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 Copv 2 
 
 EX-PRESIDENT JOHNSON. 
 
 Unveiling of the Monument 
 
 ERECTED TO HIS MEMORY AT 
 
 GM^EENEVILLE, TENN., JUNE 5th, 1878, 
 
^; 
 
ORATION 
 
 OF 
 
 ^"loN. George W. Jones, 
 
 WITH OTHER PROCEEDINGS, 
 
 AT 
 
 The Unveiling of the Monument 
 
 TO THE MEMORY OF 
 
 Ex-President Andrew Johnson, 
 
 AT 
 
 June 5TH, 1878. 
 
 NASHVILLE: 
 
 PRINTED BY "THE AMERICAN." 
 1878. 
 
 CO> 
 

UNVEILING OF THE MONDMENT. 
 
 The ceremonies connected with the unveiUng of the monument 
 erected over the remains of Ex-President Andrew Johnson, occurred at 
 Greeneville, Tenn., June 5, 1878. At an early hour of that day peo- 
 ple began flocking into the village from the surrounding country. 
 Special trains from the east and west poured into town a throng of peo- 
 ple from along the line of railroad from" Bristol to Knoxville. There 
 were three thousand people present, including distinguished citizens 
 from every division of the State. At 11 o'clock the procession was 
 formed in front of the Court-house and moved to Monument Hill 
 in the following order : 
 
 Drum Corps. 
 
 Coeur de Leon Commandery, of Knoxville. 
 
 Odd Fellows Band. 
 
 Carriages, conveying the speakers and the 'family of Ex-President 
 Johnson. 
 
 Invited guests in carriages. 
 
 Citizens. 
 
 After the arrival at the monument, the family and invited guests, in- 
 cluding the Knights Templar, took seats on the stand erected for the 
 jjurpose, when Mr. C. Van Gunden, of the firm of Van Gunden, Young 
 & Drumm, of Philadelphia, Pa., builders of the monument, spoke as 
 follows: "Mr. President: On the 31st of March, 1877, Mrs. Martha 
 J. Patterson, Mrs. Mary J. Stover and Andrew Johnson, Jr., children 
 of the late President Johnson, contracted with us for the construction of 
 this work. We have felt ourselves highly honored in being chosen by 
 them, for we had not only the artists' and mechanics' pleasure, but, as 
 American citizens, have felt grateful in being permitted, though in an 
 humble way, to perpetuate the memory of Tennessee's greatest states- 
 man. We have, with conscious integrity, devoted our best skill to the 
 
execution of the task confided to us, and now, with thanks to the de- 
 voted family of our beIo\-ed ex-President for their unremitting courtesy 
 and kindness during the i)rogress of the work to its completion, I place 
 in vour keei)ing the result of our united labors, and may the memory 
 t)f their filial love and patriotic devotion, expressed in the structure be- 
 fore us, and the deeds of the noble dead whose ashes sleep beneath 
 this monument, be gratefully remembered for ages to come." 
 
 The great flag enfolding the monument then, as if by magic, fell 
 gracefully down, and disclosed the tribute of childrens' affection to 
 noble and loving parents. It had been beautifully decorated by the 
 ladies of Greeneville, with a garland of laurel, wrapped spirally around 
 it. and a wreath of laurel in the eagle's beak, while numerous bouquets 
 of surpassing beauty adorned the niches in the die and base. Under 
 the arch, the graves were strewn with choicest flowers and foliage. 
 
 Standing on the crest of a prominent conical hill, half a mile south- 
 west of Greenville, the monument commands a noble landscape, 
 stretching away for miles to the distant mountains that line the horizon. 
 The marble shaft rises in the center of the Johnson burying ground, a 
 circular grassy plot, thirty feet in diameter. Side by side lie the graves 
 of the dead statesman and his wife. A few steps south are buried their 
 .sons, Charles and Robert, the former of whom, a surgeon in the Feder- 
 al army, met a tragic death during the war, by being thrown from his 
 horse while in Nashville. 
 
 The monument is twenty-seven feet high, with a measurement of nine 
 by seven feet at the base — which is of gray granite, and composed of 
 three pieces — the low, broad arch and the two supports which rest upon 
 a limestone foundation set five feet in the solid slate of Monument Hill. 
 This arch spans the graves of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson some three feet 
 above the ground surface. 
 
 On the arch rests the die. about three feet high and four feet square. 
 flanked on either side by a half pyramidical wing, on the top of each 
 of which stands an urn holding a funeral torch. Next above the die is 
 the pedestal, also about three feet high and two feet square, the bottom 
 and top both ornamented round about with a molding, bead fillet and 
 concave. Above the i)edestal stands the shaft of white Italian marble 
 about fifteen feet in height, square, with beveled corners, plain at the 
 bottom, the upper half draped Avith the stars and stripes, and surmount- 
 ed with a globe on which is perched an outspread eagle, also of white 
 Italian marble, jjoised as if in defence from an expected attack from 
 below. 
 
 The jjedestal is ornamented with a scroll Constitution immediately 
 above an open i^ible, on the left hand page of which rests an open 
 hand pointing towards the Constitution and also representative of the 
 
Ill 
 
 act of taking the oatli of office under it. The die l^ears the follo\vin-<i 
 inscription : 
 
 Andrew Johnson, 
 Seventeenth President of the 
 United States. 
 
 Born Dec. 29, 1808. 
 Died July 31, 1875. 
 
 His faith in the People 
 never wavered. 
 
 Eliza Johnson, 
 
 Born Oct 4, 1810. 
 Died Jan. 15, 1876. 
 
 In memory of Father and 
 Mother. 
 
 The east face of the monument alone bear inscriptions — the others 
 rare plain. A neat substantial iron palisade encloses the monument and 
 family burial ground, and the ^^hole is distinctly visible from the rail- 
 way, approaching Greeneville from the West. The cost of the monu- 
 ment was nearly $9,000. 
 
 After the formal delivery of the monument by the representative of 
 the builders, Hon. Jno. C. Burch, of the Nashville American-^ intro- 
 duced Hon. George W. Jones, of Fayetteville, the orator of the occa- 
 sion. At the conclusion of the oration the procession formed and re- 
 turned, halting at the residence, where the invited guests, including the 
 speakers and Knights Templar, were received and entertained by the 
 ladies of the family. 
 
 The following is the introductory address of Hon. John C Burch; 
 
 INTRODUCTORY ADDRESS, 
 
 This immense assemblage, the eager anxiety of all to witness the 
 ceremonies of the day and to hear every word that is uttered bespeak 
 the deep interest which is felt in this occasion. Near three years ago 
 the most eniinent citizen of your county, of the State and of the Union 
 was suddenly summoned from exalted station and the busy scenes of 
 public life to the quiet slumbers of the grave. Many of us who are 
 here to-day were here when his mortal remains, wrapped in the flag of 
 his country, were committed to their mother earth. In yon quiet village 
 he selected his home before he had arrived at years of maturity. Here, in 
 later years, after his countrymen had crowned him with many honors, 
 he selected this spot for the burial of himself and the dear, devoted one 
 whom in early life he had chosen as an help meet for him, and who, 
 through all the unusually trying years of a most eventful life, fully and 
 faithfully discharged the duties to which she had been allotted. 
 
IV 
 
 Many of you knew him in his every-day walk as a private citizen;: 
 all of us knew him, or knew of him, as one of the foremost figures on 
 the great historic canvas of American life. No man of his earnestness 
 of convictions could live so long and so eminently in public Hfe and 
 during such a stormy period of the country's history without antago- 
 nizing the political views and aspirations of many of his fellow-citizens. 
 It is not asked that any of us shall admit that his were always the 
 correct positions. But none ever knew him who did not acknowledge 
 and admire his simplicity of character, his integrity of purpose, his per- 
 sonal courage, his indomitable will, his unyielding devotion to what he 
 believed the right. 
 
