***History Tournament RND 1:"Worse American President, J.Buchanan vs. A.Johnson"

REBUTTALS:"Reconstruction"My opponent took this completely out of context. The first question that should come to our minds is how did Andrew Johnson, a Democrat, become Abraham Lincoln's vice president? After all Lincoln was a Republican. The pro-war Democrats and moderate Republicans created a war coalition led by Lincoln. The coalition was based on fighting the Confederacy. Lincoln did not even run in the 1864 election as a Republican[1]. The Radical Republicans weren't even part of this coalition initially. The Radical Republicans nominated Senator John Fremont of California for president in 1864 until he dropped out and endorsed Lincoln. The idea that the Radical Republicans represented Lincoln's views would be incorrect. Lincoln did not have a strong opinion that advocated the end of slavery but the Radical Republicans were fiercely opposed to slavery. [1]http://publications.newberry.org...[2]http://www.mapsofworld.com...The idea that Radical Republicans represented Lincoln's views is wrong. Johnson was considered a moderate during that time period.The idea of hammering the South and making people be punished was a Radical Republican view. Most Republicans did not hold these views at the time. The idea that Johnson should of came down heavy handed onto Southern states was a radical view during that time period. The idea that the Black Codes should be stopped with force was a Radical Republican view. More moderate Republicans like Charles Addams and Horace Greely wanted to cooperate with southerners in helping to rebuild the South after the war. Johnson wanted to reconcile the North with the South without punishing the South as Republicans wanted to.Let us, remember President Andrew Johnson was a Democrat, not a Republican. Knowing that we should recognize the House and Senate was dominated by Republicans. John's agenda and Congress' agenda were entirely different.[3]http://www.jstor.org...[4]http://blueandgraytrail.com..."Johnson's "Swing Around the Circle"I would state this was of little consequence. The Democrats already performed poorly in northern states. The base of Democrats historically, was in the South, hence why Breckenridge had far more electoral votes than Douglas in the 1860 election. With the loss of the South, Democrats did not stand a chance to take Congress at all. Democrats just performed well in cities in the north historically but performed poorly in statewide in the 1850s and in the 1860s. The idea that Democrats should of taken the Congress without the South is ungrounded.Either way, how is this relevant to Johnson's duties as president? Perhaps it may has to do with him being a Democratic leader but it has nothing to do with Johnson's duties as the president."Impeachment"I will explain this better than Con. Since Con, clearly took it out of context completely. Secretary of State William H. Seward (1865-69)-REPUBLICAN Secretary of the Treasury Hugh McCulloch (1865-69)-REPUBLICAN Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton (1865-68)-REPUBLICAN John M. Schofield (1868-69)-REPUBLICAN Attorney General James Speed (1865-66)-REPUBLICAN Henry Stanbery (1866-68)-REPUBLICAN William M. Evarts (1868-69)-REPUBLICAN Postmaster General William Dennison (1865-66)-REPUBLICAN Alexander W. Randall (1866-69)-REPUBLICAN Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles (1865-69)-REPUBLICAN Secretary of the Interior John P. Usher (1865)-REPUBLICAN James Harlan (1865-66)-REPUBLICAN Orville Browning (1866-69)-REPUBLICAN 39th CONGRESS-US SENATE-REPUBLICAN -US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-REPUBLICAN 40th CONGRESS-US SENATE-REPUBLICAN -US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-REPUBLICAN I ask my opponent, is there any real surprise that President Andrew Johnson was impeached? After all he was a Democrat firing a Republican cabinet member. How could Johnson have an adequate functioning admininistration when he is surrounded by Republicans in his own cabinet as well as in Congress? [5]http://en.wikipedia.org...[6]http://en.wikipedia.org...