Mass Comm 103: Prof. Craig: Presidents After Lincoln 

Presidents After Lincoln

Andrew Johnson	Ulysses S. Grant	Rutherford B. Hayes	James Garfield	Chester A. Arthur

Notable Facts:

• At end of “Era of Bearded Presidents”
• All five had been Union officers in Civil War
• Johnson was first president to be impeached (missed being removed from office by one vote)
• Johnson only president to later serve in U.S. Senate
• Grant's presidency rocked by scandal - corruption was found in seven Federal departments, including the Navy, Justice, War, Treasury, Interior, State, and the Post Office.
• Grant died essentially penniless from collapse of his son's brokerage firm
• Hayes-Tilden election was closest ever at the time - congressional commission cut a deal with Hayes
• Hayes grew to hate the office and didn't seek second term
• Garfield had been Union officer, then in Congress for 17 years
• Garfield's presidency lasted less than a year; was second president assassinated
• Arthur had been chosen as a compromise candidate for vice president, became reformer
• Arthur was not nominated for re-election 

The four presidents before Lincoln (Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan) and the five after (above) are regularly listed by historians as among the worst presidents in U.S. history.