Editing Andrew Johnson (section)

== Political rise ==

=== Tennessee politician ===
Johnson helped organize a [[Working Men's Party (New York)|Mechanics' (Working Men's)]] ticket in the 1829 Greeneville municipal election. He was elected town alderman, along with his friends Blackston McDannel and Mordecai Lincoln.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=35}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=33–36}} Following [[Nat Turner's slave rebellion|Nat Turner's Rebellion]] in 1831, a state convention was called to pass a new constitution, including provisions to [[disfranchisement|disenfranchise]] free people of color. The convention also wanted to reform real estate tax rates, and provide ways of funding improvements to Tennessee's infrastructure. The constitution was submitted for a public vote, and Johnson spoke widely for its adoption; the successful campaign provided him with statewide exposure. On January 4, 1834, his fellow aldermen elected him mayor of Greeneville.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=33, 36}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=36–37}}

In 1835, Johnson made a bid for election to the [[Open seat|"floater" (open) seat]] which [[Greene County, Tennessee|Greene County]] shared with neighboring [[Washington County, Tennessee|Washington County]] in the [[Tennessee House of Representatives]]. According to his biographer [[Hans L. Trefousse]], Johnson "demolished" the opposition in debate and won the election with a near-two-to-one margin.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=36}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=37}} During his Greeneville days, Johnson joined the [[Tennessee Army National Guard|Tennessee Militia]] as a member of the 90th Regiment. He attained the rank of [[Colonel (United States)|colonel]], though while an enrolled member, Johnson was fined for an unknown offense.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=14, 25}} Afterwards, he was often addressed or referred to by his rank.

In his first term in the legislature, which met in the state capital of [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], Johnson did not consistently vote with either the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] or the newly formed [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig Party]], though he revered President [[Andrew Jackson]], a Democrat and fellow Tennessean. The major parties were still determining their core values and policy proposals, with the party system in a state of flux. The Whig Party had organized in opposition to Jackson, fearing the concentration of power in the Executive Branch of the government; Johnson differed from the Whigs as he opposed more than minimal government spending and spoke against aid for the railroads, while his constituents hoped for improvements in transportation. After [[Brookins Campbell]] and the Whigs defeated Johnson for reelection in 1837, Johnson would not lose another race for thirty years. In 1839, he sought to regain his seat, initially as a Whig, but when another candidate sought the Whig nomination, he ran as a Democrat and was elected. From that time he supported the Democratic party and built a powerful political machine in Greene County.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=38–42}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=39–40}} Johnson became a strong advocate of the Democratic Party, noted for his oratory, and in an era when public speaking both informed the public and entertained it, people flocked to hear him.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=42}}

In 1840, Johnson was selected as a presidential elector for Tennessee, giving him more statewide publicity. Although Democratic President [[Martin Van Buren]] was defeated by former [[Ohio]] senator [[William Henry Harrison]], Johnson was instrumental in keeping Greene County in the Democratic column.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=43}} He was elected to the [[Tennessee Senate]] in 1841, where he served a two-year term.<ref name="CongBio">{{Biographical Directory of Congress|J000116|inline=1}}</ref> He had achieved financial success in his tailoring business, but sold it to concentrate on politics. He had also acquired additional real estate, including a larger home and a farm (where his mother and stepfather took residence), and among his assets numbered eight or nine slaves.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=45–46}}

=== United States Representative (1843–1853) ===
{{Anchor|Congressman (1843–1853)}}
Having served in both houses of the state legislature, Johnson saw election to Congress as the next step in his political career. He engaged in a number of political maneuvers to gain Democratic support, including the displacement of the Whig postmaster in Greeneville, and defeated [[Jonesborough, Tennessee|Jonesborough]] lawyer John A. Aiken by 5,495 votes to 4,892.{{Sfn|Schroeder-Lein|Zuczuk|p=55}}{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=51–53}} In Washington, he joined a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives. Johnson advocated for the interests of the poor, maintained an anti-[[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] stance, argued for only limited spending by the government and opposed protective tariffs.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=53}} With Eliza remaining in Greeneville, Congressman Johnson shunned social functions in favor of study in the [[Library of Congress]].{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=56}} Although a fellow Tennessee Democrat, [[James K. Polk]], [[1844 United States presidential election|was elected president]] in 1844, and Johnson had campaigned for him, the two men had difficult relations, and President Polk refused some of his patronage suggestions.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=44}}

