not a drunkard |
Johnson was ill on March 4, 1865 -- the day he was to be inaugurated Vice-President and Lincoln president. He wanted to skip the ceremony, but Lincoln persuaded him otherwise [1a]. To steady his nerves, Johnson had "three stiff drinks of whisky [sic]" and became drunk [6b]. He walked into the inauguration ceremonies red-faced, on the arm of outgoing Vice President Hannibal Hamlin [4a]. Then, during his speech, he talked too much and rather incoherently, leading to his reputation as the "drunken tailor." Lincoln defended him: "I have known Andrew Johnson for many years. He made a slip the other day, but you need not be scared; Andy ain't a drunkard" [1a]. Nevertheless, the consequences of this episode persisted. |
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A witness said Lincoln
"bowed his head with a look of unutterable despondency"
as he listened to Johnson's "incoherent harangue" [2a]. Outgoing Vice President Hannibal Hamlin "kept nudging Johnson from behind"
while the rest of the Republican leadership struggled unsuccessfully to keep
surprise and horror off of their faces [6c] [4b].
Afterwards Lincoln gave an order: "Do not permit Johnson to speak a word during the
exercises that are now to follow" (meaning the rest of the inaugural ceremonies) [2a].
Besides his slow recovery from typhoid fever and the whiskey, two other
factors contributed to Johnson's embarassing performance: (1) he had
been to a party the night before [6d], and (2) his normal oratorical style when speaking extemporaneously tended
toward the wild and uncontrolled [5a]. |
