20th anniversary of the holocaust museum. later, president obama speaks about the impornce of investing in science education. >> she was close to being broken by the time she went to the white house. >> this is the earliest existing house. they lived here in the 1830's and 18 40's. >> she was educated and taught school. >> she would work. the north and south fought all over the civil war. it changed hands 26 times. they did have domestic help. >> it was used as a hospital, it was used as a place to stay and it was destroyed. >> aleezeh liza wasn't able to get out much. >> she brought home many gifts.

>> this is the room she returned to. >> she is obscure. who he needed. >> abraham lincoln's assassination weeks after his second inaugural shocked a war-raffvadged nation. johnson's wife eliza was 54 years old when she was thrust into the role as first lady. he navigated the end of the civil war, reconstruction in the south and his own impeachment. this week on "first ladies, the life and times of eliza johnson." . we learn more, let me introduce you to our two guests. jacqueline burger is in the midst of a biography collection called "love, lies and tears" and joining us from her home in southern california.

and a greenville, native and long time employee of the national park service. and is an joyey of the andrew johnson historic site. the country has lost presidents before, but this was the first assassination. what was it like in washington, d.c.,, the capitol and white house, was it orderly transition, chaos or something in between? >> it was disbelief. they could not believe that it happened. but secretary stanton took charge immediately. and he decided that the president was going to be a funeral in the east room and he ent ahead and had major french set up the funeral and do everything for it. he went to work immediately to elaborate this most beautiful funeral for the president and unfortunately the first lady who

was upstairs, constantly in tears and in mourning, they were building this beautiful setting for the funeral and banging and hammering and all night long she was called downstairs and asked them to please stop because she thought gunshots were going off inside the white house. it was pretty terrifying for her. >> to the transition in government, how is it that a republican president ended up with a southern democrat for vice president? >> it was a unique situation. once abraham lincoln was trying to appeal to the broader segment of the population. in another sense, i think he was making good on his second inaugural to bind up the nation's wounds. so he was trying to bring the north and south back together again. johnson was a southerner, he was a democrat, intensely loyal to the nation and he came to speak

and he had spent time as a military governor restoring a union government and freeing the slaves in tennessee, so he was a good choice. >> how prepared was he for the job of president? >> he had held nearly every political office that you can hold on the rise to the presidency. it was a completely different situation going in after lincoln's assassination. just a very chaotic time. >> in fact, the new president's graciousness towards mary lincoln made it difficult for him in transition. how did it work? >> it was difficult in the beginning. mary was in total mourning and remained there for six weeks. so the new president was gracious not to give up his office in the white house so he could give her time to make the adjustment. it was difficult on him and in the beginning he was obvious shaken to the core.

he got into action very quickly and prepared to take over the presidency. >> where did he work at that time? >> treasury department in washington and his family was not here. and the -- >> what were his early days like? did you have a chance of how adjusted himself and how quickly he assumed control? >> it was two-sided. at one point, it was the grand review, he had the lincoln trial and murders to deal with. on other hand, it was his golden hour because congress wasn't in session, so he jumped in trying to implement the lincoln plan of restoration for the south. >> and there were skirmishes going on from the civil war? >> i'm sure there were and hardly settled in a lot of people's mind. and taking over this job at this particular time in this city, i

mean he had a cabinet that he inherited, what were his challenges? >> he made the decision to keep the cabinet. he said this is what i have and i'm going to live with it the best i can and he discovered it might not have been the best decision for himself, because he was constantly struggling with them. they thought for sure he would go ahead and have a more hasher stance on the stance on the south and he didn't. he had a lenient opinion on how to get the north and south back together. he had a difficult time. >> we have used the word tum you will tueous, but these four years deserve the description. here is a look at some of the highlights of that time period, the four years he spent in office. 1865, the 13th amendment was ratified. those of you who saw the movie lincoln," that was the great

fight. the veto that led to his impeachment and suspended stanton and 1868, 14th amendment was ratified and reconstruction amendments and it had a citizenship clause that overturned the dred-scott decision and his impeachment proceedings were held. that is a look at the kinds of things the family had to deal with. did he have a vice president? >> yes. >> was there any provision for selecting a vice president? >> the impeachment had resulted in conviction. the presidency would have gone to the president pro tempore important of the senate. >> let's move on to eliza. she arrives when? >> about four months later that she came with her family. they had set up a situation where she took care of the home, took care of the finances.

her life was pretty well set and the fact that her husband became president didn't change things. she did follow and brought her family. two daughters who was married and two children of her own and other daughter was a widow with three children so it's very, very crowded upstairs in the white house. and she was an invalid when she got to the white house and people think she didn't participate much. that isn't true. she was very much involved. started her own bedroom across from the president's office and she was able to hear what was going on. she was very active and read daily newspapers and brought different points of view to the president and able to calm him down and was the grandmother of the house as well as taking care of her daughters and grandchildren. >> her health status is the only known public statement we have

from eliza johnson. which we have on screen. this was her announcement to the press. and after making it, what did she do? >> went upstairs. her face showed interest but no enthusiasm. another quote attributed to her, i do not like this public life at all and i will be happy where we are back to where we belong. >> what was her health problems? >> t.b. her health weakened after the birth of her last son who was 18 years younger. and there are many references to her health. >> first question from a viewer and before i take it, i remind u if you are new to this series, there is your participation. call us and put those numbers on the screen and send us a message

on the screen using the #firstladies or go to c-span's facebook page and we have questions coming in and try to mix those in. gary robinson asked the question, was eliza concerned for her husband's safety after the lincoln assassination? >> she was absolutely terrified. his life was in danger as well. when he was a senator, he did secedee his state to from the union and oftentimes his life was in danger and when -- president was in ssassinated. one of the daughters was worried. >> there was worry.

some of the investigation suggests that there was in fact part of the overall plot someone assigned to kill johnson. >> he had heavy drinks beforehand and lost his nerve. >> he was stalking him that whole day and planning to as sat -- assassinate him that night and he did not follow through. >> any historic documentation about how the president reacted to the threats on his life? >> i have never heard of any. we heard grave concerns for lincoln and people did try to tell him not to go to the peterson house that night himself because of all the danger out there, but he went any way. >> the peterson house was the rooming house across the street from the hotel after the president was shot. and he was warned to stay away.

