Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-06-11


before the nation by the circumstances Of
the rebellion and the part which he has
taken in restoring his State to he Union
There are none who have not heard his
name, and known Of the work he has done
and the dangers he has incurred for the
sake Of the country. And yet, as the
circumstances Of his early life and the
~ oOnmencemsnt Of his political career sre
comparatively little known, brief review
of them will be of interest to all.
Governor johnson was born ct Raleigh,
North Carolina, December 29th, 1908, and
is now ffty-hVs years old BE lost his
father when only four years old. kt the
= U age often he was ,apprenucei to q tailor
in Raleigh and served with him ap
premiership Of seven years. His mother
was poor, and had been unable to give
him any educational advantages but
young Andy, whose unConquerabs spirit
-,-s--- was not to be restrained by any dissdVan-
tagss became stimulated with desire for
knowledge He red the alphabet with
no other instructions than those obtained
from the journeymen with whom he work
ed. he learned to read from an old volume Of
speeches, leaned him by g friend, and
thenoefOrWsrd after ten hours work with
goose, needle and SCISSORS applied him
self with VgOr to study for three four
hours each evening. In 1924, having
completed his apprenticeship, he went to
Iaurens Court House. South Carolina,
where he worked jOurneymsn for two
--.t years. In 1925 he set out for the west
taking with him his mother, whom already,
at his early age and with his soanty wsges,
'la'a ne was supporting He made his home at
Greenvile Tennessee where he remained
sndcommenced business, and where he be-
came timing and popular man. With
ej the indefadgsble thirst for knowledge
which had characterised his early career
he still pursued his studies, and in the
evenings which followed q day of labor,
with bis wife as instructress, pushed on
in the road to knowledge.
BE entered early into political life, be-
100 b @ ' @ ing elected 10 the rst office which he ever
~ E - heid-thst of alderman Of the village of
q - Gfeenville--iR 1928 He was reelected
o - ~ to the same Oi6cs in 1929. In 1880 he rss
a. elected mayor and retained that position
for three years. In 1885 he was sent to
the legislature, where he chiefly dis
tngushed himself by taking strong
grounds against scheme Of internal i'm
provsmsnts which he argued was extrav.
agaat and useless The measure was
B Psgg'F A1"s'S, s,s Ss and s' . was defeated in
,srrF E5 and was this time successful. In 1910 he
served as presidential electOr for the State
sfss5 at large the Democratic ticket, and
during the campaign rendered efficient SER
FSaef vice to the party q stump speaker. In
1871 he elected to the State Senate
and in 1913 ct the sgs Of tbirty-fve he
was elected to Congress, where he held his
CD TTa seat being four time elected, until 1858
srs-ssa During this time be was thoroughly iden-
~ IN srV tiled with the old Democratic party and
s7' e t supported allthe party measures. In 1853
-1 15eF he was elected Governor after exciting
CONTEST over Gustavus A. Henry. He WAS
reelected in 1866 over Meridsih P Gentry,
the Wing candidate. At the expiration Of
his gubernstOrial tenn, in 1857, he was
chosen United States Senator By Demo-
cratic majority in the legislature of Ten
nssse. In that body he commanded the
respect Of all his eompeers as an able ell
Oquent and patriotic statesman At the
breaking ont Of the rebellion, Senator
Andrew johnson still pFOclsimsd his
allegiance to the United States, ard
continued to hold his seat as in the
Senate though his course subjected him to
much unpOpulariy and even danger
When, in the spring of 1862, our army
had penetrated Tennessee to Nashville and
the northern, and central portions of the
-.--t States were Wrested from rebel control
the President desired the services of q wise
and sagRoious man, Of unquestionabIs 10y
ally, to act Military Governor Of that
ststs, and he did not have long to look
Andrew johnson was ct once recognized as
the man for the place and being commits
STONED Brgsdier eral, he repaired to
Nashville, where he hss for two years dis
charged the delicate and responsible duty
r Of his. charge with a degree Of wisdom
--A sfsniAney uhioh has challenges gen
erAl admiration. Under his adminstra.
hon, rebellion has steadily been losing its
held in Tennessee, and loyalty as constant.
- .as-tJJ lyseudVated and developed.
s4tss Such is the history Of Andrew John
ts.s. es.1 son, the Union candidate for the Vice
asai -.i5 Presidency Of the United states He is
like Lincoln, eminently nan Of
.EIzA the people, and selfmsde man. His
fea-s whole history is certificate Of ohaFao
ter, and proves him an honest, energetic
--z9 a+~ssHrsa and Union loving statesman
His record before the war was that of a
cor sistent and conscientious supporter Of
the Democratic party, but since the
breaking out Of the rebellion he has known
no party but that of the Union and, like
Brough, Dickinson Stanton and many
other War Democrats, is heart and soul
-- for the abolition Of slavery and the other
greAt principles Of the Union platform
Around him, around Lincoln, the