 The career of Andrew Johnson was the most remarkable of the 
 present century, if not of all the past.- It will prove a source of inspi- 
 ration and encouragement to the humble youth of this age and of all 
 future civilization. We are here to pay respect to this wonderful ca- 
 reer and to assist in emphasizing it for the consideration of the present 
 generation as well as for posterity. The highest civic honors have been 
 already paid to the deceased statesman. Since his entombment, filial 
 affection has erected over his remains a monument, to mark their rest- 
 ing place by the side of his beloved wife. Friends have thought that 
 the unveiling of this monument should be made the occasion 
 of an oration, somewhat commemorative of his private life 
 and public services. The surviving children of Mr. Johnson have 
 selected for the preparation and delivery of this address one who was 
 for forty years his warm personal friend, and who, for the most of that 
 time, was intimately associated with him in public life. The duty 
 which I have been asked to perform is to introduce to you this bosom 
 friend, this intimate associate of the deceased, one of Tennessee's most 
 eminent living citizens. Ladies and gentlemen, I have the honor of 
 presenting to you the orator of the day, the Hon, Geo, W. Jones, of 
 Lincoln, 
 
RATION. 
 
 Ladies and Gentlemen: 
 
 The ceremony performed in our presence to-day discovers to the 
 eyes of this assemblage the monument, erected by his children, to 
 mark the resting place of the remains of Andrew Johnson. The 
 occasion has been deemed appropriate for an oration commemorative 
 of the life and character of that remarkable man, and at the solicita- 
 tion of those children and numerous friends, while sincerely distrustiul 
 of my ability, I have accepted the duty. The reason for my selection 
 lies chiefly in the fact, that for a period of forty years it was my for- 
 tune to have been intimately associated with him, and that our services 
 in public station, during the period in which I acted, was fundament- 
 ally accordant in political views. The antecedents of both were some- 
 what similar also, and conduced to render us congenial, and to estab- 
 lish relations — both public and private — of a sympathetic friendship, 
 which were not severed at any period of his eventful career. The 
 opportunities of this relationship have been held to qualify me to speak 
 of him as he was, to analyze his characteristics, to interpret his motives, 
 and to portray the events of his laborious and tumultuous life in the 
 light which may serve as a guide to the estimate in which posterity 
 may hold him. This task I do not regard myself equal to, and were 
 it otherwise, neither time nor the proprieties of the occasion would 
 permit a discourse requiring a review of one of the most important 
 periods in the political history of our Government. This, indeed, will 
 be the duty of the elaborate historian, who shall write of the man and 
 his times after the roar of the combat shall be forgotten, and the pas- 
 sion it aroused shall have given place to reason. In the shaping of 
 great events, he wrought with rare vigor and power, and his life will 
 project a commanding figure on the canvas of history. To that repos- 
 itory' his fame may be safely committed. The time, to-day, may be 
 profitably employed in recounting the narrative of his wonderful course 
 from orphanage and obscurity to exalted station and world-wide re- 
 nown and in reflecting on the mental and moral attributes which 
 
L 2 ] 
 
 enabled him to overcome these obstacles, and achieve results so grand. 
 In this aspect his life is a lesson of absorbing interest and instruction ; 
 and though it is not possible to speak of it without reference to eras of 
 fierce pohtical conflict, I shall endeavor to do so justly and candidly, 
 remembering for- him that he is dead, and for the living that the truth 
 in regard to great characters who may become exemplars, is all that is 
 valuable. 
 
 Nearly three years have elapsed since Mr. Johnson, but recently 
 elected to a seat in the highest council-chamber of the Government, 
 and apparently in robust health for one who had nearly reached the 
 limit of three-score and ten years, was suddenly stricken, and his 
 spirit summoned from the scenes of earth. The unexpected announce- 
 ment thrilled the people of the United States with a sense of sadness. 
 Those who had admired and supported him, as well as those who had 
 not, felt that a great man had fallen — in the figure of Scripture, " that 
 a standard-bearer on the walls had fainted"— and that a public be- 
 reavement was suffered. The bells in cities were tolled. The public 
 buildings exhibited the insignia of mourning. The flag of the nation 
 hung at half-mast. The day of his burial was respected in a suspen- 
 sion of the official business of the public. Numerous meetings of the 
 people assembled to express the universal sense of loss. At a later 
 date, funeral pageants were formed in honor of his memory, notably 
 one at the Capital of this State, whose public servant he had been so 
 long. Still later, on the meeting of Congress, a day was designated on 
 which the Representatives of the people should, in resolutions and 
 spoken eulogies, voice the sentiment of the nation regarding his 
 death ; and in these, political friends and foes united in the language 
 of homage. Here, at his home, his removal was as if one of yonder 
 mountains had "bowed its tall head to the plain." First receiving a 
 mark of the public confidence from this people nearly half a century 
 before, his luminous ascent to supreme station had reflected honor 
 upon them, and his fame was cherished here as a household god by 
 every one. No tribute of tongue or pen, or ostentatious parade, paid 
 to his memory, was so true or just as the homely outpouring of the 
 people, and the children of the people, who had been his early and 
 steadfast friends, on the day his body was interred at this spot. The 
 obsequies were not elaborate in equipage and vain display of cere- 
 mony. They were such only as he would have desired — a concourse 
 of the people irrespective of social rank, subdued in grief, and quietly 
 performing the last service we can offer our fellow-men. They were as 
 becoming as they were spontaneous and unaffected — the simple and 
 sincere offering of those who knew him best and esteemed him most- 
 
L 3 ]^ 
 
 And thus, after a life of extraordinary energy in a great field of action, 
 illustrating both extremes of fortune, amid the mingled admiration and 
 regret of a continent, his mortal part was laid in the earth, and men 
 turned away, thenceforward to contemplate him in the steadily receding 
 view of history. To trace this life since he first appeared in the then 
 village yonder, more than fifty years ago, is a story of the marvels pos- 
 sible to indomitable will and inflexible honesty, allied to inborn talents. 
 But who that saw him then, and there may be those living who hear 
 me, would have ventured to predict that the uncouth youth, poor and 
 unlettered, unknown and unfriended save by the widowed mother, 
 who was his companion and his dutiful burden, was to become the 
 recipient of all these honors, in life and in death, I have so feebly 
 depicted ? How it came to pass, let the sequel show. 
 
 Andrew Johnson was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, December 
 29, 1808. He was the son of Jacob Johnson, an humble man, who 
 filled at various times several petty offices in that town. He was quite 
 poor, and unable to give his children even the rudiments of an educa- 
 tion. He died when his subsequently illustrious son was in the fourth 
 year of his age. In the history of men who have become eminent, 
 early loss of the father is quite a frequent circumstance. It was the 
 case with Jackson and Clay, for example. One might speculate, if in 
 characters having the germs of greatness, this apparently adverse 
 stroke of fate did not tend to develop the faculty of self-reliance, an 
 element afterwards so prominent. At ten years of age, Andrew was 
 apprenticed to a tailor in Raleigh, and a few months before the expira- 
 tion of his term of indenture, he left his employment and his native 
 place, on account of a boyish misdemeanor in which he was implicated. 
 In a year or more he returned, having spent the time at work in his 
 trade at Laurens Court-house, South Carolina. Learning that his 
 former master had removed some distance from Raleigh, he sought 
 him, made apology for his misconduct, and tendered payment for the 
 unperformed period of service for which he owed. This honorable 
 offer was not received properly, and the proud spirit of the youth 
 revolted, and he resolved to seek a new home. His gaze turned west- 
 ward, and for him, indeed, ''the star of empire" was briUiant with 
 destiny. Having traveled in the humblest manner, with his dependent 
 mother, in the fall of 1826 — then eighteen years of age— he arrived in 
 Greeneville, Tennessee, Here he opened that shop which has become 
 historic, and sat diligently at his trade, approving himself a good 
 workman, and acquiring the confidence of those who employed him. 
 Not long after, he married her who rests by his side beneath that shaft, 
 justly sharing the honors paid to him. Their temperaments were un- 
 
L 4 ] 
 
 like — he, fervid and aggressive; she, calm and retiring— but their 
 union was fortunate, and, by her aid, he was better prepared for the 
 long encounter which fate held in reserve. He had never gone to 
 school. Incited by listening to readings from a copy of ' ' The Ameri- 
 ican Speaker" — a work of oratorical exercises — -while an apprentice on 
 the board, he mastered the alphabet, and learned to read. Until his 
 marriage, his education consisted only in such imperfect reading as the 
 intervals from toil allowed him. His wife taught him writing and 
 arithmetic — acquisitions which served to enlarge the sphere of his 
 capacity, and stimulate the sacred thirst for knowledge. Under her 
 instructions his self-education was pursued concurrently with his daily 
 labor, and far into the night, when other mechanics were accustomed 
 to rest. Such was the resolute spirit of the man, as even at this time 
 his nascent ambition was prefiguring the career on which he had set 
 his heart. 
 
