovery
35:04 7. Name your favorite musician or singer
37:02 8. Name your biggest inspirational person
41:23 Outro

[books_and_bocadillos]

I'm so happy for you - for getting tickets to spend time with your favorite band! 🤩. Are there any vegan festivals in your area? I love a good vegan fest 😋. Also, have you read Lincoln in the Bardo? Anyway, interesting conversation 😉.

[shaunholt]

Since the question was favorite musician or singer, and I listed a band, I'll say one of my favorite singers is Sam Cooke. Tremendous vocalist. For my money, he's the greatest vocalist of all time. Also really like Chris Cornell, Pink, and Al Stewart.

[shaunholt]

Another thing, in the video I say the 14th amendment essentially abolishes slavery, but that's what the 13th amendment does. My bad. I always kinda combine those two amendments in my head. The 13th amendment abolishes slavery. The 14th amendment grants citizenship and equal protection. I could make a whole 'nother video on the 14th amendment, but yeah.

So! Apparently, the 13th amendment passed under Lincoln, and when he became president, Johnson DID require Southern states to ratify the 13th amendment abolishing slavery as part of readmission to the Union. He did not however support a civil rights bill or the 14th amendment, thinking they were state issues, but the slavery issue was essentially settled already via the 13th amendment, and Johnson supported enforcing the 13th amendment.