Whatever faults Johnson had, no one can dispute his remarkable, inspirational personal story nor the determination and intelligence it displays. His obituary headlined: "The boy who never went to school becomes President" 1 -- but his circumstances were even more lowly than that. MORE

"massive head and deep chest" 2a

Had typhoid fever during the winter of 1864-1865, and was "slow to recover from the fever" 2a

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 3a. To steady his nerves, Johnson had "three stiff drinks of whisky [sic]" and became drunk 2b. 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" 3a.

Nevertheless, the consequences of this episode persisted. MORE

While president, Johnson chronically suffered from kidney stones. This is a painful condition. It has been speculated that "His temperament and ability to compromise were likely impaired by a state of chronic pain [and this] may have adversely contributed to his political failure with far-reaching political and societal consequences" 5.

Reliability of this information is uncertain. 6

The New York Times of Sunday, August 1, 1875 7 quotes a story in the Cincinnati Gazette, dated the prior day:

This morning at about 2 o'clock ex-President Johnson died at the residence of his daughter... from a paralytic stroke. He had been in rather bad health since the adjournment of the last sesson of Congress, but nothing serious was anticipated. On Wednesday morning he left on the train for Carter's Station, and from thence he went on horseback to his daughter's residence, a distance of about seven miles, riding in the hot sun. Arriving there he felt very fatigued, and the same afternoon, about 4 o'clock, his right side was paralyzed, rendering him speechless. His wife was with him at the time, and his [children] were at once sent for.... On Thursday about noon he became conscious and had a partial use of his side again, but it was evident that the great commoner could not live long, and thus surrounded by his entire family and neighboring friends he passed away about 2 o'clock this morning. Much feeling is manifested here and at Knoxville.