 His thrift in his vocation, and his studious habits and active 
 intelhgence, were not long in attracting attention, and in 1828 he 
 was elected an alderman of this town, and re-elected in the year 
 following. In 1830 he was made mayor, a considerable dignity for 
 a young man of twenty-two years of age. This office he filled 
 for several years with efficiency. He was appointed a trustee of 
 Rhea Academy in 1834. This was the year in which the second 
 Constitution for the State was submitted to the people. He advocated 
 its adoption, as its features, in the main, were more democratic than 
 the instrument of 1796, which it was designed to supersede. Thus, in 
 the incipiency of his public life, is observed a devotion to that prin- 
 ciple which became its shibboleth — -the bringing of the government 
 nearer to the people. In the year following, the first General Assem- 
 bly, under the new Constitution, was elected, and he presented himself 
 as a candidate for Representative. The division of the people into 
 parties, afterwards so long known as Whig and Democratic, was just 
 then occurring, and the instincts and modes of thought of Mr, John- 
 son at once aligned him with the latter, at whose head was Andrew 
 Jackson. His candidacy, however, was not wholly acceptable to some 
 who assumed to be local leaders of the party, but nothing caring, he 
 engaged in debate with his popular competitor, and sustained himself 
 so well as to silence all objections in his own ranks. He was elected, 
 and it was in the House of Representatives in that Assembly that your 
 speaker, as a fellow-member, formed his acquaintance. In that body, 
 though but few, if any, discerned the elements of character he after- 
 wards developed, he made more than the ordinary impression of a new 
 member. He was punctual, laborious, but not unduly forward. He 
 
[ 5 ] 
 
 kept a vigilant eye on the legislation proposed in moulding the order of 
 things under the new Constitution, and judiciously participating in 
 debate. His style was less assured and vehement than afterwards; 
 but nevertheless ready and pointed. Though plainly clad, and not so 
 robust in figure as in later life, his marked and expressive features pre- 
 sented him well, and engaged attention when he arose to speak. An im- 
 portant measure of that session was an act for internal improvements — the 
 building of a system of macadamized turnpikes at the expense of the 
 State treasury. Mr. Johnson's course in regard to this was strongly 
 illustrative of candor and boldness, as well as of tenacious adherence 
 to constitutional limits in legislation, which he ever so consistently and 
 signally displayed. His own mountain-bound section of the State, 
 under the operation of the law, would derive benefits greatly desired — 
 ready means of inter-communication, as well as accessibility to other 
 sections, then quite difficult. It was, therefore, popular in that 
 region, and a number of its leading advocates were from East Ten- 
 nessee. Mr. Johnson gravely doubted the power of the General 
 Assembly to impose a tax upon the people for an extraordinary purpose 
 . without the previous consent expressed at the polls, and seriously ques- 
 tioned the abstract right and propriety of incurring an indebtedness of 
 the State, bearing interest, for any object, however desirable or laudable. 
 From a fund thus acquired, he was jealous to apprehend misapplication 
 of its use. AVith these views he strenuously opposed the enactment of 
 the measure, notwithstanding the expected advantage to accrue to the 
 people whom he represented. In this early step, there was nothing of 
 the odor of demagoguery, which since has been erroneously charged 
 against him. Indeed to this manly independence of the popular desire 
 was, in great part, to be attributed his defeat for re-election in 1837, 
 Two years later, however, he appealed a third time to the people. 
 Some of the consequences of the favorite measure which he had fore- 
 told, had been observed, and he was triumphantly returned. His 
 bearing and legislative service at this session gave evidence of enlarged 
 information on questions meriting public attention, and of ripening 
 powers. A single defeat had not discouraged him, nor in the least 
 relaxed his ardor. In 1840, he was nominated a candidate, for the 
 State at large, for Presidential Elector, on the Democratic ticket, and 
 appeared in debate with various gentlemen of distinction on the oppos- 
 ing ticket. His experience in speaking before the people, and in the 
 halls of legislation, had begotten confidence in his capacity. He was 
 thoroughly informed upon the current questions and principles at issue, 
 and in these forensic struggles he bore himself the equal of any whom 
 he met. Those who witnessed them, perceived that he was in a sphere 
 
[ 6 ] 
 
 in which he was qualified to become eminent. He was elected a 
 member of the State Senate in the year following. The period was 
 one of intense political antagonism. The Whig party, successful in 
 the Federal elections, had suffered a disaster in the early death of 
 President Harrison, and the alleged defection of his successor to its 
 principles in an important object to its great leaders — the establishment 
 of a Bank of the United States. Mr. Johnson was then, as ever after- 
 wards, a determined opponent of powerful fiscal corporations, holding 
 them to be inimical to the rights and interests of the mass of the 
 people, and promotive of public corruption. He felt it to be a public 
 duty to oppose, by every legitimate means, the ascendancy in Congress 
 of the party advocating this measure. In great part, this question 
 entered as an element in the election of United States Senators, which 
 then devolved upon the General Assembly, and Mr. Johnson was one 
 of the democratic majority of the State Senate — known in the political 
 parlance of the time as "the immortal thirteen" — whose refusal to act 
 thwarted an election. This produced an angry contest, and the argu- 
 ments in attack and defense were of a mixed legal and partizan charac- 
 ter. At this session, Mr. Johnson was the author of a bill providing 
 for a scheme of internal improvements, which he held to be safely 
 practicable, and not obnoxious to the objections which he had urged to 
 the measure of a previous legislature. 
 
 He had now achieved a reputation co-extensive with the State. In 
 his six years of service in the General Assembly, he had exhibited in- 
 defatigable industry, astuteness and skill in debate, a candid record 
 upon all issues, and unbending courage. He aspired to a wider field 
 of action, and announced himself a candidate for the Federal House 
 of Representatives, and after an arduous canvass, was elected, and 
 entered that body in the thirty-fifth year of his age. It was the fortune 
 of your speaker to enter it simultaneously, and to serve with him dur- 
 ing the ten years of his membership. In that forum, then containing 
 a number of distinguished men of long experience in the National- 
 Councils, and receiving at that time a number also of those who after- 
 wards acquired high renown, the ambitious member from the First 
 Tennessee District, doubtless, felt painfully the grip of those "twin 
 jailors of the daring heart" — "low birth and iron fortune" — which had 
 condemned him to educational deficiency. But nothing daunted, he 
 assiduously addressed himself to attaining whatever could better qual- 
 ify him for the position. He had neither taste nor natural aptitude for 
 enjoying what many esteem as the recreative honors of membership in 
 Congress. He regarded it as a theater of high and important duty — 
 an arena of public usefulness, in which the gratification of a just am- 
 
[ 7 J 
 
 bition was a legitimate reward. In the sessions of that body, he was 
 dihgently attentive to the business transpiring ; in the intervals, he was 
 discharging duty on committees, or intently seeking information from 
 the library and every source at his command. He knew no idle hours, 
 but was incessantly equipping for the discharge of the functions which 
 the people had committed to his trust, and the making for himself an 
 honorable fame. He was somewhat sensitive on one point, and 
 quickly resented a derogatory allusion. In his first session, in the 
 course of a discussion on the tariff, a colleague from this State made 
 reference to his mechanical occupation. Mr. Johnson instantly inter- 
 rupted him, and demanded to know if he spoke contemptuously. The 
 intention was promptly disavowed. It is a mistake to suppose that he 
 was accustomed to artfully introduce this feature of his life to propi- 
 tiate popular favor. Neither was he ashamed of it, but quietly proud 
 rather, and prouder still of the free institutions which fostered the 
 effort to rise from humble station. During the long period of his ser- 
 vice in the Lower House of Congress, he was a frequent partaker in 
 the debates on all of the leading questions before the body. The two 
 great parties alternated in predominance, and the lines of division were 
 distinctly drawn. As a rule, he acted with his political associates, but 
 there was a vein of independence in his course which, on occasions, 
 resisted the trammel of party dictation; and, when moving in concert, 
 his reasons were always his own. This ingredient of character early 
 attracted the notice of the eminent and sagacious John Quincy Adams, 
 so long an ornament of the House, who spoke of him as an acute and 
 original thinker, and foresaw the distinction of which he was capable. 
 Out of this element in his composition grew a number of frank utter- 
 ances which produced criticisms among his political friends at home, 
 and cost him several severe contests for the retention of his seat — those 
 of 1847 and 1 85 1 will be remembered. Before the people, however, 
 the formidable disaffection in party ranks notwithstanding, he was in- 
 vincible. His first effort in Congress was a speech in favor of the bill 
 refunding the fine imposed on General Jackson by Judge Hall in 181 5. 
 He spoke also on the measure for the annexation of Texas ; and dur- 
 ing its course, in a number of speeches, defended the justness of the 
 war with Mexico. His speeches on tariff revision, which resulted in 
 the law of 1846, exhibited thorough research and knowledge of that 
 intricate subject. The erection of special industries into monopolies 
 by a protective tariff system, he held to be partial and unjust, and 
 grossly injurious to the interests of the most numerous classes of the 
 people, and moreover, in contravention of the cardinal principles of 
 free government. In regard to the Oregon boundary line, and the 
 
