Today in History:

A Southern Democrat survived impeachment trap and came to be in charge of Reconstruction

Johnson was able to secure a place running aside Republican President Abraham Lincoln in 1864, while being a Southerner and Democrat, in part by staying on the Union side during the Civil War.  It also helped Johnson, who became President after Lincoln's assassination, stay in office when so-called "Radical Republicans" in the House impeached him for being too soft on the South -- because seven moderate Republicans in the Senate switched sides to save him.  Read more at cnn.com