The Civil War Presidents: Andrew Johnson (Part 1: Before the Vice-Presidency)
As biographer Annette Gordon-Reid notes in her American President Series biography of the 17th President, Andrew Johnson was no friend of the African-American. He personified the racism that was endemic in the south in the 19th century. He was also a staunch supporter of the Union and remained loyal to it even when his home state joined the Confederate cause. It was this commitment that earned him the second spot on the National Union ticket in 1864. When he turned up drunk for his inauguration as Vice-President however, the thought that he was only a heartbeat away from the Presidency became very disconcerting.
As a young politician in Tennessee, Johnson espoused many causes that would now be included under the umbrella of white supremacy. Following the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion, a state convention was called in Tennessee to pass a new constitution which included provisions to disenfranchise free African-Americans. Johnson spoke widely for the adoption of the new constitution and this provided him with statewide political exposure. He was soon elected him mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee, and a year later he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Soon after taking his seat, Johnson purchased his first slave, Dolly, aged 14. It was speculated that Johnson may have fathered children by Dolly. Dolly was dark-skinned, and her three children had much lighter skin and this led to speculation both during and after his lifetime that he was the children's father.
Johnson joined the Tennessee Militia as a member of the 90th Regiment where he attained the rank of colonel. In the legislature, Johnson voted with both parties, though he strongly supported President Andrew Jackson. Johnson was defeated for re-election in 1837, but he would not lose another election for the next thirty years. He was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1841, where he served a two-year term. By now he owned eight or nine slaves. In 1843 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In Washington, he maintained an anti-abolitionist stance. Johnson believed, as did many Southern Democrats, that the Constitution protected private property, including slaves, and thus prohibited the federal and state governments from abolishing slavery. He supported the Polk administration's decision to fight the Mexican War and opposed the Wilmot Proviso, a proposal to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico.
In 1853 Johnson was elected Governor of Tennessee. When the presidential election of 1856 approached, Johnson hoped to be nominated. He decided not to seek a third term as governor, and instead ran for election to the U.S. Senate. In October 1859, when abolitionist John Brown raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia), tensions in Washington increased between pro- and anti-slavery groups. Johnson gave a major speech in the Senate in December, criticizing Northerners who would endanger the Union by seeking to outlaw slavery. He argued that "all men are created equal" from the Declaration of Independence did not apply to African-Americans, pointing out the Constitution of Illinois contained that phrase—and that document barred voting by African-Americans.
Johnson hoped that he would be a compromise candidate for the 1860 presidential nomination as the Democratic Party tore itself apart over slavery. The convention deadlocked, with no candidate able to gain the required two-thirds vote. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, talk of secession increased. Johnson gave a speech in the Senate after the election, in which he said "I will not give up this government. No, I intend to stand by it and I invite every man who is a patriot to rally around the altar of our common country and swear by our God, and all that is sacred and holy, that the Constitution shall be saved, and the Union preserved." When Southern senators announced they would resign if their states seceded, he reminded Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis that if Southerners would only hold to their seats, the Democrats would control the Senate, and could defend the South's interests against Lincoln.
Johnson returned home when his state took up the issue of secession. The legislature called a referendum on whether to have a constitutional convention to authorize secession and when that failed, they put the question of leaving the Union to a popular vote. Johnson was on the receiving end of threats and actual assaults as he campaigned against both questions, sometimes speaking with a gun on the lectern before him. Johnson's eastern region of Tennessee was against secession, but the second referendum passed, and in June 1861, Tennessee joined the Confederacy. Johnson believing he would be killed if he stayed in Tennessee. He fled the state through the Cumberland Gap, where his party was fired upon. His wife Eliza and their children remained in Greeneville.
Johnson was the only member from a seceded state to remain in the Senate. He was the most prominent Southern Unionist, and President Lincoln sought his advice. With most of Tennessee in Confederate hands, Johnson spent congressional recesses in Kentucky and Ohio, trying convince the Union Army commanders there to conduct an operation into East Tennessee.
Johnson's first term in the Senate ended in March 1862. President Lincoln appointed Johnson as the military governor of Tennessee. Much of the central and western portions of that seceded state had been recovered by Union troops. Some in Congress argued that civil government should simply resume once the Confederates were put down in an area, but Lincoln chose to use his power as commander in chief to appoint military governors over Union-controlled Southern areas. The Senate confirmed Johnson's nomination and gave him the rank of brigadier general. In response to this, the Confederates confiscated his land in the eastern part of the state. They confiscated his slaves, and turned his home into a military hospital.
As military governor, Johnson tried to eliminate rebel influences in the state. He demanded loyalty oaths from public officials, and he closed down newspapers run by Confederate sympathizers. His wife and family were still in Greeneville in the east part of the state which was still in Confederates control. The Confederates allowed his wife and family to pass through their lines to be with him. Nashville was continually harassed by cavalry raids led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In early 1863, Union General William S. Rosecrans defeated the Confederates at Murfreesboro and much of eastern Tennessee was retaken later that year.
When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, freeing the slaves in rebel-controlled areas, he exempted Tennessee at Johnson's request. However Johnson saw the writing on the wall, and he conceded that slavery would have to end. he said "If the institution of slavery ieeks to overthrow it [the Government], then the Government has a clear right to destroy it". He also gave reluctant support for the recruitment of former slaves for the Union Army, but he argued that African-Americans should perform menial tasks and free up whites to fight.