[ 8 ] 
 
 threatened difficulty with the British Government, he sustained the 
 poHcy of President Polk. He was a strenuous advocate of retrench- 
 ment in the expenses of the Government, which he perceived to be 
 unnecessarily and inordinately large in many features, chiefly so in 
 extraordinary and useless offices and large salaries. He favored simple 
 and economical administration, in the interest of the toiling tax-payers, 
 and as a potent instrumentality in repressing the inevitable tendency to 
 corruption. A speech on this subject, of great earnestness, was con- 
 strued as an attack on the then Democratic administration, and gave 
 umbrage in some quarters. But it was not his way to withhold the 
 expression of his views under dread of any disapprobation. In a 
 debate arising upon an important question then prominent, he deliv- 
 ered an incisive speech in advocacy of the Executive veto power, in 
 which he traced a contrast between its wholesome use as a feature of 
 Republican government, and the kingly negative under a Monarchical 
 system. He defended it as a conservative clause of the Constitution, 
 designed to restrain hasty, improvident and sectional legislation, proper 
 to be wielded by the Chief Magistrate as the representative of the 
 whole people. Perhaps the most glowing dream of his ambition did 
 not forecast the era twenty years later, Avhen he should boldly exercise 
 it in circumstances perilous with the crisis of his public career. About 
 this period he initiated his long and persistent struggle to secure the 
 enactment of a law granting a homestead of one hundred and sixty 
 acres of the public lands to any citizen who should occupy and culti- 
 vate a part of it for a specified number of years. This measure en- 
 countered both discouragement and opposition from various sources. 
 The great and overshadowing question of slavery and its complication 
 with territorial settlement, was an obstructing prejudice to its intrinsic 
 merits. Upon this rich and vast domain which it was proposed to 
 reserve for this purpose, the eager eyes of incorporated greed, vulture- 
 like, were already gloating. The homestead law, designed as a bounty 
 to enterprise and frugal industry, and the encouragement of thrifty citi- 
 zenship — the richest treasure a nation may have ; but a powerful influ- 
 ence strove to retain it for ripening schemes of selfish speculation 
 adroitly masked. But Andrew Johnson conspicuously championed 
 the measure, and at a time and under circumstances when considera- 
 tions of sectional popularity would have deterred a less intrepid and 
 independent man. He may be said to have been its projector, and his 
 name is indissolubly identified with this legislation, so beneficent to 
 thousands, and so sagacious and statesman-like. It is one of that class 
 of laws which crown their authors with the blessings of generations of 
 people, The many homes on the teeming acres of the great West 
 
[ 9 J 
 
 stand as a monument to the wisdom and courage of Mr. Johnson. In 
 the agitation ensuing upon the territorial acquisitions from Mexico with 
 reference to slavery, as a Southern man, Mr. Johnson steadily upheld 
 the rights and interests of his section as guaranteed under the Constitu- 
 tion. In the exciting debates to which this portcntious question led, 
 he did not assume extreme ground touching the institution of slavery, 
 nor advocate its extension as a means of maintaining the balance of 
 political power between the free and slave States. He did, however, 
 defend its constitutional sanctions where it then existed, and in the 
 common territory of the United States, as a species of property as in- 
 violable as any other. As to the policy and perpetuity of this pecu- 
 • liar institution, he held that the former was settled in the fact that 
 it existed, and was thoroughly incorporated in the body of society, and 
 that the latter was a question out of the province of the powers of the 
 General Government, and determinable only by a variety of economi- 
 cal considerations, as time might develop. An aggressive war upon it 
 as a moral and social wrong, which was to be hedged by inhibiting 
 its spread, he despised as fanatical, and violative of the spirit in which 
 the Federal Union was formed, and deprecated it as threatening to in- 
 cite a sentiment imperilling alike the Union and the Constitution, the 
 safeguard of all institutions. As a scheme of adjustment of the then 
 aspect of the question, he did not approve some of the features of the 
 Compromise of 1850, but finally voted for the five measures which it 
 comprehended. One intimately conversant with Mr. Johnson's views 
 during the long and troublous era caused by these issues, could but 
 know that he was loyal to the legal rights of the Slave States in this 
 respect, and to every degree; and was prepared to maintain them 
 under the Constitution and within the Union, and could not but know, 
 also that he would not surrender the integrity of the Federal Govern- 
 ment to preserve slavery, or any other single interest whatever. The 
 destruction of that he regarded as tantamount to the sacrifice of all 
 that could be held dear to the American people, and as the culmina- 
 tion of irretrievable political disaster, and would put nothing in the scale 
 against its preservation. 
 
 On March 4, 1853, his first period of service in Congress termi- 
 nated, and he retired from the public employment, but for a short time, 
 a few months only. In the spring of that year, he was nominated as 
 the Democratic candidate for Governor of Tennessee, and thereabout 
 the truth of history requires a statement. While recognizing their 
 necessity, Mr. Johnson was never an adept in party conventions, and 
 he was not present when this honor was tendered him. In Congres- 
 sional re-districting, under the census of 1850, the First, so long repre- 
 
[10] 
 
 sented by him, had been made doubtful or adverse to the success of a 
 democratic candidate. Fortuitously, in the fall preceding, your speaker 
 met a prominent member of the party, who urged that the coming 
 Gubernatorial candidate should be from East Tennessee, and named 
 Mr. Johnson, and he consented ; and he, while in Washington City, 
 by letter, requested a distinguished leader in the party in Nashville, 
 who would be present at the convention as a delegate or otherwise, to 
 withdraw his name from before the convention in the event he should 
 think it necessary to do so, in order to harmonize the convention. 
 There it rested, so far as his, Mr. Johnson's, personal interference was 
 concerned. On the assembling of the convention, at a preliminary 
 consultation of delegates, the name of the gentleman to whom had 
 been confided Mr. Johnson's interest, was himself recommended to 
 the convention for nomination as the democratic candidate. He felt 
 the embarassment, and frankly stating it to the convention, requested 
 that his name should not be presented to the convention, and there- 
 upon Mr. Johnson was nominated by the Convention. In the confer- 
 ment of this honor, no imputation of overreaching can, in the least, 
 impeach his manliness. His competitor was Gustavus A. Henry, a 
 gentieman of high character, and famed for commanding eloquence 
 and ability, and the field of contest was the entire State. Mr. John- 
 son reversed the political majority of the previous election, and was 
 inaugurated Governor in October. His address on this occasion con- 
 tained several passages which provoked sarcastic criticism. His ad- 
 ministration of State affairs was upright and acceptable, and marked in 
 some features by his characteristic vigor and independence of prece- 
 dent. He was unanimously nominated for re-election, and the contest 
 following, was one of the most remarkable ever witnessed, as well for 
 its fierceness as for the boldness and ability he displayed, and was, for 
 a time doubtful. Only he, perhaps, could have achieved the result. 
 In this year, the disintegration of one of the great parties which had 
 so long disputed the political mastery of the government," gave rise to 
 an organization whose leading tenet was prescriptive of the political 
 rights of citizens of foreign birth, and members of the Church of 
 Rome. Oaths of obligation to its purposes, and passwords of admis- 
 sion to its councils, were alleged of it. It absorbed the mass of that 
 party whose distinctive form had disappeared, and very considerable 
 numbers of those who had held opposite political affiliations. It was 
 formidable alike in its construction, its specious principles, and in the 
 support it received from men of high intelligence and unimpeachable 
 character. It opposed the fundamental articles of Mr. Johnson's 
 political creed — his belief in the rights of man irrespective of nativity. 
 