>> news was coming in. and they knew this was a full -fledged attack on high-ranking government officials. >> wasn't first time. there was an attempt on washington's life and many other presidents. they lived with that fact. harry truman made the comment that it goes with the territory and can't think about it and go about your business and do what you need to do. >> before we leave the relationship with the lincolns, did eliza johnson have a relationship with mary lincoln? >> not to my knowledge. once again, she stayed at home quite a bit. not that she traveled to washington. oftentimes other wives did travel to washington and spent times with their husbands. eliza didn't. to the boig, she did not have a relationship at all. >> is that your understanding? >> it is.

eliza did come to washington for a couple of months. but health forced her back home. >> you were describing this private floor in the white house even though the public didn't see her, there was lots of family going on. a centerpiece room was what is called the yellow oval room which is turned into a library. do we have a photograph of what it looks like today? how did they use this and what was their personal life like? >> they were an extremely close-knit family. martha was always watching out for their mother and the grandchildren adored their grandparents and they were very close. and they would always come back in and visit their grandmother. the president spent his mornings visiting with her before he went off to business and everything

evolved around eliza. >> on facebook, can you tell us about her two daughters who helped her with her role. did they serve as official hostesses? >> martha was the official hostess and mary supported her. mary was back and forth to greenville and was like her mother and preferred to be with the children. she was responsible for a lot of their education and a lot of their training. she did step in with her sister, but she didn't like the public life. the entire family didn't care for it. by that time, she was a widow and lost her husband in the civil war, so that was difficult on her having three children and being a widow. > what did it mean to be a hostess in the white house?

>> eliza, even though it was a state of mourning and the war had totally ravaged the white house completely. i can't describe what disarray it was in. there was mold in the state dining rooms. the carpeting was filthy and gave congress a couple of months to get the house cleaned up and she scrubbed it down from top to bottom. and then they had their weeklies on thursday nights. >> a tradition we have seen from the washington administration. >> and that is the way it is. martha washington set the role and many first ladies followed long. and johnson's intention to have the common man and common people come to the house. he didn't want to have formal dinners like by written invitation but inviting people to come in and see the president's home.

>> just on that note, to capture johnson's approach, this quote from martha johnson, we are plain people from tennessee, called here for a little time and i hope too much will not be expected of us. >> in fact, how did the -- mary lincoln was criticized in the press for her spending especially during the time of a war. how did the nation respond to the folks who said we are plain folks and going to approach this job this way? >> in many ways, they loved it. one said there was a homelyness in that statement and people were craving that after the war to know that these are people who had suffered like they had and who were not going to be -- going to be respectful of the position in the white house. bring two cows?

>> martha would go downstairs and supervise the dairy operation the and would come back into the house and have an inspection of the estate floors and make sure everything was in order. yes, they did. the first family that brought animals with them. but brought cows. >> on twitter, were the johns ons very religious and did their view change over time? >> mrs. johnson attended church. johnson did not because i think there were vague lines between politics and religion a lot of times. >> at that time period, we do have a letter when he thought he where g in the 18 70's he is at peace. so it shows that while not practicing at a church in particular, he was still a

religious man. >> and before we leave this life in the early days in the white house, tell us more about how the white house ended up in such a state. mrs. lincoln spent a lot of money and was criticized. >> that is very true. after the president passed away, she went upstairs and was there for six weeks and the white house was open to the public. as soon as the doors were open in the morning, people were constantly coming through. there was a tremendous amount of traffic. and there was a lot of vandalism also. they wanted pieces of the carpeting or drapery or pieces of fabric, china was missing and it was in disarray. there's a lot of people coming through the white house. >> where was the security? >> the security wasn't paying much attention. they didn't know or maybe didn't have enough support to go in and

say something about it. they didn't feel like they had enough control or they chose not to and that's where the confusion came in. mrs. lincoln was upstairs and the president was not in the white house. so for about six weeks it was run amuck. >> congress recognized this and gave the family a $30,000 appropriation, which is a lot more money than the lincolns hood. >> how did they use that money? penny.ha oversaw every she would take carpets cleaned and have a smaller section that was still good, put it in a different area. she took down the wallpapers and had decor put up that was simple but elegant. >> the official washington, maybe the larger country reacted well to this after the lincolns?

>> they did. they were very simple people. and washington society appreciated that. they said that they were dressed simply but elegantly. martha did a lot with flowers and she made slip covers for the furniture. they respected her thriftiness. >> and one of the rooms she overdid was the state floor and which one was referenced, the blue room and the famous east room. one of the traditions i understand that she created was by finding portraits of past presidents and bringing them into the white house. what did she do there? >> families come into the private floors or public places and martha went down into the basement and found portraits and her father thought it was a

great idea to frame the portraits and hang them up. and president johnson liked to walk the hauls of framed presidents and tell stories. margaret did get that from her mother because it was eliza who said and her husband kept going ff, he said i remained at home caring for the children. i said margaret, it's martha. >> those presidential paintings have remained there and one of the more iconic if you see movies about the white house, you see the first family walking down the presidential portraits it is called the cross hall and that began with the johnson administration. you will see pictures from the national historic site in greenville, tennessee where our guest has worked for quite a long time. and we are going to start with

one that shows the white house artifacts from the museum. how many do you have in the collection? is it a big white house collection? >> i would say a dozen, two dozen things from the johnson administration. they were allowed to bring them home in those days and qualify that. >> family collection? >> three generations of the amily lived in the house after andrew and eliza and great granddaughter lived there. so we have 85% of the original belongings. >> we are going to see some of the white house collection and our guest will be in this video in her uniform. so we'll take a look. >> in this case, we have artifacts relating to johnson's

presidency and beyond. we have one of eliza's neck laces which is a plain black cross which shows her simplistic taste. another one is her sewing case and three of her favorite past times being as reclusive as she was was embroidry, reading poetry and scrapbooking. they did receive political gifts and this came from queen emma from the sandwich islands, which is the hawaiian islands and first time that a queen came to visit the white house. andrew johnson was the first president to have an easter egg roll. previously it was held on the capitol. it stopped during the civil war but brought it back and held it on the white house lawn so eliza could watch and being invalid

and had t.b. and couldn't get out much. during the white house, eliza chose not to assume the role of the first lady. she was very ill at that point, but during the time she received gifts that she brought home with her. one of the most spectacular is this pores lane box that was given to her by the noble frenchman and had 50 pounds of chocolate bonnbonns in it and we have a letter saying they would go up to mom's house to get a treat from the bonbon box. and there was a visit from charles dickens would come visit them at the white house. she returned and brought back one of his books. she was an avid reader and gave her a chance to remember his visit and he is one of the most prolific writers.