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.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=43–44}} He won a second term in 1845 against [[William Gannaway Brownlow|William G. Brownlow]], presenting himself as the defender of the poor against the aristocracy. In his second term, Johnson supported the Polk administration's decision to fight the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican War]], seen by some Northerners as an attempt to gain territory to expand slavery westward, and opposed the [[Wilmot Proviso]], a proposal to ban slavery in any territory gained from Mexico. He introduced for the first time his Homestead Bill, to grant {{Convert|160|acre}} to people willing to settle the land and gain title to it.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=61–63}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=45–46}} This issue was especially important to Johnson because of his own humble beginnings.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=61–63}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=47–49}}

In the [[1848 United States presidential election|presidential election of 1848]], the Democrats split over the slavery issue, and abolitionists formed the [[Free Soil Party]], with former president Van Buren as their nominee. Johnson supported the Democratic candidate, former Michigan senator [[Lewis Cass]]. With the party split, Whig nominee General [[Zachary Taylor]] was easily victorious, and carried Tennessee.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=69–71}} Johnson's relations with Polk remained poor; the President recorded of his final New Year's reception in 1849 that

{{Blockquote|Among the visitors I observed in the crowd today was Hon. Andrew Johnson of the Ho. Repts. [House of Representatives] Though he represents a Democratic District in Tennessee (my own State) this is the first time I have seen him during the present session of Congress. Professing to be a Democrat, he has been politically, if not personally hostile to me during my whole term. He is very vindictive and perverse in his temper and conduct. If he had the manliness and independence to declare his opposition openly, he knows he could not be elected by his constituents. I am not aware that I have ever given him cause for offense.<ref>{{Cite book |author=James K. Polk |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MBsOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA265 |title=The diary of James K. Polk during his presidency, 1845 to 1849: now first printed from the original manuscript in the Collections of the Chicago Historical Society |publisher=A.C. McClurg & Co |year=1910 |isbn=978-1-62376-929-1 |editor=Milo M. Quaife |volume=4 |page=265 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150916144031/https://books.google.com/books?id=MBsOAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA265 |archive-date=September 16, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

Johnson, due to national interest in new railroad construction and in response to the need for better transportation in his own district, also supported government assistance for the [[East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railway|East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad]].{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=73}}

[[File:Andrew-johnson-house-tn1.jpg|thumb|right|The Andrew Johnson House, built in 1851 in [[Greeneville, Tennessee]]]]
During his campaign for a fourth term, Johnson concentrated on three issues: slavery, homesteads and judicial elections. He defeated his opponent, [[Nathaniel G. Taylor]], in August 1849, with a greater margin of victory than in previous campaigns. When the House convened in December, the party division caused by the Free Soil Party precluded the formation of the majority needed to elect a Speaker. Johnson proposed adoption of a rule allowing election of a Speaker by a plurality; some weeks later others took up a similar proposal, and Democrat [[Howell Cobb]] was elected.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=74–75}}

Once the Speaker election had concluded and Congress was ready to conduct legislative business, the issue of slavery took center stage. Northerners sought to admit California, a free state, to the Union. Kentucky's [[Henry Clay]] introduced in the Senate a series of resolutions, the [[Compromise of 1850]], to admit California and pass legislation sought by each side. Johnson voted for all the provisions except for the abolition of the slave trade in the nation's capital.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=75–76}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-15 |title=Slavery and Emancipation in the Nation's Capital |url=https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2010/spring/dcslavery.html |access-date=2024-01-31 |website=National Archives |language=en}}</ref> He pressed resolutions for constitutional amendments to provide for popular election of senators (then elected by state legislatures) and of the president (chosen by the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]]), and limiting the tenure of federal judges to 12 years. These were all defeated.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=78}}

