Connecticut western news., 1875-08-13
ANDREW JOHNSON.
A Sketch of the Private Life of the Late
 Ex.President.

Senator Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, N. O., December 29, 1908. When he was four years of age he lost his father. who died from the effects of exertions to savea friend from. drowning. At the age of ten he was apprenticed to 9, tailor in his native city, with whom he served seven years. f8t ,SFiEt ~
 His mother was unable to afford him any educational advantages, and he never attended school a day in his life. While learning his trade, however, he resolved to make an effort to educate himself his anxiety to be able to read. was par ticularly excited by an incident which is worthy of mention. A gentleman of Raleigh was in the habit of going to the tailor's shop and reading while the ap- prentices and iourneymen were at work. Hetwas an excellent reader, and his fa- Yorite book was 8 -yolumne. of speeches, principally of British statesmen. John son became interested, and his first ambition was to equal him as reader and become familiar with those speeches. ;. He took tip the alphabet without an instructor, but by applying to the jour neymen with whom he worked he ob- tained little assistance. Having ac- quired 8 knowledge of the letters, he applied for the loan of the book which he had so often heard read. The owner made him a present of it, and gave him some instruction on the use of letters in the formation of words. Thus his first Isexercises,in spelling were in. that book. | By perseveTanee he soon learned to read, and, the hours which he, devoted to his education were at night after he, was f through his daily labor upon the shop boa1a He now applied himself to books for two On three hours; every night, after working from, ten to twelve hours a day at his trade. Having completed his ap- prentlceshlp in the autumn of. 1924, he went to Haurehs Court House, South PCarelina, where he worked as journey man for nearly two years. While sthere be became engaged to be merried ;rbut the match was broken by the violent op- position of the girls mother and friends, the objection being MT. Johnson's s youth and.Want of pecuniary means.
 In May, 1926, he returned to Raleigh, where he procured journeywork5 and re- 3nained thl5S September. He1then seEout to seek his fortune in the West, carrying with him his mothefs who was, ,depend- ent upon him for support. He stopped atI GreenviHe, Tenn, and nommenced work as Q journeyman. He remained there about twelve months, married, and soon afterward went still further. west ward, but failing torfnd saitablet 1oIace to settle he returned to -Greenyille ,and commenced business oh his. own yac- count. Up to, this time his. education was limited to reading, as 11e' never had an opportunity. of 1earpipgto write or cipher but under the instruction of his wife he soon learned theseT branJhes
 The only time, however, he could de- vote to them was in the dead of night
 The first office he ever held was al- derman of the village, to which he was elected in 1928. He was gre-elected5 in the two following years In 1880 he vas chosen mayor, which position he held for three yrers. In 1885 he was elected to the Legislature. In the session of that year he took decided ground against schalnlae lillss. of internal Improvements which, he contended, would not: only prove fa1lures but entail upon the State a btlfdensome debt. E. .ses Y v
 ESes 24 The Q measure. was popular, However, md at. the next election, in 1887 he was defeated. He became 9 candidate again in l939.g9 By this time many of the evils that he had predicted from the internal improvement policy which he had op- posed four years previously were fully nonstrated, and he was. elected by a large majority. In 1940 he served as 0 Presidential elector for the State at large on the Democratic ticket. He can vassed large portion of the State, meet ing upon the stump several of the lead ing Whig orators. In 1941 he was elect ed to the State Senate. 1843 he was elected to Congress, where, by success slve elections, he served until 1853.
 During this period, of service he was conspicuous and active in nadvocating, re- spectively, the bill for refunding, the fine lapesedsupon General E J ackson Sat New QEleans ln18l5, the annAxation of Texas, the tariff -ef 1846, the war measures of President. Polk s administration and a homestead bill. In 1853 he was elected Governor of Tennessee, after an exciting canvass, in which he was opposed by Gustavus A.. Henry. He was reelected in 1855, after another actiye contest, his competitor being Meredith P. Gentry. At the expiration of his second period as governor in 1857, he was Reelected United States Senator for afull term, ending March, 1868.
 On February 20, 1863, he issued
 proclamation warming all persons who occupied property belonging ' to s"traltors '' not to pay the rents until a person should be appointed to receive them in the name of the United States.
 On June Y, 1864, the Republican con vention at Baltimore having ,renominat- ed MT. Lincoln for the Presidency, nom mated Andrew Johnson, for; the Vice Presidency. On his inauguration, on March 4, 1865, as Vice President, Mir. Johnson delivered an address, which was severely oensured. President Lincoln was assassinated on the evening of April 14s 1865 and died the following morn ing. The members of the cabinet, ex- cepting MT. Seward, addressed a note to MT. Johnson announcing the fact, and requesting his immediate. qualification as President. Accordingly he took the oath of office, in presence of the chief justice, a portion of the cabinet, and sev- eraii Gongressmen, at his room in his hotel. .F7 .: r.t.r, +4.~l.,.f. h ro:f
 l :. When Congress assembled in Decem- Der, an opposition to the President was FdeVeloped on the subject of reconstruc- t1on. During his administration the act known as the Civil Rights bill and an other for the extension of the Freed mems bureau, both of which the Presi- l dent vetoed, and the bills were then re considered and passed over the:yeto. On February .twenty-second,G 1868, the House passed a resolution that the Presi- dent be impeached, but the Senate failed to impeach by a two-thirds vote. -.! In 1868, MT. Johnson received sixty-eight votes from the National D Denoefatie con vention' as 8 candidate foE President. In 1870 he:ran for United. States Senator but failed by two votes. In 1872 he ran on an independent ticket for Con- gress and was defeated. In 1874 he was reelected to the Senate and filled that