another item that she brought back was a gaming table that was given to them by the people of inlaid and 500 pieces of wood. it sits up and rolls up and looks like a regular table. the craft manship is remarkable. another piece is the fruit container and that was a gift from the children of philadelphia when they were in the white house. and eliza brought that back home with her when they returned. >> and on twitter, michael wants to know the queen's visit, did any other royal from the kingdom of hawaii visit the white house? >> not to my knowledge. >> first telephone call is from abraham who is watching in hundredsville, alabama. >> thank you for taking my call. i think this program is so great because we study so much about

the presidents, hearing about the presidents' wives is fantastic. i know that eliza johnson was educated and i wanted to know what kind of books and writings eliza was interested in the most and another question i had, what was the highest level of education that eliza johnson had ? >> do you know her education? >> eighth grade. there was a female branch of an academy in greenville at that point. and we still have some of the books that eliza had, one math and one grammar that she used to tutor. >> do you know about her reading? >> she loved reading the newspaper and loved reading the constitutional papers that came out. she read all of her husband's speeches and assisted him with

that. she loved poetry. very broad range. and she -- >> she loved to read the newspapers. and clipping service for her husband. >> she loved to clip things out of the newspaper and her husband was a great speaker and she wanted to make sure he had good talking points and she would read multiple newspapers and nothing missed her eye whenever she catched something her husband might be able to use. she would bring it to his attention. >> john in tampa, florida. welcome to our conversation. >> good evening and thank you for this program. just listening to what you were saying just now regarding how interested the first lady was in current events apparently from the newspaper reading, how much influence did she have over the president and his policy,

particularly as it relates to two things, like the reconstruction? thank you. >> she clipped things for him and helped him with his speeches and how much influence? >> i think she had a good calming effect and she could touch his shoulder. we know that andrew johnson had a pretty good temper and oftentimes it would show in his conversation and she was able to calm him down. we really don't know what necessarily her opinions were because she only shared them with her in private, which many first ladies do as you might suspect. but i know she listened to her daughters and asked advice. i don't know >> as i mentioned throughout the program, we'll be returning to the johnson national historic site. we have a few different pieces look at them,s we how does this -- how is this

preserved? quite a large place in the center of a small town. so what do you have there? how are you you -- interpreting it? >> we have four different areas. a museum at the visitor's certainty along with where he ilor shop began his political rise, so to speak. the early home which was the 1830s and 1840s, and then the larger homestead a away which theys lived in before and after the presidency and the national where the family is buried. >> how extensive is your collection -- so, for example, be able to research through their writings whether r not she helped to influence his policy s? >> you can. we have a collection -- also the and w johnson museum library at the college. and there's some papers there as well. unfortunately, the letters between andrew and eliza were the family. by really don't have that

interaction. she visited him every morning in house.ite she would have a tea in her collection, a bite to eat warm he wouldn the evenings come up and sit with her as well. >> how frustrating is it to hear about the burning of letters from administration to administration. started washington that. >> did eliza make friends outside of the family? that she standing is did. she was a friendly person. initially historians thought downstairs y came two different times in the entire administration. that's vered later on not entirely accurate. in fact, it's ulysses s. grant's wife, julia, who wrote and said that after the state dinner that fact, rst lady would, in come downstairs. she didn't stay for the state dinner but she would come down have coffee and literally walk around and talk to all of the guests.

gracious.xtremely she was always dressed very eloquently and very appropriately. friends.k she did make she was just a very kind person. >> when they left washington, here were people who called on her to say, good-bye and -- and they had fond remembrances of her. thanked her too. >> we've been learning about the role of women and society. this question comes under that category. ould we classify eliza a political equal or superior to her husband? >> well, colonel crook said she his reat appreciation for office and she may have had greater appreciation even than she was so that well read and well learned. > well, now it's time to learn about how the johnsons became a couple and we're going to return andhe johnson historic site learn about the early years together in this video. we are standing inside the memorial building at the andrew

site, national historic seeing andrew johnson's old taylor shop. e bought the shop in public auction in the early days when he and eliza were first married used it as a place of business. eliza would read to him in the hot while he worked making the suits for the men of town. these are some of the books that tutor andrew johnson with in the early days of the marriage. this is the teacher's assistance arithmetic.ance in this is entitled english grammar. different classes of learners. a lot to andrew and eliza, i think, they kept the historic ing the import they had on their lives and his future career. the earliest existing house that we have for andrew and eliza. here through the 1830s and 1840s until he traded his home for a later homestead in 1851. they start their family here. they have five children all

together. in a tailoron works shop, he finds out he's got a debate.r he becomes interested in politics. eliza supports him as he becomes of the town and then a mayor. erhaps even though eliza had married a tailor and that's all she was expecting from life, perhaps she did entertaining in as he started the political journey. this might have been the kitchen home.ting area of the andrew and eliza did purchase their first place while they live in this house. bought dolly in 1842 and a few days later purchased her sam. brother, so they did have domestic help. they would help eliza with such as raising the children, cutting the firewood, meals.king the this is the house where they got their start. this is where they put the roots community. this is where he had a this arriving business at the tailor. first where he entertained as he started to politics. this is a house where the

were born. this place holds a special place in the lives of the couple. i'd encourage you if you get to that part of the country, make a visit to see thele, tennessee to life of the johnson family as the federal government has preserved it through the national park service. the distinction in the history books of being the youngest bride. >> absolutely. was she?d >> 16. >> andrew johnson? >> 18. hey were a very, very young couple. and as life has it -- i thought would be a ry wonderful made for tv movie. she was a young girl. standing outside school one day talking with some comess and an dry johnson in to town and legend is that she is the first person he sees. for directions and she makes a comment to her girlfriend that that is her beau. a year, they did, in fact, marry. she was 16. he was 18. they had four children every two years, i believe, she had four

hildren by the time she was 24 years of age. but she proved to be a wonderful homemaker and a very, very good as well.oman she took care of all of the finances. it's said, you know, she would read to her husband in the tailor shop. she herself was a great seamstress. she came from a poor family, by the way. her father -- some would say when she was quite young. early say when she was teens. and she and her mother helped to making themselves by quilts and sewing sandals, things of that nature. of what n appreciation her husband did and she would constantly, constantly read to him. humble roots, they really became rather successful. so where did the entrepreneurial spirit come from? which of the two of them were responsible for it. a combination.as the tailor shop soon became the of hangout spot for men where they debated students in