[Ill 
 
 and in the largest liberty of thought and conscience — as well as his 
 theory of free institutions and aroused the utmost energy of his nature. 
 In political warfare, he never favored defensive tactics, but this he 
 assailed like the Mameluke cavalry on a charge. The intensity of his 
 feeling quickened his powers, and his argument blazed with denuncia- 
 tions as he attacked it in every form. With ridicule, he drove it from 
 the intrenchment of secrecy, and with unsparing language he com- 
 batted its doctrines and designs. The opposing candidate was Mere- 
 dith P. Gentry, a gentleman of experience and tried capacity, and 
 gifted with copious and sonorous eloquence, and the unusual encounter 
 brought other able speakers to the field. Mr. Johnson's forensic 
 efforts were the highest he had ever exhibited, and his triumph won a 
 national renown. His second term of service as Governor of the 
 State passed without a notable incident, and at its conclusion, being 
 now the unquestionable leader of his party, he was, by its unanimous 
 choice, elected to the vacant seat in the United States Senate in 1857. 
 
 Nearly twenty years of continuous official life, with the untiring 
 application with which he cultivated his talent for public business, emi- 
 nendy fitted him for that great arena. In his development, he had 
 acquired a degree of accomplishment, as well as increased strength, 
 and from the first he was a stalwart figure in the Chamber where the 
 giants of debate — dead and living — were wont to wresde. Over the 
 political heavens portentous clouds were forming, and the pubUc mind 
 was fevered with anxiety and alarm, at the period of his entrance. 
 On the western border were already heard the mutterings of the ter- 
 rific storm which, in a few years, was to burst with devastating fury 
 upon the nation. No one descried more clearly the ominous aspect, 
 or desired more earnestiy to avert the catastrophe, or understood 
 more thoroughly the necessity for a statesmanship at once bold and 
 cautious. He knew the designs of infatuated and reckless leaders — 
 whether they marshalled the sentiment of a vast section of the coun- 
 try under the banner of irrepressible conflict, or inculcated another 
 section with the doctrine of national disruption as a means of avoid- 
 ance, and desirable consummation. He held sympathy with neither, 
 but the chief themes of Senatorial discussions were big with the 
 problem. Notwithstanding these, however, there were other matters 
 of great importance which received his attention. He opposed the 
 Pacific Railroad measure on the ancient principles of the democratic 
 faith, which denied the power of the Government to construct direcdy, 
 or otherwise, works of internal improvement, or by aid or subsidies of 
 monies or lands, to ally itself with companies for that object. Not 
 doubting the utility of such a work for purposes of military transporta- 
 
[12] 
 
 tion, on which it was defended, he yet saw vast areas of the public 
 lands about to pass into the grasp of soulless corporations, and engend- 
 ering of corrupt combinations as a consequence. He was instinctively 
 jealous of these powerful organizations. The infamous history of the 
 Credit Mobilier, fresh in memory, and the conscienceless lobby which 
 hovers now at Washington as another branch of Congress, attests his 
 foresight; and all the accruing advantages of the work are question- 
 able compensation for such a train of evils. 
 
 The dissensions in the democratic party regarding the status of 
 slavery in the territories, which caused the adjournment of the Charles- 
 ton Convention without a nominee, was deeply deplored by Mr. John- 
 son. In the light of the history of the times, perhaps the result to 
 which it contributed — the election of a sectional President — could not 
 have been averted ; though, with a united front of the party, North 
 and South, a contrary result was possible. During the session of that 
 convention, he had been honored with the unanimous vote of his 
 State on repeated ballotings, as its Presidential choice, and had there 
 prevailed greater unanimity as to the question at issue, it is not im- 
 probable that the conservatism of his locality, and the inherent constit- 
 uents of his popularity, would have made him the candidate of the 
 convention. The division occurred, and he espoused the cause of 
 that one of the democratic candidates having the greater following in 
 the Southern States. Over this step he hesitated, and numbers of his 
 friends watched his course with anxiety. In the crisis then iminent, 
 his antecedent views warranted the opinion that he would not follow 
 into extreme measures, and to your speaker he firmly said, that in the 
 last event he should be for the Government, the Union and the Consti- 
 tion. His motive at this time may be assumed to have been the hope 
 that in an alliance with that section of his party from which he appre- 
 hended extreme action, he could exert a more potent influence to 
 restrain it. The event came, and Congress assembled amid unpara- 
 lelled excitement. Already the Federal Union was dissolving. Within 
 a fortnight he delivered in the Senate a speech directed against the 
 doctrines and policy of secession, and in behalf of the integrity of the 
 Federal Government. It was the ablest effort of his life. Other great 
 speeches, ancient and modern, have displayed more amplitude of 
 learning and rhetorical excellence, but for incisive power and electric 
 boldness — the scene and the theme conspiring for effect — this is unsur- 
 passed. Benton spoke satire of Webster's reply to Hayne thirty years 
 before, when the Union was intact and the danger imaginary, but the 
 most violent antagonist was awed into respect by the thunder of this 
 eloquence when the storm actually burst All through those three 
 
[13 j 
 
 eventful months preceding Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, he labored by 
 private appeal and effort to retain a full Southern representation in the 
 Senate, arguing that its majority could withstand whatever aggressions 
 the Executive might make, and yet save the Republic from detriment ; 
 and, on the sixth of February, 1861, when curses from those whom he 
 had long served were hurtling about his head, he made another si:)eech 
 of great force, in which he proclaimed his unalterable determination to 
 cling to the Union, let who would desert. Upon the adjournment of 
 Congress, Mr, Johnson returned to Tennessee, which yet formally 
 adhered to the Federal Government, but under the fall of Sumter, the 
 land heaved as with an earthquake. After a futile effort to stay her 
 act of separation, he was compelled to leave the State, not to return 
 until he came as Military Governor in March 1862. At the extra ses- 
 sion of Congress called for July 4, 1861, he advocated the war meas- 
 ures, but, concurrently with the venerable Crittenden in the House of 
 Representatives, he presented resolutions declaring that the war was 
 not waged for conquest and subjugation, nor to destroy existing institu- 
 tions, but to restore the authority of the Government, The position of 
 Military Governor was as anomalous and distasteful to him as 'it was 
 irritating and vexatious to the people, and was assumed at the sacrifice 
 of the better feelings of his nature, and with the hope that its functions 
 might abbreviate and ameliorate the condition of the State to which he 
 owed so much. The prolongation of the struggle dispelled this hope, 
 and much of the exasperation that occurred should be mainly ascribed 
 to the excitement and mutual passion that prevailed. The firmness 
 and vigor of his administration, however, was a powerful adjunct to 
 military operations. 
 
