Early Political Career

Johnson was an ambitious young man with an interest in public affairs. His tailor shop became a center for political debate. He entered politics in 1828 at the age of 20, when he was elected an alderman of Greeneville as the candidate of a working-man's party. He was reelected twice. In 1830 Johnson was chosen mayor, holding that post for three years. In 183S he was elected to the state house of representatives, running as a champion of small farmers and tradesmen. He then served in the Tennessee senate. In 1843, when 34, Johnson ran for Congress as a states' rights Democrat and won. In 1853 he was elected governor of Tennessee. As governor, Johnson helped to establish a public school system and continued to support small farmers and tradesmen in opposition to the state's slaveholding aristocracy. He was reelected in 1855.

In 1857 Johnson won election to the U.S. Senate. Although from the South, he was a staunch supporter of the Union. He was the only Southerner to remain in the Senate after his state seceded from the Union. He was regarded by pro-Confederate Tennesseeans as a renegade. In March, 1862, President Lincoln made Johnson military governor of Tennessee. He proved to be an able and fair-minded administrator.

In an effort to promote national harmony, the Republican party, calling itself the National Union Party, in 1864 chose Johnson, a Democrat, to be the Vice Presidential nominee on the ticket with Lincoln. (