started r johnson attending debating societies demophany, a greek orator who had learned from the great speakers. andrew johnson had a book called the american speaker. the f its desires in presses was to teach the callow young to teach the country's of fire. lips that inspired him to the point where he just wanted to break as he had known it being such a struggle into something greater. >> he had a gift. had a gift for oratory. >> very much. >> and there was an interest for which i understand eliza the society ound for him to take part in so he could polish his skills but that to politics, wasn't it? >> exactly. correct. him people say she taught how to read and write. that's not exactly true. e knew his abcs but she was

very, very helpful in helping him form his letters and improve skills because that is one of the things that she, in fact, learned in school. encourage him to go to debating classes and that's something that they did know.imes, you they'd have people come into the taylor shop and talk about politics and debate different issues. >> here is jesse watching us from san diego. on. e >> yes. i was wondering, after the assassination of lincoln, was -- did they make sure that johnson was heavily protected so like that wouldn't happen again? nd his wife ever go out in public? >> thank you very much. and ken said that, ken ruben on facebook. can you describe what role the new secret service played in the johnson white house? to create a ponse sort of early secret service. is the derstanding secret service began with abraham lincoln they were so

safety.ed about his not aware of anything that they tightened up more stringent than anything else. get out. there's no question about that. unlike today, she wasn't going market.g or the but she did have various travels with her children and to various spots, sometimes it was for her health purposes. and sometimes she was very concerned about her sons. both of her sons had problems with alcohol. so she was very, very worried about that. >> thomas in greece, new york. hi, tom, you're on. oh, you've got to turn the tv down. are you there? sorry. we have to move on. pennsylvania.ale, you're on, ken. know how would like to the hamlin white house would have differed from the johnson white house? >> how the hamlin white house would have been different. do you have a sense of how he vice president and what happened if he had ascended to the presidency.

>> i don't know, i'm sorry. interesting question. >> interesting question. >> yeah. did eliza contract tuberculosis that would eventually have her become an invalid? >> it's hard to know. it was rampant at that time because they didn't realize it contagious. even the grandchildren visiting her, you know, daily in the white house. it would take its toll on them as well. >> how early in her life did she contract it? hard to say. could be after the birth of andrew jr. >> mm-hmm. beginning ofby the the 1860s, it was clear that she consumption. from >> and how often was andrew away as he became more interested in politics? >> considerably. away quite a bit. that's why -- another reason why responsibility fell on eliza. but i've also read different she, in fact, was good at selling and buying stocks. here they came from these very, humble, humble beginnings and they owned real estate, they

owned other properties. would go ahead and collect the rent from these properties. and basically manage the money effectively. >> and could you walk us through career?tical where did he start in this alderman? >> alderman, mayor. yeah. >> served as state representatives, state senators. representatives, u.s. senator. military governor, vice president. then he's the nd only president to this day to return to the senate. >> and what -- what were his -- how would you describe his politics? him to be amean for democrat at that point? >> well, democrats or are sort of reversed as the years have gone by. fiscal ery much of a conservative. limited government. decisions being made by the state. >> and, again, we have no record than a scrapbook that she kept where she was

clipping things and what her own politics were? >> no, unfortunately, we don't. we do know that andrew johnson in state's rights. no question about that. and he was always putting bills for the common man. i know that was very, very important for him. e didn't care for the aristocrats, he didn't necessarily care for the very referred to as he them. and he won -- it was the blood, sweat, and tears of the common he was trying to help the poor quite a bit. san diego? has r: i know ms. berger written on first ladies. was der that mrs. lincoln so distraught set a precedent for other widows? and -- >> no. actually, that's not the case at all. there are a couple of other theirwho, of course, lost husbands in the presidency. of ield happened to be one them. she was just the opposite of mary todd lincoln.

herself very graciously. she moved out of the white house almost instantaneously. about jackie kennedy as well. handled herself with great poise great sophistication. so, no, i wouldn't say mary todd example at all. > what is known of eliza's parents and did she have any siblings? siblings.n't have you might be able to address her mother more. mccarter was a shoemaker. they have a boot shingle for his andrew johnson museum and library opened a avern in the town of warrensburg, tennessee as well. >> we referenced scrapbooks. we saw one of those in the video. do any of her scrapbooks still exist? still do? >> we have one of her scrapbooks. the house i ay at pulled it out for the show. and that simulated a lot of

the public. >> what kinds of things did she collect? articles, r primarily, about her husband. she would show him some in the the mornings, n depending on the tone. age of re also in the photography at this point. did she collect photographs? photographs. >> political badges and things of that nature? pardon that blank andrew johnson was pardoning people as president. but primarily newspaper articles. >> next up, mary in omaha, hi, mary. caller: thank you for taking the call. were just wondering. we noticed that -- i wonder if he natural surroundings and original area around the homes have been changed. up toads seem to go right the door -- were the roads did the t one time or homes that time sit that close to the street? >> they sat that close to the street. it was right on main street and i have heard tale that it was

much a scot-irish follow-through and many of those scot-irish dissent. >> to be right on inn the middle on the own and right street. how much land did he have on the site? > he had half an acre with the homestead. about two acres with the yard now. but even as the later family buy there, they would pieces as they came up for sale. sort of make a butter around the property. >> on facebook -- visited the first married home in greenville, tennessee. i was fascinated with eliza eaching andrew to read and write and was influential on his politics. do we have evidence of eliza to reform president johnson of his drunkenness. sons died of alcoholism. relationship with alcohol? >>e was not a drunk. he got that reputation when he

president, hed by had -- i believe he had typhoid fever at that time. he was pretty down. he was low. trying to get himself a little bit of energy. he had some whiskey on that day. got up to give the 1350e67, he feels slurring his words. fact, he was t, in drunk. he was not, in fact, president lincoln knew that. not tory is people were willing to let the truth get in rumor.asty o he was not an alcoholic though his sons were. cello, y in month kentucky. you're on. aller: appreciate your conversation. it's mighty good. did either one become born again christians before they died and left this world? >> thanks. you talked about the religion earlier. ould you prefer to talk about it? >> when johnson thought he was

write a cholera, he did letter sort of making his peace. churchgoer there in greenville. >> next up is janet asking a tucson.n from hi, janet? caller: hi, yes, mary lincoln tragic time with her and i wonder if you could talk about the johnson's hildren and if there are any descendents now. >> i know she had a wonderful relationship with her children grandchildren. i don't know if there's any descendents. greats. great, great, >> they all come through martha. the only one that has any descendents. >> and before we move into the ivil war, in the video, we saw that they were slave holders. >> mm-hmm. and orange asking on twitter, is there any felt tion of how eliza about slavery or how she felt