A group of Democrats nominated [[Landon Carter Haynes]] to oppose Johnson as he sought a fifth term; the Whigs were so pleased with the internecine battle among the Democrats in the general election that they did not nominate a candidate of their own. The campaign included fierce debates: Johnson's main issue was the passage of the Homestead Bill; Haynes contended it would facilitate abolition. Johnson won the election by more than 1,600 votes.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=78}} Though he was not enamored of the party's presidential nominee in [[1852 United States presidential election|1852]], former New Hampshire senator [[Franklin Pierce]], Johnson campaigned for him. Pierce was elected, but he failed to carry Tennessee.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=81}} In 1852, Johnson managed to get the House to pass his Homestead Bill, but it failed in the Senate.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=49}} The Whigs had gained control of the Tennessee legislature, and, under the leadership of [[Gustavus Adolphus Henry, Sr.|Gustavus Henry]], redrew the boundaries of Johnson's First District to make it a safe seat for their party. The ''Nashville Union'' termed this "Henry-mandering";{{Efn|Wordplay on [[gerrymandering]].}}{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=82}} lamented Johnson, "I have no political future."{{Sfn|Castel|1979|p=5}}

During this period, Johnson became a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]], initiated into Greenville Lodge No. 119 in Greenville, Tennessee.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Masonic Presidents {{!}} Washington Lodge No. 20 |url=https://www.wln20.org/masonic-presidents |access-date=2025-01-26 |website=WLN20 |language=en}}</ref>

=== Governor of Tennessee (1853–1857) ===
[[File:Andrew Johnson by William Brown Cooper.png|thumb|Portrait of Johnson, 1856, attributed to [[William Brown Cooper]]]]

If Johnson considered retiring from politics upon deciding not to seek reelection, he soon changed his mind.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=51}} His political friends began to maneuver to get him the nomination for governor. The Democratic convention unanimously named him, though some party members were not happy at his selection. The Whigs had won the past two gubernatorial elections, and still controlled the legislature.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=84–85}} That party nominated Henry, making the "Henry-mandering" of the First District an immediate issue.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=84–85}} The two men debated in county seats the length of Tennessee before the meetings were called off two weeks before the August 1853 election due to illness in Henry's family.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=51}}{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=87–88}} Johnson won the election by 63,413 votes to 61,163; some votes for him were cast in return for his promise to support Whig [[Nathaniel Green Taylor|Nathaniel Taylor]] for his old seat in Congress.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=88}}{{Sfn|Schroeder-Lein|Zuczuk|p=119}}

Tennessee's governor had little power: Johnson could propose legislation but not veto it, and most appointments were made by the Whig-controlled legislature. Nevertheless, the office was a "[[bully pulpit]]" that allowed him to publicize himself and his political views.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=52–53}} He succeeded in getting the appointments he wanted in return for his endorsement of [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]], a Whig, for one of the state's U.S. Senate seats. In his first biennial speech, Johnson urged simplification of the state judicial system, abolition of the Bank of Tennessee, and establishment of an agency to provide uniformity in weights and measures; the last was passed. Johnson was critical of the Tennessee common school system and suggested funding be increased via taxes, either statewide or county by county—a mixture of the two was passed.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=92}} Reforms carried out during Johnson's time as governor included the foundation of the State's public library (making books available to all) and its first public school system, and the initiation of regular state fairs to benefit craftsmen and farmers.{{sfn|Smalley|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=P_s3-82-JusC&pg=PA35 35]}}

Although the Whig Party was on its final decline nationally, it remained strong in Tennessee, and the outlook for Democrats there in 1855 was poor. Feeling that reelection as governor was necessary to give him a chance at the higher offices he sought, Johnson agreed to make the run. [[Meredith P. Gentry]] received the Whig nomination. A series of more than a dozen vitriolic debates ensued. The issues in the campaign were slavery, the prohibition of alcohol, and the [[nativism (politics)|nativist]] positions of the [[Know Nothing Party]]. Johnson favored the first, but opposed the others. Gentry was more equivocal on the alcohol question, and had gained the support of the Know Nothings, a group Johnson portrayed as a secret society.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=55–56}} Johnson was unexpectedly victorious, albeit with a narrower margin than in 1853.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=95–97}}

