In withdrawing his own name Mr. Ewing took occasion to say that he was, to some extent, influenced by information from Washington. This simple and unintentional statement was construed afterwards into a disposition on the part of Johnson and others to make the party in the State subservient to the will of politicians at the National Capital, and the whole matter worked greatly to Johnson's disadvantage in the race, although there was nothing in it except this conversation with Congressman Jones, Mr. Johnson's life-long friend and admirer.

The Whig candidate was Gustavus A. Henry, an eloquent lawyer; but after a thorough and remarkable canvass Johnson was elected, thus gaining the greatest triumph of his life, if not reaching the height of his ambition. This was a necessary advancement. for the next and other succeeding steps. Had he failed now, there is no very reasonable grounds for supposing that the rest would have followed. The United States Senatorship was next in order, and from that came the Military Governorship and the Vice-Presidency. Mr. Johnson's Presidency may in this way be traced to the conduct of George W. Jones in directing the final choice of the Democratic Convention for Governor in 1853. Perhaps in other matters, as well as in politics, no man was of so much benefit to Andrew Johnson as Mr. Jones. The main circumstances in their careers were quite similar. Jones was a saddler by trade, and like Johnson had little advantages of education. He early turned his attention to politics. For sixteen con

secutive years he was a member of the Lower House of Congress, ten of them serving with Johnson. They entered politics about the same time, first meeting as members of the Legislature. Jones was on the side of the Union until his State went with the Rebellion. He was a member of the "Confederate Congress," and remained so to the end, but mainly through a disposition to aid in rendering the evils of the times as tolerable as possible. When his friend became President he went to Washington, remained several weeks at the White House, and was the first rebel pardoned by Mr. Johnson.

On the 17th of October, 1853, Mr. Johnson entered upon his office as Governor. His inaugural address was considered a model among radical Democrats. His voice was for the many and against the few. Aristocracy and kingcraft were always his marks. He never lost an opportunity to strike them, and from these sources he received only censure. He was again nominated for Governor in 1855, and this time made the race against Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig or Know-Nothing candidate, a man of fine qualities as a popular speaker, but not comparable with Johnson in depth. He again canvassed" the State, and this time had a new theme, in which he appeared to great advantage. The least Know-Nothing note jarred against his feelings. Religious intolerance was utterly impossible with him; and some other features of the "American" movement were offensive to him. As a whole he assailed it with great vehemence, with all the argu

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ments of the day. In this contest the KansasNebraska Bill was made a prominent feature also. Of this Mr. Johnson subsequently said:

"I canvassed the State from the mountains of Johnson County to the Chickasaw Bluffs in Shelby County. I was in nearly every county in the State, and well do I recollect the exciting events that took place during that canvass. I had a competitor who was eloquent, who is known to many members of this House, who was with me on every stump in the State. One of the leading issues in that canvass was the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. I pressed my competitor upon it before every audience, and there were scarcely ever such turn-outs in the State as during that canvass. It was one of the main issues between him and me. I pressed him upon it in every single speech I made in the State; and he uniformly declined to take ground. He was afraid to take ground against it or for it, as was then believed, for fear it would injure him in the canThere was no doubt, in fact, that he harmonized with the Democratic party on that point, yet he shrank from the responsibility, with a view of getting many votes by taking a non-committal course. If he had taken bold ground against the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, with the other issues pending in that canvass, he would have been beaten thousands and thousands throughout the State; but from the fact of his taking a non-committal position on the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he was enabled to get many votes which he would not have received if he had taken bold ground on that question."

vass.

The Legislature of Tennessee wisely meets only every alternate year, and so during his four years as Governor Mr. Johnson sent to that body but three general messages. They were notable for the absence of all formal and declamatory display, going

directly to the work in hand. In his first message to both Houses, December 19, 1853, he recommended a system of internal improvements; earnestly recommended enlarging and completing the public-school system of the State; invited attention to the need of reform in the management of the State prison; recommended reform of the judicial system; and urged the instruction of Congressmen to support a permanent national homestead law giving each citizen an opportunity to own one hundred and sixty acres of the public land.

In his second message in October, 1855, he again brought forward these recommendations, urged the attention of the Legislature to the improvement of the public roads, and recommended steps to be taken favoring an amendment of the National Constitution providing for doing away with the electoral system. and electing the President and Vice-President by the direct vote of the people. In referring to the agricultural condition of the State he says:

"When our people .learn that the necessity for labor (work) is a blessing, rather than a curse; that 'he who causes two blades of grass to grow where but one grew before, is a greater benefactor than he who conquers armies; and that honor, fame, and fortune may be as certainly earned in the workshop of the artisan as in the offices of the learned professions, and as freely accorded by the public sense to the former as to the latter, then we shall have lived down an obstacle in the way of State progress, as absurd as it is injurious."

On October 6, 1857, he delivered his last message and in December was succeeded by Isham G. Harris.

In his last message Governor Johnson recommended the sale of stocks owned by the State in banks and other institutions and the application of the proceeds to the payment of the State's debts. He also recommended the State constitution to be amended to limit legislation without the consent of the people in creating State debts; opposed the banking system of the State; and asserted that banks which could not furnish the community with gold and silver currency from five dollars down were not entitled to the public confidence, and the sooner they were wound up the better it would be for the public good. In this message it is stated that, according to the act of the former session authorizing the purchase of five hundred acres of the "Hermitage" or Jackson farm, including the tomb and house of General Jackson, the purchase had been made; and that according to the act he had tendered the property to the General Government to be used for a branch of the West Point Military Academy; that Congress had declined the offer; and he now recommended the Hermitage to be made the home of the governors of the State. But the suggestion was not carried out, and Tennessee has no governor's residence. The Hermitage estate has been greatly reduced since its purchase by the State.

Although little of great general importance happened during Mr. Johnson's administration of the affairs of the State, yet it was a valuable period to Tennessee. While his principles and habits were too radically democratic to suit a large part of the people,