about those folks. about the u tell me families' ownership of slaves and what happened to those people? >> the johnsons had a lenient relationship with their slaves. e had a letter that charles, one of the sons wrote, talking with eliza's relationship sam. for a job heayment had done. to told him he needed to go patterson's wood first. be damned to cut at the pattersons because he didn't get paid for what he'd done. t shows this lenient relationship, two, they paid heir slaves and, three, eliza was in charge of the finances. ater on, august 8, 1863, johnson is -- the day johnson freed his slaves. andto this day in tennessee surrounding states, it's still

day. ated as emancipation >> do you know what came of them? >> they all stayed on as paid servants afterwards. all took the last name of johnson? >> they all took the last name of johnson. eventually baked and sold pies out of the tailor shop. own business.r sam wrote president johnson at forpoint asking to buy land purposes of a church and schoolhouse for the frican-american children in greenville and johnson wrote the and said, no, this has plot of land and i'll give it to you. greenville.hat in he gave sam land and built his own house. >> the most challenging time for family had to be the war years. and jon was in the senate at this point. mentioned earlier that he was the only united states enator from the south who supported the union. where does his strong union allegiance come from? east tennessee was very much pro union in the civil war.

mindset, a different different type of infrastructure. a different type of farming middle and west tennessee more in line with the confederacy. tennessee pened when voted for secession for the johnson family and tell us about then. ife >> it was very tragic, unfortunately. first of all, they were calling a traitor. they confiscated the johnson home. time for elizaic because she was quite ill. it was very difficult for her. a couple of different stories that they had given her 36 hours' notice literally to the home. she did, in fact, call her daughter -- i believe it was her and came with charles and, of course, her oung son who was only 10 years old, andrew jr. who they called frank. the story is they were trying to et through confederate territory and was very difficult because the confederate soldiers out all, you know, calling to them and saying different things to them that were not

very, very pleasant. the stories was that one night they slept by the railroad cold.s, it was rather they didn't have much food. they go on various farming the door, , knock on ask if they could possibly spend the night there. it was an extremely difficult time. and by the time they did reach andrew was at eliza, she was r pretty well bent at that point. >> were their lives in daninger? >> sure, sure. you add more color to this story and this period of s?ir live >> she has taken refuge to mary's house to the summer months and as she said, we have letter for charles where he talks about the cold, the rain, their ger, the danger to lives. they were travelling with mary stover husband, daniel had been a bridge burner in the civil war and had to hide out in the first winter of the world, they had slipped food to those men.

nashville.de it to so that johnson wept at the sight of eliza when she finally nashville. >> how dangerous was this for her to be slipping food? dangerous.y very yeah. >> and -- >> we know for a fact that she food.ary both prepared the there was no question about that. i think there's some question as delivering the food to knees warriors, you know, in the hills basically and in the caves. i mean, they were hiding out. so how they were able to get to exactly sure. they were able to send messen r messengers, possibly. prepare the food. that's for sure. >> at the andrew johnson evidencesite, there is of what life was like for the johnson family in the civil war. that video next. north and the south fought over the occupation of greenville all through the civil war. hands over 26 times that we're aware of. so they weren't back here for end of hisyears, the president sif is when his daughter was asked to come and

elizae the house for both and andrew's return. she came back and she found graffiti written all over the walls. one of the best examples and one of the tragic examples is here on the wall. johnson -- theew old traitor. we've actually found northern names and their unit numbers as well as southern and their unit. time period, it was used as a hospital, a place to stay, destroyed. basically that explains the importance of east tennessee in the civil war. governor of f occupied tennessee given to him lincoln. >> went to restore union it rnment in the state and was a challenging job. firing some- he was people and staying in the defense of nashville. he also came in conflict with the generals. he wrote letters to lincoln

expecting his concern, also for the liberation of east tennessee. with andrew sided johnson on a lot of the decisions that he makes. at thisld were the sons point and were they involve in the conflict? charles, son, definitely was. he was a surgeon -- an assistant surgeon in the civil war, he was kill in the civil war. robert was also, as a matter of fact, i understand he was a signed up andalso went to war. but that's when his drinking kind of took over. about him stories leaving his army of men and things of that nature. he had different difficulties. absolutely the two older boys did fight in the war. of the t was colonel calvary unit. he was the only family member charles' le to attend funeral when charles was kill in the war. >> how was he killed, you know? and hit his a horse head? >> and where did that happen? >> outside of nashville. and eliza were gone during that time.

liza was up in louisville and johnson had gone up to washington for a time. and so robert was the only one the family.esent and it's after that that it eally seems that the drinking problem started for him. >> there's another mary lincoln comparison. lincoln was devastated about the loss of her sons. do we have historic evidence how eliza johnson reacted to the loss at first? she, too, was extremely hurt. there were stories that charles son.er favorite i don't know if that's accurate or not. she weepedny mother, for them continuously. but she was proud of her son. the fact that he became a doctor, that was so important to her that her children were, in fact, educated. daughters ud of her and the sophistication and class and education that they had received. didn't fall apart the way mary did. mary just couldn't seem to handle it. death in her of life as well. >> next is kathy in bensalem,

pennsylvania. kathy, you are on. caller: hi. how mrs. wondering johnson felt about her husband's impeachment. >> thanks. we're going to talk about the impeachment a little later on. question. that we'll work it in as we work our way through the history of the administration. nan in montana. ., nan caller: hello. >> do you have a question. caller: my question is, the mpeachment of johnson and its associated effect in history. impeachment of our isent president clinton, why there such a different effect on by history.ked upon >> impeachment, such an important part of the johnson

administration. move into that. johnson's fight with the radical republicans in congress. 'm going to have both of you talk about that. but first of all, his big decision was to keep lincoln's cabinet. now, he was of a different party than most of them. turmoil in constant with them? or do they accept him as president? >> some of them did. probably the main ones who didn't disagreed with a lot of policies. jon wouldn't fire him. later on, the decision to came in particular with one that information had withheld from him in the clemency. was wo, information withheld from him in regards to the new orleans riots. o he went ahead and suspended stanton. >> how about the relationship with congress. who were the radical republicans. view?as their point of >> they were the ones to want a