 In 1864, at the second candidacy of Mr. Lincoln, Mr. Joh'Nson was 
 named for Vice-President, was elected in connection to that office. 
 The proclamation emancipating the slaves had been issued as a war 
 measure, and the continuance of the contest, then at its fiercest, had 
 virtually effectuated it. For the success of the Federal arms this was 
 the gloomiest period of the struggle, and in the North, a large and 
 growing party were clamorous for peace. The Administration feared 
 the political result to be doubtful, and to secure the warm support of 
 the portion of the democratic party supporting the Government, aban- 
 doned the distinctive name of Republican, and nominated Messrs. Lin- 
 coln and Johnson as the Union National candidates. As such, and 
 such only, the latter accepted, as the language of his letter to the com- 
 mittee accepting the nomination clearly sets forth. The fact that he 
 was a democrat, lending his great influence to the Government in its 
 dire strait, was the motive for his selection; and never did he, in faith 
 
[14] 
 
 or in form, detach himself from the democratic standard. This is an 
 historical fact, elucidating subsequent history, and vindicating him from 
 the charge that he deserted the party which elevated him to the Presi- 
 dency. Within a few weeks after his accession to the second office in 
 the Government, the armed resistance to its authority surrendered, and 
 almost simultaneously came the tragic death of Mr. Lincoln, and he 
 ascended to the Chief Magistracy. As he took the oath prescribed, 
 the nation already quivering with excitement at the march of events, 
 was dumb with horror at the appalling crime, and never did ruler 
 assume the reins of power under responsibility more delicate and tre- 
 mendous. This era, and the conduct of Mr. Johnson as President, 
 will engage the profound attention of him who shall write its truthful 
 history, as philosophy teaching by example. The throes of a four 
 years' civil war, waged with gigantic numbers and fury, had disjointed 
 the Constitutional fabric of authority, and demoralized alike the victors 
 and the vanquished. Sobriety and reason had deserted, and, as if to 
 crown the catastrophe, an act fitter for the age of the Borgias than the 
 century which saw it, had come to horrify and madden. Here was 
 all of opportunity for guilty ambition, invested with power, to engulf 
 the remnant of liberty in the vortex of anarchy, and to emerge itself a 
 despot. In the escape from this danger two causes of rescue may be 
 considered. One will be found in the character of the American 
 people impressed by their institutions. Though liable, as others, to 
 become the temporary sport of passion, the individual sense of respon- 
 sibility, acquired from habitual participation in the affairs of Govern- 
 ment, tends to restore them to soberness and the recovery of their equi- 
 librium. This was then exhibited. The other, and not the least, was 
 in the personality of the President. In that dread time no Crom- 
 wellian dreams disturbed his sedate and majestic jDatriotism. No 
 thought of self-aggrandizement to the injury of his country warped his 
 judgment or betrayed his integrity. To calm the tumult, to reassure 
 confidence, to re-establish, in form and in spirit, the free institutions he 
 so much admired, this was his ideal of duty and vision of glory; and 
 and to these tasks he addressed himself with wisdom and courage, 
 possessed by few in circumstances so perplexing. He invited a con- 
 tinuance in service of the cabinet of his predecessor, and as the sequel 
 proved, judiciously decided not to convene Congress in extraordinary 
 session. In vindication of justice, he promptly brought to trial and 
 execution the conspirators in Mr. Lincoln's murder, for one feature of 
 which he has received much sentimental reproach ; but, in this respect, 
 the careful student of that exacting period will fully exonerate him. In 
 a brief time the mass of the Federal army was disbanded, and in a 
 
[15] 
 
 few months all military trade restrictions with the region lately at strife 
 with the Government were removed, and a general amnesty, with cer- 
 tain reservations, was proclaimed. Simultaneously the work of estab- 
 lishing provisional civil governments in the lately insurgent States, 
 with the view of restoring their autonomy and just relations to the 
 United States Government, was commenced, and with due expedition 
 was completed. In justification of these legitimate Executive proceed- 
 ings, just prior to the assembling of Congress, he dispatched the Gen- 
 eral of the army on an ofiicial tour for the purpose of observing th^ 
 temper of the people in those States, and reporting the result of this 
 reorganization, on the condition of affairs. This report was submitted 
 to Congress shordy after the delivery of his first message to that body, 
 and its facts sustained the policy adopted. That paper was an elabo- 
 rate review of the manifold important events of the nine preceding 
 months, a lucid disquisition upon the theory of the Government, and 
 an able exposition of the principles and measures he had pursued. It 
 is replete with statesmanship, and the archives contain no document 
 more noble and patriotic. The fears of his imperious temper, fretted 
 by the persecution he had undergone, was not realized. Elevation 
 had but steadied his faculties, and the leniency and magnanimity ex- 
 pected of the amiable Lincoln, blended with a just security for Federal 
 interests, and restoration of the organic rights of States which had 
 revolted, were the essential characteristics of his policy. But, with 
 the Congress then met, and the one succeeding — which find a fit par- 
 allel in the worst features with the long Parliament of England — this 
 wise and correct statesmanship met stern and factious resistance. The 
 message was referred to an extraordinary committee of fifteen, whose 
 perverse counsels dictated a vindictive and vituperative hostility to the 
 President, arrested the peaceful work of reorganization, and under the 
 name of reconstruction, inspired the dominant majority of Congress to 
 a series of measures whose baneful effects have yet scarcely ceased. 
 Mr. Johnson was charged with the betrayal of the Republican party, 
 and of the Republic as well — terms synonymous in the vocabulary of 
 this truculent majority. He had done neither. To the former he had 
 not professed allegiance, either in act or utterance ; of the latter, his 
 faithful friendship was almost the sole buttress of protection. This led 
 to a long and acrimonious contest between the President and Congress, 
 to which his previous struggles were puny in comparison. He was 
 deeply indignant, and to a large assemblage before the Executive Man- 
 sion he made a counter denunciation. Against the unconstitutional, 
 reckless schemes of that body, the heroic element of his character was 
 arrayed, and the rock of Gibraltar was not more sure and firm-set than 
 
[16] 
 
 this man. The veto power he had formerly defended, clamihig its 
 derivation from a tribunal negative of the people when Rome was a 
 republic, he now wielded in the name of the people, and in defence of 
 their constitutional liberties. It was stricken down successively in the 
 instances of the civil rights' bill, the freedmen's bureau bill, the bill 
 to enforce enfranchisement of colored men by the States, the bill 
 subordinating States to military district government, and the tenure-of- 
 oflfice bill. He sustained his action in a series of messages which 
 illuminated the subjects of which they treat, at once cogent and 
 conclusive to reason, but not to sheer force of majorieties determined 
 to defy it. Still he did not yield, and upon the basis of opinions from 
 his Attorney General, sought to mitigate the mischiefs of the military 
 satrapies set up in the Southern States, and to remove from the Cabinet 
 a contumacious member. Infuriated now at his intrepid firmness, the 
 Congressional oligarchy resolved to impeach him on charges, dignified 
 as high crimes and misdemeanors, and the nation witnessed the spec- 
 tacle of its President standing at the bar of the Senate, baited by the 
 minions of a malignant partizanship, and defending his own integrity, 
 and that of his great office, against the encroachments of faction. No 
 trial in history exceeded this in interest, and had the result been dif- 
 ferent, none ever carried consequences of more pernicious import. 
 For the illustrious accused, the ordeal was terrific, but his equanimity 
 was uninoved. Had he been guilty, his placid courage would have 
 redeemed his fame. But even in a prejudiced tribunal, the convicting 
 majority could not be obtained, and he emerged triumphantly — the 
 sober sentiment of the country condemning his accusers. The period 
 of his Presidency was tempestuous, but it was illustrated with patriotic 
 wisdom, with brilliant administrative vigor and with honesty. Though 
 encountering more formidable obstacles than any predecessor, he laid 
 down his great trust unimpaired, and his niche in the temple of fame 
 is assured. 
 
 On the fourth of March, 1869, he departed from the Capitol for his 
 home in Tennessee, journeying amid ovations of popular approval. 
 At large meetings held at prominent points in the State he testified of 
 his stewardship. He was then just turned of three-score years, but 
 his exciting labors had not dimmed his eye nor unnerved his strength, 
 nor was his strong nature satisfied with the score he had left with his 
 fierce antagonists still on the scene of action. He desired to re-enter 
 the Senate, to oppose on that field the hurtful measures he had so 
 stoutly fought in one still higher. But other counsels prevailed, and 
 he was not gratified. The mists of prejudice yet lingered in the atmos- 
 phere. A few years later he sought entrance to the popular branch of 
 
[17 ] 
 
 Congress as Representative from the State at large, but under circum- 
 stances which again defeated liim. His unyielding spirit never flagged, 
 ho\ve\er, and he finally won the most sincere gratification that his am- 
 bition could enjoy. He felt his election to the Senate to be a reversal 
 of any sentence that his loved State had ever passed against him, and 
 it was a proud day, when, amid the acclamations of the thronged gal- 
 leries, he stepped on that floor with her seal in his hand. Nor did the 
 memories of that Chamber — once his court of judgment — render less 
 sweet the sense of his just triura])h. The Senate was convened for 
 the special consideration of the vexed cpiestion of Louisiana affairs — a 
 condition induced by the legislation he had so sternly combatted. It 
 had then its worst phase — anarchy produced by the lawless domination 
 of its Legislature by the Federal military. Against this he spoke with 
 his characteristic power. It was his only and last effort, for, though 
 no sign was given, his fate was impending. In the summer of 1875 
 he was engaged at his home in tlie arrangement of his voluminous 
 papers, and there received an earnest invitation to enter the pending polit- 
 ical campaign in Ohio, which was of national importance. This was 
 accepted, but during the work of preparation the last messenger came, 
 Death tbund him preparing for another battle. It was not to be, and 
 after an illness of a few hours he expired in the presence of his family 
 in the sixty-seventh year of his age. As the announcement flashed 
 over the land, carrying regret to minds considerate of the unsettled 
 political condition, it carried also the thought — he "should have died 
 hereafter." 
 
