If Abraham Lincoln faced the greatest crisis in our nation's history in managing the Civil War, Andrew Johnson faced the second greatest crisis in reuniting the nation after the war. Most historians regard Andrew Johnson as one of the worst presidents in crisis management. They claim that he was a weak leader at a time of great crisis. I agree with that partially. He was a weak leader. However, it was not because he wasn't qualified. As a southernor, Johnson did indeed have the ability to compromise with those of his heritage. His major fault is that he refused to use that ability in order to ensure equality in the south because of his racist tendencies. To him, ensuring an expedient re-entry of southern states into the Union was more important than ensuring equal rights for those who had never had them. As a major advocate of states' rights, Johnson's Reconstruction Plan, modeled partially by Lincoln's plan, consisted of all Southern voters swearing an oath of allegience in order to recieve a Presidential pardon to the United States and each southern state calling a convention to draw up a new State Constitution declaring the abolition of slavery. Johnson's official plan excluded granting high-ranking officials in the Confederacy a presidential pardon. However, contrary to his plan, Johnson granted pardons on almost a routine basis, which allowed the Old South to rise again and continue to rob African Americans of their rights. The only thing that Johnson's policy achieved was a blind freedom for African Americans. He advocated an immediate withdrawl of Northern forces from the South, disregarding the fact that this would result in the continuing oppression of blacks. He vetoed major Civil Rights bills, including the Civil Rights Act of 1866, which established all persons born in the United States as citizens of the United States. Not only did he veto it, but he led a campaign against the bill. He also opposed the 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, establishing African Americans as American citizens and granting them the right to vote. His stubbornness eventually led to his impeachment trial. He escaped impeachment by just one vote. His impeachment and failure to work with Congress and compromise ultimately led to the weakening of the Executive Branch, allowing the legislative branch to completely dominate foreign policy and domestic policy for decades thereafter. In the final analysis, Andrew Johnson failed miserably to ensure a true end to the Civil War. The oppression of blacks continued for nearly a century afterwards. Johnson had such oppurtunity to ensure equality for all American citizens, but his stubborn attitude only led to continued turmoil. Unlike Lincoln, Johnson actually had the ability to compromise. Lincoln was hated in the South, but Johnson was a President that southernors could relate to. He had the ability to compromise with the Radical Republicans and the Moderates on Reconstruction. However, due to his petty political beliefs, he left the Presidency and the country in a very weak condition.