Respuesta :
After Abraham Lincoln's election in
1860, Tennessee seceded from the Union. Andrew Johnson broke with his
home state and became the only Southern senator to retain his seat in
the U.S. Senate. He was vilified in the South. His property was
confiscated, and his wife and two daughters were driven out of
Tennessee. However, his pro-Union passion did not go unnoticed by the
Lincoln Administration. Once Union troops occupied Tennessee in 1862,
Lincoln appointed Johnson military governor. He walked a difficult
line, offering an olive branch to his fellow Tennesseans while
exercising the full force of the federal government to rebels. He was
never able to gain complete control of the state as insurgents, led by
Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, raided cities and towns at
will. Johnson
originally opposed the Emancipation Proclamation, but after gaining an
exemption for Tennessee and realizing that it was an important tool
for ending the war, he accepted it. Southern papers caught his
flip-flopping and accused him of seeking a higher office. This notion
played out when Lincoln, concerned about his chances for reelection,
tapped Johnson as his vice president to help balance the ticket in
1864. After several high-profile Union victories in the summer and fall
of 1864, Lincoln was re-elected in a sweeping victory.
