Editing Andrew Johnson (section)

=== Military Governor of Tennessee ===
{{Anchor|General}}<!-- This section is linked to from [[Abraham Lincoln]] -->
[[File:Andy_Johnson,_Military_Gov._of_Tenn_LCCN2003654038.jpg|thumb|Johnson as military governor]]
Johnson's first tenure in the Senate came to a conclusion in March 1862 when Lincoln appointed him military governor of Tennessee. Much of the central and western portions of that seceded state had been recovered. Although some argued that civil government should simply resume once the Confederates were defeated in an area, Lincoln chose to use his power as commander in chief to appoint military governors over Union-controlled Southern regions.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=69–70}} The Senate quickly confirmed Johnson's nomination along with the rank of [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]].{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=153}} In response, the Confederates confiscated his land and his slaves, and turned his home into a military hospital.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=151}} Later in 1862, after his departure from the Senate and in the absence of most Southern legislators, the [[Homestead Bill]] was finally enacted. Along with legislation for [[land-grant college]]s and for the [[transcontinental railroad]], the Homestead Bill has been credited with opening the [[Western United States]] to settlement.{{Sfn|Foner|pp=21, 661}}

As military governor, Johnson sought to eliminate rebel influence in the state. He demanded loyalty oaths from public officials, and shut down all newspapers owned by Confederate sympathizers. Much of eastern Tennessee remained in Confederate hands, and the ebb and flow of war during 1862 sometimes brought Confederate control again close to Nashville. However, the Confederates allowed his wife and family to pass through the lines to join him.{{Sfn|Castel|1979|p=9}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=71–72}} Johnson undertook the defense of Nashville as well as he could, though the city was continually harassed by cavalry raids led by General [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]]. Relief from Union regulars did not come until General [[William S. Rosecrans]] defeated the Confederates at [[Battle of Murfreesboro|Murfreesboro]] in early 1863. Much of eastern Tennessee was captured later that year.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=162}}

When Lincoln issued the [[Emancipation Proclamation]] in January 1863, declaring freedom for all slaves in Confederate-held areas, he exempted Tennessee at Johnson's request. The proclamation increased the debate over what should become of the slaves after the war, as not all Unionists supported abolition. Johnson finally decided that slavery had to end. He wrote, "If the institution of slavery&nbsp;... seeks to overthrow it [the Government], then the Government has a clear right to destroy it".{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=72}} He reluctantly supported efforts to enlist former slaves into the Union Army, feeling that African-Americans should perform menial tasks to release white Americans to do the fighting.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=73}} Nevertheless, he succeeded in recruiting 20,000 black soldiers to serve the Union.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=168–170}}