Best Generals in US History?

[JMadonna]

(10-15-2012 03:40 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.

If you mean how did he manage to hide his escapades from his wife, I'm sure that he didn't. All the wives of the presidents you mentioned were sharp women and certainly knew what was going on. But what choice did they really have? They were locked in a gilded cage and leaving it was not really an option. So they chose to ignore it.

Everyone else in Washington would have ignored it too if it wasn't for Johnson's quid pro quo. Everyone wanted to know how and why he was granting all these pardons personally without input or background checks from the justice department. To avoid the heat he did what all politicians would do in that situation. He found a scapegoat. He blamed his son as responsible for the bimbo explosion in the White House.

Bad boy! - Is that the way we raised you?
The apple don't fall far from the tree....

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(10-15-2012 04:48 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  From http://millercenter.or/president/Johnson...phy/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."

That is correct Laurie. The historians at that time had a different slant, especially favoring the southern view; Lincoln was a tyrant, republicans were radicals, blacks were unfit for citizenship and Johnson stood up to all of them.

Johnson had political allies but I found it hard to find associates who extolled his personal qualities. He was an alcoholic and philanderer who was accidentally thrust into the White House raged at everybody.