 Mr. Johnson was not the creature of circumstances, otherwise this 
 scene to-day had not been. He carved his own career, mainl}- with- 
 out adventitious favor. Perhaps some elements in his own character 
 caused the struggle of his life to be the more severe. A degree of 
 reserve, tinged with distrust, made him less the object of warm esteem 
 and attachment than that of confidence and admiration inspired by 
 the intrinsic elevation of his nature. He was endowed with capacious 
 and resolute faculties which brooked no obstacle, and made him supe- 
 rior to cliques and conventions. His only external aid was the liberal 
 institutions of government under which he lived, and of these he felt 
 himself to be a foster son, and for them he cherished an affection 
 which would have made his life, if needed, a sacrifice. A representa- 
 tive democracy offered a theatre, and by his own exertiiMis h'e reared 
 the intellectual and moral structure which his countrymen are proud 
 to honor. There is no frivolous or fictitious comijonent in the charac- 
 ter he has left: it is the product of earnest, faithful work, due to laud- 
 able aspiration, and devoted to the service of his country and his 
 fellovz-nie:;.. 
 
1 18 ] 
 
 His personal appearance was familiar here. Of medium height, his 
 figure was compactly shaped, indicating sinewy strength and power of 
 endurance. His step was elastic, and his carriage erect. In com- 
 plexion, he was slightly swarthy ; his hair, in early manhood, was quite 
 dark and luxuriant, becoming thinned and silvered in his latter years. 
 His chest was broad and deep, his neck stout but shapely, surmounted 
 by a large and well-formed head. His countenance, with its deep-set, 
 piercing eyes, was one to arrest attention. "On his front, delibera- 
 tion sat, and public care," with an expression habitually anxious, 
 shaded with sadness. Smiles were not frequent with him, but when so 
 moved, they were sincere and hearty. His general manner was grave, 
 rather than austere, but quickly showed his feelings — the sterner as 
 well as the gentler. Trained in no school of deportment, he had yet 
 an innate dignity, and while in the Presidential chair, the sceptre of 
 authority seemed native to his hand. His mind was analytical and 
 logical in cast — the reasoning faculties being predominant. He sought 
 for facts and first principles, and applied them acutely and profoundly. 
 His imagination did not furnish him with figures of fancy, but his 
 fervid nature furnished him with apt resources of illustration and welb 
 chosen language. His power was in clearness of statement and sim- 
 plicity of argument, that the people could follow, and a vehement 
 earnestness which convinced them of his sincerity. In his conflict in 
 debate, a personal tone was often observed which was not intended — 
 the result rather of his intense feeling upon the principle or doctrine 
 at issue. Though often in collision, bitterness did not abide with him, 
 except to those who had been treacherous or vindictive. Most severe- 
 ly tested from the lowest to the highest point of his fortunes, his de- 
 cision and force of will was simply grand. Though open to counsel, 
 he formed his own judgment, and his conclusion was immovable. 
 Opposition but fixed it the more firmly, and men called him obstinate, 
 but he stood upon his rendered reasons. He was thoroughly honest 
 in his convictions, and in their defence no danger appalled him. He 
 would have adhered to them at the martyr's stake. His honesty, in 
 the broad sense, was an emphatic trait. That which he believed became 
 a part of him, and he was incorruptible by bribe, either to his purse or 
 his ambition. His official standard of uprightness was lofty, and in an 
 era of corruption he was without blemish. His moral courage, in the 
 performance of public duty, towered to the sublime, and in this 
 respect their characters are as little different as are the spelling of their 
 names — .\ndrew Johnson and Andrew Jackson. His tastes were 
 simple and frugal, and the blandishments of station did not debauch them; 
 A modest home in this uni)retending town, and the company of his 
 neighbors, sufficed for him who had moved among the more than equal 
 
[19 j 
 
 of the great and titled. He did not affect piety, and was not commu- 
 nicative of whatever reHgious views he entertained. So thoughtful as 
 he was, it is probable that he held some, but he kept that account 
 with his Maker alone. He was not without faults, but they were such 
 as are common to the best of men ; and not without errors, but the 
 balance of his qualities, great and small, and of his acts, i)ublic and 
 private, is more largely in his favor than that of most men. His polit- 
 ical principles were pronounced and steadfast. He was a Jeffersonian 
 Democrat of the intehser type, and believed firmly in the capacity of 
 the people, in their honesty of purpose, and in their fidelity to good 
 government and social order. I'hough to no man has the term been 
 more offensively applied, he was not a demagogue, and no taint of 
 agrarianism defiled his thoughts. He opposed universal suffrage as 
 alike inexpedient, and unconstitutional in the manner it was proposed. 
 He did not mislead the people. He communed with them frankly, for 
 he did not forget that he was one of them, and had been of the hum- 
 blest. Occasion came when he differed with the people, and he main- 
 tained his opinions with fearless candor. He was devoted to the Con- 
 stitution of the United States as the chart of the wisest and the freest 
 government ever devised by man. He interpreted it by the letter, and 
 insisted that its powers should not be enlarged by too liberal construc- 
 tion. He regarded it as the palladium of popular government and 
 regulated liberty. He jealously guarded the reserved rights of the 
 States, but held that the union of these States, formed under the Con- 
 stitution, was essential to their preservation. When it was imperilled, 
 he stood forth its mighty champion. Of that struggle others may wear 
 the military laurels, but to him belongs the civic wreath ; and in the 
 catalogue of its history, the impartial verdict of aftertimes will award 
 him the first place for unselfish patriotism and unequalled powers. 
 
 The designs and inscriptions on that chaste marble — the eagle, the 
 flag, the scroll, and the simple line, "His faith in the people never 
 wavered" — typify the character it commemorates. Here on this ro- 
 mantic spot, chosen by himself, that shaft will stand, attracting the 
 gaze of those who pass on that great highway yonder leading to the 
 North and to the South, and to the East and to the West. It will be- 
 come a pilgrim shrine to which generations yet unborn shall journey 
 to pay homage to the memory of one whose name will grow more lus- 
 trous as time shall lapse. And these majestic mountains, which wiH 
 not survive his fame, looking down, shall sentinel the sepulchre of this 
 Statesman, Patriot and Friend of the ])eople — the Defender of the 
 Constitution and the Union. 
 
LETTERS FROM DISTINGUISHED PUBLIC MEN. 
 
 Among the letters received by the fomily from distinguished pubhc 
 men in other States were the following ; 
 
 FROM GOV. ROBINSON, OF NEW YORK. 
 
 Executive Chamber, Albany, May 31, 1878. — Mrs. Patterson — 
 Madam : I have received your kind invitation to be present at the 
 unveiling of the monument erected to the memory of our late President, 
 Andrew Johnson, on June 5. Remembering the ability, integrity and 
 patriotism of the distinguished statesman in whose honor this ceremony 
 will be held, it is with deep regret that I find myself unable to partici- 
 pate in it. Public engagements of the highest importance will detain 
 me at Albany constantly for many days to come, and I am therefore 
 forbidden from assisting to pay a deserved tribute to the memory of 
 one who has done so much for and deserves so much of his State and 
 nation. 
 
 I am, madam, with great respect, 
 
 L. Robinson. 
 
 FROM GOV. S. J. TILDEN, OF NEW YORK. 
 
 15 Gramercy Park, New York, June i, 1878. — Gentlemen: I 
 have received your invitation to be present at the unveiling of the mon- 
 ument to ex-President Andrew Johnson at Greeneville, Tennessee, on 
 the 5 th inst. 
 
