I just saw the movie ‘Lincoln’, which is a wonderful picture, and couldn’t help but notice the prominence of Secretary of State William Seward throughout the movie, and the absence of any mention of Andrew Johnson.
I realize that in those days the Vice President didn’t have many official duties or responsibilities, but given that he was a prominent Southern Democrat he must have had some opinion on the 13th amendment, and I assume he was presiding as the President of the Senate when it was passed by that body in 1864.
Is it possible Johnson was not at all involved in any of the crucial cabinet meetings with Lincoln leading up to the showdown in the House, or did Spielberg just decide to write him out of the story?
Hannibal Hamlin was Vice President until March 4, 1865, and at any rate in those days VPs wouldn’t necessarily attend Cabinet meetings. Johnson was only Lincoln’s VP for about six weeks before becoming president.
Remember as well that Seward had been a long-standing abolitionist, an early and prominent member of the Republican party, and one of the leading candidates for the party’s presidential nomination in 1860; Lincoln’s nomination victory was a come-from-behind thing; Seward was sitting in his garden back home in Massachusetts, expecting the telegram telling him he was the nominee.
Once Lincoln nominated him to Secretary of State and he swallowed his resentment, Seward became one of Lincoln’s closest advisors.
In short, Seward was much more important to the Republican party and its dynamics than Johnson, the southern Democrat.
I live in Auburn, New York. William Seward’s mansion, and garden, are located here. If he also lived in Massachusetts… well, you’ve inspired me to look that up when I’m finished reading the Dope.