Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States of America. Johnson was serving as the vice-president when President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated and succeeded him as the president. Born into an extremely poor family, Andrew Johnson never had the privilege of attending school and had to live life the hard way. Nevertheless, he was smart enough to build his future solely on his understanding of politics and sheer hard work. Later, his wife Eliza McCardle helped him learn to write and tutored him on many subjects. Born and raised in the working class, he always advocated their rights and sought privileges for the working class. Throughout his tenure in politics, he worked for the betterment of the plebeians. However, his intolerance towards African-Americans attracted the criticism of most of the radical politicians who fought to end slavery. As a conservative, he supported slavery and sought ways to protect it. His tenure as the president was tumultuous as it was marred by controversies and animosity of fellow politicians. However, he is still considered one of the greatest American politicians. Andrew Johnson was an honest politician, driven by patriotism.