(10-14-2012 07:32 PM)Gene C Wrote:  I can understand Johnson being a little slow to answer the door late at night. As someone who frequently falls asleep in front of the TV or while reading a book, it
takes me ZZZZzzzz......while to wake back up to got to bed. (If George was supposed to kill Johnson, do you think Booth or George would want a female there to witness the murder....the gunshot would be quite loud, and so would "the visitor's" scream. - I just don't see it happening that way) As popular as Johnsone was, information regarding a "lady of the evening" visiting Johnson that night would certainly have come out during the impeachment hearings.

Do we know how Johnson was dressed when the govenor came to his door and woke him up? Had anyone "in the know" indicated that Johnson was not alone when Gov Farwell came to the door?

Also...with the war over, I thought they discontinued issuing passes, but if not they were not that difficult to get.

(10-14-2012 08:41 PM)Gene C Wrote:  I'm not sure I agree with you, I'm still skeptical, but you've made some good points. I'll have to read your book and give it some thought.

(10-15-2012 08:45 AM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  I'm too lazy to look this up: Had Mrs. Johnson and the children come to Washington for the inauguration in March? Out of five children, four were still alive in 1864. Mrs. Johnson suffered from tuberculosis and was pretty much a recluse, but Johnson asked his two daughters to serve in a social capacity at the White House during his presidency. It is my understanding that all four children plus one husband lived in the Executive Mansion.

I have also seen references to his family being mortified by his behavior and the subsequent gossip following the inauguration.

What I'm leading to is: On April 14, 1865, where was his family? Was there a suite of rooms at the Kirkwood that was occupied by the vice presidential family? Would Ella have been entertaining the vice president if his family was nearby?

(10-15-2012 10:53 AM)Gene C Wrote:  I can remember reading similiar comments about Johnson's White House "visitors", but I never put much stock in it. The comments or quotes were usually made by someone who had a strong dislike for Johnson. My memory is fuzzy on the source of the comments. Any one else know?

(10-15-2012 02:40 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  With Mrs. Eliza Johnson, two sons, two daughters, and one son-in-law living in the White House, how did Andrew manage to hide his escapades? I know that JFK, Lyndon Johnson, Bill Clinton, and others have been accused of playing around; but they all had wives who were doing their own thing and traveling a lot.

(10-15-2012 03:48 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  From http://millercenter.or/president/Johnson/essays/biography/print:

"Among historians, supporters of Johnson are few in recent years. However, from the 1870s to around the time of World War II, Johnson enjoyed high regard as a strong-willed President who took the courageous high ground in challenging Congress's unconstitutional usurpation of presidential authority. In this view, much out of vogue today, Johnson is seen to have been motivated by a strict constructionist interpretation of the Constitution and by a firm belief in the separation of powers."

(10-15-2012 05:22 PM)L Verge Wrote:  I was friends with the late-author, Gene Smith, who wrote American Gothic about the Booth family. He also wrote on Andrew Johnson. I never read his book, but I do recall that he was a tad sympathetic to the president in some conversations that we had.