arsher reconstruction for the south, break it to military districts. have commanders in charge of districts. thadias stevens, charles sumner. i felt like andrew johnson in speech ington birthday where he started to name people by names. players. were the key >> what was the concept of reconstruction? > well, president lincoln's concept of it was to be as lenient as possible. that in his said inaugural address when he was re-elected. that too.n believed they knew they were still going to be, you know, just because he war had ended didn't mean that people's feelings had changed. and they were very aware of the that there were still individuals who disagreed with that point of view. they weren't going to accept readily. and he wanted to be as lenient as possible. pledged t if you just allegiance to the united states that he would then give you a and accept it. with the radicals in the

congress and the senate, didn't that at all. they thought it was treason. they really wanted to punish the was a ners, there constant battle between them. >> specific question on facebook we know if meadows, johnson supported the 13th amendment? >> mm-hmm. >> he did? mm-hmm. >> so how effective was he? what kind of political capital have for his version of reconstruction? >> one of the problems that johnson had that unlike lincoln, he didn't have the ability to negotiate, okay? tempered.y hot he didn't like any kind of small talk whatsoever. for a person that lincoln was to talk to the man. he would tell various stories. ged around, he was able to negotiate with individuals where johnson wasn't as much. that a point of view and was it. and he would get angry very uickly and he seemed to antagonize the people that he was debating with. difficult time even getting the moderates to go along with him because of his

particular point of view and the he presented it. he certainly was not politically way.ct, let's put it that >> and in the white house, we lady -- in first his case, the active first lady, played an important role, practicing parlor politics or ging both sides together in some cases going to capitol hill or getting the attention of congress.l members of did the johnson daughters do any of this? as there any social use of the white house for a political purpose? >> not that i'm aware of. but she did preside over the dinners and we have the had rs that the french written to mrs. lincoln that he also passed on to martha giving the protocol of where everybody be seated and who should be seated first. that's how you would pair the so that they ther probably played it in that manner. --basically didn't >> i'm sorry. >> they basically didn't. unlike let's say dolly madison,

instance, or louisa adams, they were very politically savvy. moved their parlor meetings and dinners and things to talk to the various congressmen and senators and get their point of view across. > interesting, we didn't make this connection. martha came up frequently in or the otherration tennessee president. the id she not go to school? > she went to school there -- shep went to school in washington. >> she didn't go to school off of the way the polk did?istration >> sarah polk was a great one. didn't have children of her own. she often times invited the girls in the school that were there. she became quite friendly with and harriet lange who was buchanan's niece. so she's kind of -- she came politics thereupon the back door, let's say. but i don't think she really upon her father or wanted to push her particular point of view.

lus she was married to a senator. her husband was a senator. so she was very aware of what was going on. taking it from the back door, so to speak. sources the telling says that someone appealed to for clemency for mary serrot. feel so terribly sorry for you but i have no more right to speak to him about this any of the servants. she kept it background. >> hi, darla? caller: my question was, are the johnsons the last president to were former slave owners, or were there more presidents after them? >> thank you very much. that's a good question. i wanted to say no. group -- king of an sorry, ulysses s. grant was to slavery. so the presidents after that did not. history part of our ends with the johnson administration. the first six, seven presidents

ll did have slaves other than the johnsons, other than john adams and john quincy adams. hey were the only two of the early presidents who didn't have slaves. and basically stopped with zachary taylor. think he was the last president that literally brought slaves to the white house with him. after that, they didn't. >> next, a question from tennessee, jonesboro. carol.r caller is hi, carol. caller: hello? >> you're on. caller: okay, thank you. yes. husband's mother marry martha patterson's daughter, which johnson'se been andrew grand daughter some years ago. jonesboro two specifically to talk to my time sayingw at the that she feels -- that her thankful thats so 34i husband's great -- great,

grandfather had saved the johnson homestead and had given passage to the family to johnson family so they had wanted to go to the homestead they could have. general confederate that at one time was over the a. tennessee area, gerald jackso jackson. his grand daughter was my mother-in-law. >> thanks for that story. any more about that? granting safe passage or a eneral that looked after the family home in the war? >> not in particular. > thanks for telling us about it. can we fairly look at eliza and andrew johnson without the impeachment over their white house. >> sadly, historians can't, but public, that's all they constantly remember.

istorians look back on it and understand that he had a position on, you know, the omestead act that he wanted settle ono be able to it, build it. the public doesn't want to hear that. it's gossip that wants to be repeated year after year. park does the national service tell the impeachment story at the site? into the rporate it story. it's a major part of it. ou try to show all sides and let the public decide for themselves how they feel about that. let's tell a story about what led to impeachment? walk us through the steps and both of you to tell the story that ultimately led to the house charging him with high and misdemeanors? >> right. well, i can tell you that the had e basically, they passed an -- an act of congress

president hat the himself could not fire his cabinet members without congress' approval. and that, of course, is not constitutional and president said there's no way he was going to do that. that's not going to be part of it. head and suspend ed secretary of war, stanton. that's when the senate said, to push this.ing because he did that, he was, in fact, in violation of this law. nd that's basically one of the things that pushed it over the edge for him. >> but it was a showdown. stanton had a lot of antipathy. so tell us about the politics. suspended stanton in the fall when congress is not in december when they were back in session, he told them what he had done. rejected that and restored him to office in january. and johnson went ahead and fired him. was the impetus for them to go ahead and start

proceedings but with the caveat that they couldn't ire a member of the cabinet in the term of the president who appointed them. so lincoln had appointed stanton. like they very much hurt themselves by doing that. > the impeachment proceedings began in the congress on march 5, 1868 and would go through 1868. and the first lady had an active role in all of this. and a call and come back learn more about this. next is john, waverly, tennessee. you're on, john. caller: yes, ma'am, i was just johnson's hat was eaction about her husband people - as well as the of tennessee's relationship with the johnsons after his rise to power. that became a problem or what? eliza johnson feel about her husband being tapped

vice coln for the presidency? >> she was very proud of her husband. no question about that. he supported all of his decisions but once again, she was a quiet person. her husband e for to be in politics, go to washington, be in the senate, be in congress. a part didn't want to be of it. yet she constantly supported his decision to do it all the time. supporter inmuch a the impeachment. i mean, i know there was other tributed towith air her that she had wished that she could be back home where they things of thatnd nature. but she obviously believed that er husband would be acquitted and was very proud of it when he was. she kept saying she knew that would happen. she knew it. during the length of the three months that the trial was she doing to was help support her husband? >> it was just very much the white usual at house. nothing else s if was going on. that was part of the political

posturing, right? right. >> a lot to keep their minds off of things. attorneys, the attorneys told johnson not to say anything to reserve comment. it.will handle and so mrs. johnson said we're going to go ahead with business usual. the grandchildren were around. they still had their meetings every week. she didn't have time to comment it. >> yeah, she didn't have time to comment on it. doings so busy, you know, so much around the house that needed to be done. she was an avid follower of the press. we can presume that she was silting there every day. >> sure. absolutely. and raetding everything. i think that's part of the the thing. there was something good in the newspaper, she would show night before she went to bed. if it was critical, she'd wait imto him.ning to show my impression was, as much as johnson wanted to debate it, his attorneys said don't do it that.

