8. Andrew Johnson returned to the Senate which had tried him after he was impeached
Andrew Johnson inherited the presidency following the death of Abraham Lincoln, who despite being widely reviled when in office was elevated to the status of a martyr. Johnson was considered inept by many, a drunk by others (he was actually a moderate drinker), and soon earned the bitter enmity of many in Congress over numerous issues. The issues led to Johnson being the first president to be impeached by the House, and at his trial in the Senate, his tenure was saved when the Upper Body voted 35 – 19 in favor of impeachment. The thirty-five yes votes were one short of the required two-thirds majority. On two additional articles, the vote was the same.
After completing his term Johnson returned to Tennessee and retirement, but soon became bored and re-entered politics, with an eye on returning to the Senate. Johnson’s motives were a mixture of gaining personal vindication and revenge on his political enemies who had humiliated him with the impeachment and trial. His early attempts were failures, but in 1875 he won a seat in the Senate, and was sworn in during a special session, with newspapers nationally lauding his triumph, and his Republican colleagues in the Senate who had voted to impeach largely ignoring him. After the session, he embarked on a speaking tour in Ohio, where he suffered a fatal stroke. He remains the only former president to be elected to the Senate.