Lincoln's Vice-President was Maine Senator Hannibal Hamlin, who had served competently, was in good health, and was willing to run again in 1864. But it was Johnson who was seen by many as the ideal running mate for Lincoln in his re-election bid in 1864.
As a young politician in Tennessee, Johnson espoused many causes that would now be included under the umbrella of white supremacy. Following the 1831 Nat Turner slave rebellion, a state convention was called in Tennessee to pass a new constitution which included provisions to disenfranchise free African-Americans. Johnson spoke widely for the adoption of the new constitution and this provided him with statewide political exposure. He was soon elected him mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee, and a year later he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Soon after taking his seat, Johnson purchased his first slave, Dolly, aged 14. It was speculated that Johnson may have fathered children by Dolly. Dolly was dark-skinned, and her three children had much lighter skin and this led to speculation both during and after his lifetime that he was the children's father.
Johnson joined the Tennessee Militia as a member of the 90th Regiment where he attained the rank of colonel. In the legislature, Johnson voted with both parties, though he strongly supported President Andrew Jackson. Johnson was defeated for re-election in 1837, but he would not lose another election for the next thirty years. He was elected to the Tennessee Senate in 1841, where he served a two-year term. By now he owned eight or nine slaves. In 1843 he was elected to the House of Representatives. In Washington, he maintained an anti-abolitionist stance. Johnson believed, as did many Southern Democrats, that the Constitution protected private property, including slaves, and thus prohibited the federal and state governments from abolishing slavery. He supported the Polk administration's decision to fight the Mexican War and opposed the Wilmot Proviso, a proposal to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico.
In 1853 Johnson was elected Governor of Tennessee. When the presidential election of 1856 approached, Johnson hoped to be nominated. He decided not to seek a third term as governor, and instead ran for election to the U.S. Senate. In October 1859, when abolitionist John Brown raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (today West Virginia), tensions in Washington increased between pro- and anti-slavery groups. Johnson gave a major speech in the Senate in December, criticizing Northerners who would endanger the Union by seeking to outlaw slavery. He argued that "all men are created equal" from the Declaration of Independence did not apply to African-Americans, pointing out the Constitution of Illinois contained that phrase—and that document barred voting by African-Americans.
Johnson hoped that he would be a compromise candidate for the 1860 presidential nomination as the Democratic Party tore itself apart over slavery. The convention deadlocked, with no candidate able to gain the required two-thirds vote. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, talk of secession increased. Johnson gave a speech in the Senate after the election, in which he said "I will not give up this government. No, I intend to stand by it and I invite every man who is a patriot to rally around the altar of our common country and swear by our God, and all that is sacred and holy, that the Constitution shall be saved, and the Union preserved." When Southern senators announced they would resign if their states seceded, he reminded Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis that if Southerners would only hold to their seats, the Democrats would control the Senate, and could defend the South's interests against Lincoln.
Johnson returned home when his state took up the issue of secession. The legislature called a referendum on whether to have a constitutional convention to authorize secession and when that failed, they put the question of leaving the Union to a popular vote. Johnson was on the receiving end of threats and actual assaults as he campaigned against both questions, sometimes speaking with a gun on the lectern before him. Johnson's eastern region of Tennessee was against secession, but the second referendum passed, and in June 1861, Tennessee joined the Confederacy. Johnson believing he would be killed if he stayed in Tennessee. He fled the state through the Cumberland Gap, where his party was fired upon. His wife Eliza and their children remained in Greeneville.
Johnson was the only member from a seceded state to remain in the Senate. He was the most prominent Southern Unionist, and President Lincoln sought his advice. With most of Tennessee in Confederate hands, Johnson spent congressional recesses in Kentucky and Ohio, trying convince the Union Army commanders there to conduct an operation into East Tennessee.
Johnson's first term in the Senate ended in March 1862. President Lincoln appointed Johnson as the military governor of Tennessee. Much of the central and western portions of that seceded state had been recovered by Union troops. Some in Congress argued that civil government should simply resume once the Confederates were put down in an area, but Lincoln chose to use his power as commander in chief to appoint military governors over Union-controlled Southern areas. The Senate confirmed Johnson's nomination and gave him the rank of brigadier general. In response to this, the Confederates confiscated his land in the eastern part of the state. They confiscated his slaves, and turned his home into a military hospital.
As military governor, Johnson tried to eliminate rebel influences in the state. He demanded loyalty oaths from public officials, and he closed down newspapers run by Confederate sympathizers. His wife and family were still in Greeneville in the east part of the state which was still in Confederates control. The Confederates allowed his wife and family to pass through their lines to be with him. Nashville was continually harassed by cavalry raids led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest. In early 1863, Union General William S. Rosecrans defeated the Confederates at Murfreesboro and much of eastern Tennessee was retaken later that year.
When Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863, freeing the slaves in rebel-controlled areas, he exempted Tennessee at Johnson's request. However Johnson saw the writing on the wall, and he conceded that slavery would have to end. he said "If the institution of slavery ieeks to overthrow it [the Government], then the Government has a clear right to destroy it". He also gave reluctant support for the recruitment of former slaves for the Union Army, but he argued that African-Americans should perform menial tasks and free up whites to fight.
Lincoln's Vice-President was Maine Senator Hannibal Hamlin, who had served competently, was in good health, and was willing to run again in 1864. But it was Johnson who was seen by many as the ideal running mate for Lincoln in his re-election bid in 1864.