>> had a very well balanced team. >> exactly. >> the personal bodyguard in writes that he rush in to tell eliza that and on had been acquitted the little woman stood up and hands in aughterated her is and with tears in eyes she said, i knew he'd be acquitted, i knew it. > each week, a special fee chur. on the website this week is a ticket for the impeachment. event was this? >> my understanding that it was very popular and everyone wanted to it. i think it was $1 i'm trying to recall. do you have any pictures on it? >> no. >> not enough detail? people in washington, d.c. unlike the rest of the country, very active in politics. very involve in what was going on. most think on the middle east or you know the midwest and certainly the west, california.

hey're somewhat removed from it. they read about it or hear about it on the news. but the people in washington, d.c. that want to be right there want to, you know, partake in it. so very important to them. forhey had different colors different days. full and lleries were an interesting side note is that ark twain was one of the reporters at the impeachment trial oomt. >> if you canvass the newspapers t the time, how was this playing in the papers? how on earth did it last -- were opinion writers following politics not just eporting the political cartoons. harper's weekly, we have a harper's on of the weekly articles about the impeachment trial. >> how did he fare in all of this? public support behind him? >> some -- some -- >> as far as we know, yes. that's why it's good news or bad news. country and the president chose to listen to the

supported , in fact, him. he was very much a constitutionalist. in the constitution. and his interpretation of it is was he, you know, said going be law, basically. that's what it was, as far as he's concerned. > he said as much as he feels vilified, he was as passionately liked by others. >> exactly. jonesy, another tennesseean in greenville, actually. you're on, welcome. >> hey. i was wondering, what elationship did the johnsons have with their slaves? >> okay. little have to tell us a bit about yourself if you will. you?ld are >> 10 years old. >> have you been to the johnson site in your hometown? been right around close to it. i haven't been in it. we've inspired you to do that coming up soon.

thank you for your question from your president own hometown, josie, thank you tonight?call >> a neat relationship. dolly's son -- you remember cookies byandies and her bed when they came up. just as we talked before, the support they gave them as they as servants and giving helded care. >> and helping them. >> abc luisly. san diego.for caller: hi, this is a fabulous program. was born and raised in greenville, tennessee. i go back there every year. i'm very familiar with andrew and the family and but i ive learned more tonight than ever have and it's been years and years and years. so i want to thank you for this. fascinating, and i'll --

'll be watching for the other presidents as well. >> we'll be here all the way until president's day next year a break in the summer with the individual program on nearly couple rst lady and the of cases we've combined them. but for the most part, 35 programs to tell you about the the first lady and learn american history that way. greenville, tennessee native. how did you get interest in the johnson history? wow, when i was about 12 my mother told me she knew what i needed to do with my life. you love history. work for the national park service. there was one here in town. i went to see it. fell in love. when i was in high school in anchor club. omeone said who would like to dress in victorian clothes and help with the christmas the johnson at homestead this weekend. pick me, please, pick me. i'm impassionate. i majored in english and history

in college. >> you interpreted one of the daughters, one of the daughter s? on have done martha occasion. i have represented mary and one theatrical roles was in my big line was there goes by beau, girls. it. >> this is a life's work. three volumes. published two so far. >> how did it start? >> it started with my name. my name is jacklin. i'm a my audiences national speaker. i said i didn't know any jackies growing up.irl they were jackie gleason and jackie cooper. were men. jaclyn kennedy walked into the just house, i wanted to be like her. i thought she was charming and beautiful. assassination of president kennedy like the rest of the country, i was glued to

the television for four days and four nights long before c spahn and cnn and fox news were all news, we were just riveted by the assassination. hooked on what got me it. i've been studying them every since. >> back to the johnsons and the impeachment. he had ten months to go until he inished office after he was acquitted in this. what kind of political capital did he have left? of hisre the last months administration like? >> i don't think he had much. he kept trying to instill his point of view and the things he wanted to get through. but he had no standing in congress whatsoever. he didn't know how to do it. that's the sad part of the administration. surly.ound him they thought he might have come off a little nalsty. hey didn't want to work with him at all. it was tough. >> did he have any chance

re-election. >> he tried to. and he did have am else inty in on christmas day last year, he -- he imposed a proclamation inty for the south. >> what did that mean for the south? of the >> that -- it forgave them, essentially. the amnesty proclamations got a little bit ore liberal each time and the last broad am necessary tip proclamation. certain restrictions, certain landowners, this last one pardoned jefferson davis and everyone. how constitutionally important was his impeachment process? did it establish the role for able to fire be members of their cabinet? >> that was unconstitutional in first place. president obviously can fire his own cabinet members. as they doing as much could to get greater punishment on the south.

along with ldn't go it. they said we'll take you out of office. wasn't constitutional at that but it was the first time in history it had occurr. > was there a constitutional legacy of the impeachment process in some ways let's look its on the history for significance? aware of, one m democr southern democrat did not vote for it. impeached. he was the impeachment process acquitted.and he was the republican senator basically lost his ability to go on after that. destroyed his political future after that. and it was something that was do courageous for him to and something that actually future president john kennedy rote about in his book, you know, about having courage as they wrote about -- >> "profiles in courage." the ten-year act was turned over

in 1986. supreme court? > would either of you care to comment on the -- any -- i noe historians.american i understand that. but on the legacy of reconstruction on either the south or on american blacks? . >> history changed dramatically when lincoln was assassinated. abilityividuals had the to make things happen. we will never know as a country whether or not things would have differently. it wouldn't have happened overnight. people did have their prejudices. was no question about that. sad we weren't able to move forward more quickly. he southern states imposed black laws that even though the slaves were free, they had other restrictions on them. they said they couldn't own land or they couldn't sit on a jury