 It would give me great pleasure to be present on that occasion if it 
 were practicable. But engagements here preclude the possibility. 
 
 I appreciate highly the character of Andrew Johnson; his devotion 
 to constitutional principles as they were practiced by Jefferson and by 
 Jackson, and I sympathize with the homage which his fellow-citizens 
 propose to pay to his memory. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 Samuel J. Tilden. 
 
 To the committee at the unveiling of the Johnson monument. 
 
 FROM ex-senator VICKERS, OF MARYLAND. 
 
 Chester Town, Md., May 29, 1878. — An invitation was received 
 to-day to attend the appropriate services accompanying the unveiling of 
 the monument erected to the memory of a great man and a true \).i- 
 triot. He was faithful to all his trusts, honest and fearless. 
 
[ 22 ] 
 
 The votes I gave to sustain him as Chief Magistrate, I recur to with 
 much satisfaction — they were conscientiously given and I rejoiced in 
 his triumph. I hope the Union he served to sustain will continue to 
 exist as long as the beautiful monument erected to Andrew Johnson, 
 ex-President of the United States, shall resist tlie encroachments of 
 Time. 
 
 My best wishes are extended to his family, and I regret that circum- 
 stances will debar me the pleasure of witnessing and participating in the 
 interesting and beautiful services of the occasion. 
 
 With great respect, I am sincerely yours, 
 
 George Vickers, 
 
 To the family of the late President, Andrew Johnson. 
 
 FROM HON. D. S. GOODING, OF INDIANA. 
 
 Greenfield, Ind., June i, 1878. — Mrs. Patterson: Sometime since 
 I saw in a newspaper a statement that a monument will be erected to 
 your father, ex-President Andrew Johnson, on the 5th of June. I had 
 hoped that my business affairs would be in condition to permit my 
 presence on that occasion, but I now find that it will be out of my 
 power to be there. I very much desired to contribute, at least my 
 presence, expressive of the high esteem in which I hold the memory of 
 ex-President Andrew Johnson, as an honest and patriotic man of great 
 ability, and a true friend. Not knowing the post-office address at this 
 time of any of your father's family, I shall address this letter to you at 
 Greeneville, Tenn. , and, assuring you and all the family of my deceased 
 friend, including your husband, of my highest regard and pleasant re- 
 membrance of former kindness, I shall always take great pleasure in 
 testifying to my knowledge of the many good qualities of your great 
 father, now deceased, whose name will be more and more honored as 
 time passes and history is just. Please say as much to all the family 
 now surviving. I am yours, etc. David S. Gooding. 
 
 FROM^ EX-SENATOR JOSEPH S. FOWLER. 
 
 Washington, D. C, June 3, 1878. — Hon. D. T. Patterson — Dear 
 Sir : I desire through you to thank all those who did me the honor to 
 send me an invitation to attend the ceremonies of unveiling the monu- 
 ment erected to the memory of Andrew Johnson. It is a source of un- 
 feigned regret that I am unable to attend. I sincerely hope that the 
 occasion will call forth a pronounced expression in approbation of the 
 services of one of the most illustrious citizens of the Republic. 
 
[23] 
 
 The State of Tennessee is rich in distinguished service and ilhistrions 
 memories which must never be neglected or forgotten. Every cere- 
 mony which repeats their virtues and devotion will recall the present 
 generation to the contemplation of heroic patriotism and incorrujitible 
 integrity. 
 
 Before the brave and adventurous pioneers had expelled from her 
 borders the stealthy and deadly tread of the savage, they were recalled 
 to participate in the struggles of the revolution. From that period to 
 this her sons have freely poured out their blood in the defence of the 
 Republic. Her wisdom, foresight and patriotic devotion have been 
 called into the councils of the nation and have taken the front rank. 
 In every contest but one they have stood by the Republic. On this 
 occasion she reluctantly threw her power against the nation. Under 
 the guidance of Andrew Johnson she was the first to resume her place 
 in the home of her fathers. It was from the inception to the close of 
 this fearful struggle that this eminent citizen played the most conspicu- 
 ous part and had the most marked influence upon the cause of national 
 restoration and regeneration. 
 
 It will not be out of place to recall some of his cardinal principles in 
 this period of national decadence. Among the most cherished were the 
 inviolabihty of the popular will as expressed by the ballot; the proS' 
 perity of the people is the measure of national wealth, and not the 
 treasury swelled by taxation; never distrust the good faith of the 
 people; nothing is settled that is wrong; the people are capable of self- 
 government, and will at last correct every political error; the sanctity 
 and dignity of labor is above all other social and political interests. 
 
 Though this man's life was one continued storm and struggle against 
 opposition, calumny and envy, he lived to see the angry waves subside 
 and the tempestuous ocean calm as the slumbering infant. He had 
 witnessed the achievement of his cherished wishes. He had first 
 spoken for the nation and opposed war. His counsels were unheard, 
 and after an ocean of blood had been shed, he conducted the revolted 
 States back to their places in the Republic. He had returned to Ten- 
 nessee, and by his generous magnanimity, conquered his place in the 
 affections of his fellow-citizens. He had been welcomed back to the 
 Senate by the American people — to the spot of his proudest triumphs 
 and bitterest agonies. He returned to his mountain home and died in 
 the midst of the fortunate consummation of his long anxious struggles. 
 Happily he did not live to see the will of the people defeated by fraud 
 and the National Executive chosen by an unauthorized commission 
 ao-ainst the solemn expression of the people at the ballot. 
 
 He entered public life when political antagonisms had centered in 
 political chiefs. The contest was fierce and personal, though involving 
 
[ 24] 
 
 only questions of a transient character. Gradually the conflict widened 
 and deepened into one of civilizations eminating from sections formed 
 on geographical lines. In his course he had been a diligent student of 
 the Constitution, and his intense admiration of that expression of civil 
 government grew into an enthusiastic re^-erence. To this chart he 
 turned with pious veneration through all the angry and exasperating 
 contests that were rapidly generating the fearful conflict of arms. 
 Amidst all the long and dreary agony that followed, he turned devout- 
 ly to the fountain of his faith and hope for guidance. When the hour 
 of reconciliation had arrived, when the cry of an exhausted people for 
 peace was uttered to the heavens, he again turned to the ever-living 
 fountain of light for the principles which should direct his steps in re- 
 storing the shattered and disordered Republic. The events that have 
 followed reconstruction have attested his wisdom and foresight, and 
 have claimed for him new titles to the reverence of the American 
 people. I shall not now, over his ashes, enter into any comparisons. 
 They force themselves unwillingly upon the public mind, and have 
 Silenced every murmur against his patriotic and upright administration 
 of the government. It has been a source of wonder to see how rapidly 
 the waves of partisan resentment have subsided into tranquil approval. 
 Every year attests the value of his jealous regard for the provisions of 
 the Federal Constitution and his disposition to win the confidence of the 
 prostrate section of his country. 
 
 Throughout his political life he was no friend of tiie sword. He 
 used it only in extreme emergencies and renounced it upon the first 
 gleam of peace. He relied upon generous and impartial justice, upon 
 the influence of an exalted charity and the magnetic power of a noble 
 and patriotic love to cement again the bonds of union and give assur- 
 ance that the Republic was again the home of all her children. 
 
 I will not longer detain you on his merits. They will, from that 
 beautiful mount in which his ashes repose, be portrayed by a life-long 
 friend and companion who was endeared to him by all the ties of a 
 common faith, personal friendship, disinterested and patriotic services 
 and common struggles for what they righteously believed vital to the 
 interests of the nation and her people. I am happy to know that one 
 who will do justice to his motives and his actions has been chosen for 
 the service. I feel profoundly grateful that " heaven has bountifully 
 lengthened his days," for this pious service. Again, by a faithful and 
 sincere heart, will the blessings and dangers of free institutions be 
 pressed home upon the public conscience. With the warmest assurance 
 of regard and esteem, I am, as ever, your friend, 
 
 Jos. S. Fowler. 
 
LIBRPRY OF CONGRESS 
 
 / 
 
 HE JOHNSON MONUMENl 
 
 His faith in the peojile never wavered. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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 013 785 712 1 
 
 Hollinger 
 pH8.5 
 Mill Run F3.1S 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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 pH8.5 
 
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