Andrew Johnson, our seventeenth president, was thrust into office by the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Because of his lenient treatment of the South after the Civil War, Johnson was criticized by Radical Republicans who succeeded in having him impeached, or brought to trial. Although he was the only president to be impeached, Johnson was ultimately acquitted of the charges against him and finished his term in office. The title traces Johnson's career from his start as an illiterate tailor to the holder of many major government offices.