that nature. of it would havehere gone. >> if there could have been more compromise between the two which is so extreme. it may have made a difference. krumpke asked this question -- what would the have considered their political high point? >> i think going back to the senate. that's sort of his vindication. of o back and see that some the people that were still there that presided in the impeachment trial? did you have a different thought? >> i agree with kendra on that. no question about it. but i was speaking when i first heard the question -- if all of -- and es and 5u8 of all of the things they did at he white house, for president johnson's 60th birthday, they party that rmous only children were invited. parents and adults wanted to

the party. eliza came downstairs, she had this wonderful event -- -- excuse me, ice cream and cake for the children and dancing. it was great fun for them. you can see the johnsons particularly enjoyed their it.ct of that was their high point inside the white house. absolutely, when he got re-elected to the senate. for the final video for this program. this is life after the white house for the johnsons. in millions johnson's room. this is the room she returned to white heir years in the house. we have her bed. and nearby since she was an plagued with consumption, she had what's chair.as an invalid's she could partake in some of her favorite activities and relax. foot rest comehe up, but it reclines. an invalid also spending ime in this room, there's a

spittoon by her chair. this is necessary from the suffered.on she pink wash basin and chamber pot. it's interesting because eliza's are pink and the president's are room.n his she enjoyed embroidery work. a song bird on her table and she enjoyed reading poetry. "the happy tled life." he and drew suffered a lot in the civil war, during the years of the presidency. one of the point she is mark in entitled "love and adversi adversity." our y skies have drawn spirits near and rendered us by tides each to the other dear. andrew's up eliza and relationship. she was an avid scrapbooker and newspaper articles that she clipped about her husband. she gathered them here in her

scrapbook. they run from the 1850s up until death up and andrew's to the 1880s. we can only assume that that's daughters kept a tradition going for her. andrew johnson would chat with day when he finished his political duties and share she clipped with them. if it was something particularly good, she shows him in the evening. if it's something not so nice, she showed him in the morning ecause she knew he would be in a better mood. in 1869, an article about the retirement of andrew johnson. that was a momentous occasion in their life. effectings al include one of her calling pin , a broach, and a cushion for any of the embroidery work or sewing she been doing. in the portrait, you can see a lace cap. caps in have the lace our collection. by her bed, we have additional

books. is the bible. it also belonged to eliza. a the grandchildren were vital part of her life. here were portraits of the grandchildren on the whatnot stand in the corner of the year. he lived here throughout the remainder of her life. she was too ill to go to a death died.e she remained with her daughter until she passed away herself in 1876. >> based on what you told us about eliza johnson being a home didn't love the public life, she must have been happy to be back in greenville. thrilled.s >> the irony of that is she was thrilled to go back home and they were no sooner back home andrew wanted to get back into politics. so their lives kind of went back way it had always been for them. she just was not interested at very proud that her husband did in fact get re-elected to the senate. supported his run for public office again.

id he leave her behind when he went to washington? >> many letters inquiring after health s doing, how her is. and when he was in nashville at one point canvassing, he said know if mother gets worse and i'll come back home. >> we should talk about -- he just went through the impeachment trial. but when the johnson family came back to their home in home ille, tennessee and state of tennessee, what was the them.ion at home for >> surprisingly, very, very good. remember back in the civil war, him a traitor ng and whatnot. now there's signs he was a patriot. to have him come back. the tone completely changed from eing very, very poz p negative to extremely positive. >> the townspeople were sending telegrams, what day you're going be here. tell us what day you'll be here. we want to plan a relate we want it to be good. >> this was just the native son ffect or the politics had changed and they were more

receptive to it? traitor comments came when east tennessee was in the hands -- confederacy. what's your question? caller: i would like to know if originalon home is the state of franklin in eastern tennessee. and is it true that president buried in a flag and had the constitution on his hip? thank you. >> yes. the homestead came later. was the area where they attempted to create the state of franklin early on -- really after the revolution. and, yes, andrew johnson is flag.d with the american his obituary often says the resting under s his hand instead of his head. o i don't know if that's a trick, under his head, under his

hand, a slight that changed over the years. the family said he had been buried with the original copy of the constitution that had his writings. >> i think we showed this story. did eliza and andrew make a love match. love relationship? >> oh, sure. absolutely.ly, they were married 48 years. a tremendous love match. the same they were of mind and same soul. even though completely different -- >> yeah. >> exactly. though completely different. >> it was said he could be vehement. he was a fighter. but the one person that he leaned on completely was the little woman. >> looking for it not successfully here. facebook asks what would eliza johnson want her legacy to be. a sense of that? and what should history show her

first lady? >> on andrew johnson's monument the people and never waivered and i think on would be his face and she waivered. >> so many wanted to be in the white house. mary todd lincoln happened to be of them. polk.taft, sara there were so many involved with their spouses. desire whatsoever. as much as they loved their spouse and supported their didn't want to have part in politics. taylor's wife margaret felt the same way. it's a different of opinion. and it's our spouse their career. lady bird johnson made that the white n she left house. she said politics my husband's career, not mine. >> the one thing that may have resigned her to being in the white house was the fact that the entire family was there with

her. kids were that the -- were there with her, exactly. >> ron from florida? you there, sir? caller: i am indeed. fork you for the series and taking my call. a couple of quick questions how respond to on the night of lincoln's assassination, a card was left husband as well. second, really quick, have any the film, sts seen wonderful film done n the '40s with van halen -- van heflin, rather, playing johnson. little cated johnson a bit. >> have you seen the film? >> oh, yes. bicentennial, we had a special showing of it in the old had worldeater and we war ii newsreel go before it

when it was originally shown. the question about eliza and the lincoln assassination. aware that she was even heard about it. unlike today when we were and doing things instantaneously, it took longer to get information. terrified. was i don't know what her immediate reaction was. > in a cone, i think who they stayed with after they left the white house said they told poor completelyuickly and devastated her. >> i want to read you a closing facebook. i learned that eliza johnson looked forward to leaving the the day she arrived. i often wish the time would come return where we feel we best belong. he writes, even though she felt shown thatistory has the johnson family behaved and lived impeccably while in the with spotless social reputationings. do you agree with his assessment? >> absolutely. white house, people in washington say they were extremely honorable.

probably one of the most well-liked families that lived in the white house because they were so gracious. they gave of themselves, their time, their energies, their >> he was probably one of the hardest working presidents. once you got him away from politics, he was a good fellow to be around. >> i hope will added a more contoured. presidential pondering. was there any recognition of with andrew or eliza passed was a big funeral for entry johnson. special trains brought in dignitaries. eliza died, -- it was drawn by roger white horses. >>