The Nat Turner Rebellion

After the 1831 Nat Turner Rebellion, Tennessee adopted a new state constitution with a provision to disenfranchise free blacks. In 1835, Johnson won a seat in the Tennessee state legislature. He identified himself with the Democratic policies of Andrew Jackson, advocating for the poor and being opposed to non-essential government spending. He was also a strong anti-abolitionist and a promoter of states' rights.
In 1843, Johnson became the first Democrat from Tennessee to be elected to the United States Congress. He joined a new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives, declaring that slavery was essential to the preservation of the Union. This was a slight departure from his fellow Southerners, who were beginning to speak of separation
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
Johnson was also a target on that fateful night, but his would-be assassin failed to show up. Three hours after Lincoln died, Andrew Johnson was sworn in as the 17th president of the United States.
The racist Southerner Johnson was charged with the reconstruction of the South and the extension of civil rights and suffrage to former black slaves. It quickly became apparent that Johnson would not force Southern states to grant full equality to blacks, thus setting up a confrontation with congressional Republicans who sought black suffrage as essential to furthering their political influence in the South.
When Congress reconvened, members expressed outrage at the president's clemency orders and his lack of protecting black civil rights. In 1866, Congress passed the Freedmen's Bureau bill, providing essentials for former slaves and protection of their rights in court. They then passed the Civil Rights Act, defining "all persons born in the United States and not subject to any foreign power, excluding Indians not taxed," as citizens. Johnson vetoed these two measures. Both vetoes were overridden by