When the presidential election of [[1856 United States presidential election|1856]] approached, Johnson hoped to be nominated; some Tennessee county conventions designated him a "[[favorite son]]". His position that the best interests of the Union were served by slavery in some areas made him a practical compromise candidate for president. He was never a major contender; the nomination fell to former [[Pennsylvania]] senator [[James Buchanan]]. Though he was not impressed by either, Johnson campaigned for Buchanan and his running mate, [[John C. Breckinridge]], who were elected.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=103–104}}

Johnson decided not to seek a third term as governor, with an eye towards election to the U.S. Senate. In 1857, while returning from Washington, his train derailed, causing serious damage to his right arm. This injury would trouble him in the years to come.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=104–105}}

=== United States Senator ===

==== Homestead Bill advocate ====
[[File:Andrew Johnson by Vannerson, 1859.jpg|thumb|Senator Johnson, 1859]]

The victors in the 1857 state legislative campaign would, once they convened in October, elect a United States Senator. Former Whig governor [[William B. Campbell]] wrote to his uncle, "The great anxiety of the Whigs is to elect a majority in the legislature so as to defeat Andrew Johnson for senator. Should the Democrats have the majority, he will certainly be their choice, and there is no man living to whom the Americans{{Efn|The Know Nothings, who were then formally known as the American Party.}} and Whigs have as much antipathy as Johnson."{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=105–106}} The governor spoke widely in the campaign, and his party won the gubernatorial race and control of the legislature.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=106}} Johnson's final address as governor gave him the chance to influence his electors, and he made proposals popular among Democrats. Two days later the legislature elected him to the Senate. The opposition was appalled, with the Richmond ''Whig'' newspaper referring to him as "the vilest radical and most unscrupulous demagogue in the Union".{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=105–107}}

Johnson gained high office due to his proven record as a man popular among the small farmers and self-employed tradesmen who made up much of Tennessee's electorate. He called them the "[[plebeians]]"; he was less popular among the planters and lawyers who led the state Democratic Party, but none could match him as a vote-getter. After his death, one Tennessee voter wrote of him, "Johnson was always the same to everyone&nbsp;... the honors heaped upon him did not make him forget to be kind to the humblest citizen."{{Sfn|Castel|1979|p=4}} Always seen in impeccably tailored clothing, he cut an impressive figure,{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=111}} and had the stamina to endure lengthy campaigns with daily travel over bad roads leading to another speech or debate. Mostly denied the party's machinery, he relied on a network of friends, advisers, and contacts.{{Sfn|Castel|1979|p=5}} One friend, Hugh Douglas, stated in a letter to him, "you have been in the way of our would be great men for a long time. At heart many of us never wanted you to be Governor only none of the rest of us Could<!-- Capitalization as in original --> have been elected at the time and we only wanted to use you. Then we did not want you to go to the Senate but ''the people would send you''."{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=54–55}}

The new senator took his seat when Congress convened in December 1857 (the term of his predecessor, [[James C. Jones]], had expired in March). He came to Washington as usual without his wife and family; Eliza would visit Washington only once during Johnson's first time as senator, in 1860. Johnson immediately set about introducing the [[Homestead Bill]] in the Senate, but as most senators who supported it were Northern (many associated with the newly founded [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]]), the matter became caught up in suspicions over the slavery issue. Southern senators felt that those who took advantage of the provisions of the Homestead Bill were more likely to be Northern non-slaveholders. The issue of slavery had been complicated by the Supreme Court's ruling earlier in the year in ''[[Dred Scott v. Sandford]]'' that slavery could not be prohibited in the territories. Johnson, a slaveholding senator from a Southern state, made a major speech in the Senate the following May in an attempt to convince his colleagues that the Homestead Bill and slavery were not incompatible. Nevertheless, Southern opposition was key to defeating the legislation, 30–22.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=110–112}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=58–59}} In 1859, it failed on a procedural vote when Vice President Breckinridge broke a tie against the bill, and in 1860, a watered-down version passed both houses, only to be vetoed by Buchanan at the urging of Southerners.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=116, 121}} Johnson continued his opposition to spending, chairing a committee to control it.

