Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Andrew Johnson And The Patronage, James Lewis Baumgardner

Doctoral Dissertations

The Constitution bestows upon the president the right to make appointments "by and with the advice and consent of the Senate" to federal position at home and abroad. Over the passage of time, through free use of this power and the implied power of removal, the several chief executives constructed a vast patronage system, of which one primary goal was to reward the party faithful for their services. The purpose of this dissertation is to determine how well Andrew Johnson, the unexpected successor of Abraham Lincoln, used the seemingly powerful patronage weapon and the reasons why he used it as …