![The Avenger Takes His Place; Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed the](https://d3525k1ryd2155.cloudfront.net/f/121/012/9780151012121.HO.0.l.jpg)
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different
The Avenger Takes His Place; Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed the Nation Hardcover - 2006
by MEANS, Howard
- Used
- Fine
- first
Brings to life one of the most critical moments in American history through the eyes of one of its most misunderestimated presidents--Andrew Johnson. Until now, books on Johnson have focussed exclusively on the impeachment trial (these books sold well during Clinton's impeachment proceedings). By contrast, award-winning journalist and novelist Howard Means focuses upon the first 45 days of Johnson's presidency, beginning with the assassination of Lincoln on April 14 and ending at the close of May 1865, when Johnson declared his terms of peace and set the nation on a course that still reverberates in our own time.
Means' book shows how the nation's future hung in the balance when a Southerner (a slave-holder at the start of the Civil War) and a Democrat was being called upon to replace the most famous Republican president in history. At a time that required the most delicate of political touches, Johnson had shown that he was perhaps the most obstinate man in America. He had been drunk at his own inauguration as vice-president only a month before. Not only did Mary Todd Lincoln detest him, she also thought he had been among the plotters that murdered her husband. How would Johnson lead the nation? Would he be a reconciler like Lincoln? Or would he, as the Radicals and much of the nation expected, side with them? ("The Avenger takes his place" comes from a poem by Herman Melville that appeared shortly after Lincoln's death.) For forty-five days the nation--including a deeply anxious South--waited.
That crucial month and a half is the focus of this book.
Means' book shows how the nation's future hung in the balance when a Southerner (a slave-holder at the start of the Civil War) and a Democrat was being called upon to replace the most famous Republican president in history. At a time that required the most delicate of political touches, Johnson had shown that he was perhaps the most obstinate man in America. He had been drunk at his own inauguration as vice-president only a month before. Not only did Mary Todd Lincoln detest him, she also thought he had been among the plotters that murdered her husband. How would Johnson lead the nation? Would he be a reconciler like Lincoln? Or would he, as the Radicals and much of the nation expected, side with them? ("The Avenger takes his place" comes from a poem by Herman Melville that appeared shortly after Lincoln's death.) For forty-five days the nation--including a deeply anxious South--waited.
That crucial month and a half is the focus of this book.
Description
NZ$18.70
NZ$9.97
Shipping to USA
Standard delivery: 6 to 14 days
More Shipping Options
Standard delivery: 6 to 14 days
Ships from Argosy Book Store (New York, United States)
Details
- Title The Avenger Takes His Place; Andrew Johnson and the 45 Days That Changed the Nation
- Author MEANS, Howard
- Binding Hardcover
- Edition First
- Condition Used - Fine
- Pages 304
- Volumes 1
- Language ENG
- Publisher Harcourt, Orlando
- Date 2006
- Bookseller's Inventory # 266622
- ISBN 9780151012121 / 0151012121
- Weight 1.19 lbs (0.54 kg)
- Dimensions 9.2 x 6.3 x 1.11 in (23.37 x 16.00 x 2.82 cm)
- Library of Congress subjects Presidents - United States, Johnson, Andrew
- Library of Congress Catalog Number 2006011374
- Dewey Decimal Code B
About Argosy Book Store New York, United States
Specializing in: Americana, Antiquarian, Art, Autographs, History, Maps, Modern First Editions, Rare Books, Signed Books
Biblio member since 2004
We are a large retail store, with 6 floors of out-of-print and rare books, (including, Americana, modern first editions, history of medicine and science), antique maps and prints, autograph manuscripts, letters & signatures.
Summary
From the moment of Lincoln’s death on April 15, 1865, until Andrew Johnson, his replacement, formally announced postwar plans on May 29, the fate of the country hung in the balance. War had left the Republic strained almost beyond endurance. Johnson’s ascendancy to the presidency seemed the killing stroke even to the victorious North. A former slave owner from the border state of Tennessee, Johnson had been drunk at his inauguration as vice president; he was hated equally by the South and the North. Some Northerners were even convinced he had been part of the conspiracy behind Lincoln’s assassination. Later, he escaped impeachment by a single vote.
As Howard Means reveals in this revisionist, powerfully persuasive, and absorbingly dramatic account of Johnson’s first six weeks in office, the new president faced almost insurmountable odds. Yet, as Means shows, Johnson not only met but overcame them, preserving the Union for which so many had sacrificed their lives.