He argued against funding to build infrastructure in Washington, D.C., stating that it was unfair to expect state citizens to pay for the city's streets, even if it was the seat of government. He opposed spending money for troops to put down [[Utah War|the revolt]] by the Mormons in [[Utah Territory]], arguing for temporary volunteers as the United States should not have a standing army.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=114}}

==== Secession crisis ====
[[File:Andrew Johnson, seated, facing left 1860.jpg|thumb|Johnson in 1860]]

In October 1859, abolitionist [[John Brown (abolitionist)|John Brown]] and sympathizers [[John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry|raided the federal arsenal]] at [[Harpers Ferry, West Virginia|Harpers Ferry]], Virginia (today West Virginia). Tensions in Washington between pro- and anti-slavery forces increased greatly. Johnson gave a major speech in the Senate in December, decrying Northerners who would endanger the Union by seeking to outlaw slavery. The Tennessee senator stated that "all men are created equal" from the [[United States Declaration of Independence|Declaration of Independence]] did not apply to African Americans, since the [[Constitution of Illinois]] contained that phrase—and that document barred voting by African Americans.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=119}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=59}} Johnson, by this time, was a wealthy man who owned 14 slaves.{{Sfn|Castel|2002|p=226}}<ref>1860 U.S. Federal Census, Slave Schedule for Nashville's 7th ward, Davidson County, Tennessee</ref>

Johnson hoped that he would be a compromise candidate for the presidential nomination as the Democratic Party tore itself apart over the slavery question. Busy with the Homestead Bill during the [[1860 Democratic National Convention]] in [[Charleston, South Carolina]], he sent two of his sons and his chief political adviser to represent his interests in the backroom deal-making. The convention deadlocked, with no candidate able to gain the required two-thirds vote, but the sides were too far apart to consider Johnson as a compromise. The party split, with Northerners backing Illinois Senator [[Stephen Douglas]] while Southerners, including Johnson, supported Vice President Breckinridge for president. With former Tennessee senator [[John Bell (Tennessee politician)|John Bell]] running a fourth-party candidacy and further dividing the vote, the Republican Party elected its first president, former Illinois representative [[Abraham Lincoln]]. [[1860 United States presidential election|The election of Lincoln]], known to be against the spread of slavery, was unacceptable to many in the South. Although secession from the Union had not been an issue in the campaign, talk of it began in the Southern states.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=123–127}}{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|pp=60–63}}

Johnson took to the Senate floor after the election, giving a speech well received in the North, "I will not give up this government&nbsp;... No;<!-- punct as in original --> I intend to stand by it&nbsp;... and I invite every man who is a patriot to&nbsp;... rally around the altar of our common country&nbsp;... and swear by our God, and all that is sacred and holy, that the Constitution shall be saved, and the Union preserved."{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=131}}{{Sfn|Johnson|pp=172–173}} As 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 any infringement by Lincoln.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=134}} Gordon-Reed points out that while Johnson's belief in an indissoluble Union was sincere, he had alienated Southern leaders, including Davis, who would soon be [[President of the Confederate States of America|the president]] of the [[Confederate States of America]], formed by the seceding states. If the Tennessean had backed the Confederacy, he would have had small influence in its government.{{Sfn|Gordon-Reed|p=64}}

Johnson returned home when his state took up the issue of secession. His successor as governor, [[Isham G. Harris]], and the legislature organized a referendum on whether to have a constitutional convention to authorize secession; when that failed, they put the question of leaving the Union to a popular vote. Despite threats on Johnson's life, and actual assaults, he campaigned against both questions, sometimes speaking with a gun on the lectern before him. Although Johnson's [[East Tennessee|eastern region of Tennessee]] was largely against secession, the second referendum passed, and in June 1861, Tennessee joined the Confederacy. Believing he would be killed if he stayed, Johnson fled through the [[Cumberland Gap]], where his party was in fact shot at. He left his wife and family in Greeneville.{{Sfn|Castel|1979|p=8}}{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=138–143}}

As the only member from a seceded state to remain in the Senate and the most prominent [[Southern Unionist]], Johnson had Lincoln's ear in the early months of the war.{{Sfn|Trefousse|p=143}} With most of Tennessee in Confederate hands, Johnson spent congressional recesses in Kentucky and Ohio, trying in vain to convince any Union commander who would listen to conduct an operation into East Tennessee.{{Sfn|Trefousse|pp=140–148}}

=== 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}}