Editing Andrew Johnson (section)

=== Completion of term ===
Johnson sought nomination by the [[1868 Democratic National Convention]] in New York in July 1868. He remained very popular among Southern whites, and boosted that popularity by issuing, just before the convention, a pardon ending the possibility of criminal proceedings against any Confederate not already indicted, meaning that only Davis and a few others still might face trial. On the first ballot, Johnson was second to former Ohio representative [[George H. Pendleton]], who had been his Democratic opponent for vice president in 1864. Johnson's support was mostly from the South, and fell away as the ballots passed. On the 22nd ballot, former New York governor [[Horatio Seymour]] was nominated, and the President received only four votes, all from Tennessee.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=337–339}}

[[File:Andrew Johnson, Farewell to all my greatness cph.3a03724.jpg|thumb|left|"Farewell, a long farewell, to all my greatness!": ''Harper's Weekly'' cartoon mocking Johnson on leaving office]]

The conflict with Congress continued. Johnson sent Congress proposals for amendments to limit the president to a single six-year term and make the president and the Senate directly elected, and for term limits for judges. Congress took no action on them. When the President was slow to officially report ratifications of the Fourteenth Amendment by the new Southern legislatures, Congress passed a bill, again over his veto, requiring him to do so within ten days of receipt. He still delayed as much as he could, but was required, in July 1868, to report the ratifications making the amendment part of the Constitution.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=340–343}}

Seymour's operatives sought Johnson's support, but he long remained silent on the presidential campaign. It was not until October, with the vote already having taken place in some states, that he mentioned Seymour at all, and he never endorsed him. Nevertheless, Johnson regretted Grant's victory, in part because of their animus from the Stanton affair. In his annual message to Congress in December, Johnson urged the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act and told legislators that had they admitted their Southern colleagues in 1865, all would have been well. He celebrated his 60th birthday in late December with a party for several hundred children, though not including those of [[President-elect of the United States|President-elect]] Grant, who did not allow his to go.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=345–347}}

On Christmas Day 1868, Johnson issued a final amnesty, this one covering everyone, including Davis. He also issued, in his final months in office, pardons for crimes, including one for Dr. [[Samuel Mudd]], controversially convicted of involvement in the Lincoln assassination (he had set Booth's broken leg) and imprisoned in [[Fort Jefferson, Florida#Active use: 1860s–1930s|Fort Jefferson]] on Florida's [[Dry Tortugas]].{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=345–347}}

On March 3, the President hosted a large public reception at the White House on his final full day in office. Grant had made it known that he was unwilling to ride in the same carriage as Johnson, as was customary, and Johnson refused to go to the inauguration at all. Despite an effort by Seward to prompt a change of mind, he spent the morning of March 4 finishing last-minute business, and then shortly after noon rode from the White House to the home of a friend.{{Sfn|Castel|1979|pp=211–212}}{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=350–351}}