This

State with Senator Douglas, the Democratic can didate for re-election to the same position. debate was remarkable for its brilliancy and intellectual vigor, and brought him prominently before the whole country, and opened the way to his nomination for the Presidency. In person he was tall and ungainly, and in manner he was rough and awkward, little versed in the refinements of society. He was a man, however, of great natural vigor of intellect, and was possessed of a fund of strong common sense, which enabled him to see at a glance through the shams by which he was surrounded, and to pursue his own aims with singleness of heart and directness of purpose. He had sprung from the ranks of the people, and he was never false to them. He was a simple, unaffected, kind-hearted man; anxious to do his duty to the whole country; domestic in his tastes and habits; and incorruptible in every relation of life. He was fond of humor, and overflowed with it; finding in his "little stories" the only relaxation he ever sought from the heavy cares of the trying position upon which he was now entering. He selected his cabinet from the leading men of the Republican party, and placed William H. Seward, of New York, as Secretary of State; Salmon P. Chase, of Ohio, Secretary of the Treasury; Simon Cameron, of Pennsylvania, Secretary of War; Gideon Welles, of Connecticut, Secretary of the Navy; Caleb B. Smith, of Indiana, Secretary of the

Interior; Montgomery Blair, of Maryland, Post master-General; and Edward Bates, of Missouri, Attorney-General.

The Great Civil War was the all-important event of Mr. Lincoln's administration.

In 1864 the next Presidential election was held. The Republican National Convention met at Baltimore, June 7, and adopted a platform declaring war upon slavery, and demanding that no terms but unconditional surrender should be given to the rebellious States. It nominated Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois, for President, and Andrew Johnson, of Tennessee, for Vice-President.

The latter was a United States Senator when his State allied itself to the Confederacy. He, however, continued to hold his seat, and was the only Senator from any of the States, who did so after the withdrawal of their States from the Federal Union.

The Democratic Convention met at Chicago August 29, and nominated for the Presidency General George B. McClellan, of the Federal army, and for the Vice-Presidency, George H. Pendleton, of Ohio. The result was Messrs. Lincoln and Johnson carried the electoral votes of every State except three, to wit: New Jersey, Delaware, and Kentucky; of the popular vote the Democratic ticket received 1,802,237, against 2,213,665 cast for Lincoln and Johnson.

Abraham Lincoln having been duly elected was

Inaugurated for his second term on the 4th of March, 1865. On the night of April 14th, Presi dent Lincoln was assassinated at Ford's Theatre in Washington City, by John Wilkes Booth.

ADMINISTRATION OF ANDREW JOHNSON. 15th of April, 1865-4th of March, 1869. Upon the death of Mr. Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the Vice-President, by the terms of the Constitution, became President of the United States. He took the oath of office on the 15th of April, and at once entered upon the discharge of his duties. His first act was to retain all the members of the Cabinet appointed by Mr. Lincoln.

Mr. Johnson was a native of North Carolina, having been born in Raleigh, on the 29th of December, 1808. At the age of ten he was bound as an apprentice to a tailor of that city. He was at this time unable to read or write. Some years later, being determined to acquire an education, he learned the alphabet from a fellow-workman, and a friend taught him spelling. He was soon able to read, and pursued his studies steadily, working ten or twelve hours a day at his trade, and studying two or three more. moved to Greenville, Tennessee. quently chosen alderman of his

In 1826 he re

He was subsetown, and with

this election entered upon his political career. Studying law he abandoned tailoring, and devoted himself to legal pursuits and politics.

successively chosen Mayor, Member of the Legisla ture, Presidențial elector, and State Senator. He was twice elected Governor of Tennessee, and three times a Senator of the United States from that State. Upon the secession of Tennessee from the Union, he refused to relinquish his seat in the Senate, and remained faithful to the cause of the Union throughout the war, winning considerable reputation during the struggle by his services in behalf of the national cause. He was an earnest, honest-hearted man, who sincerely desired to do his duty to the country. His mistakes were due to his temperament, and proceeded from no desire to serve his own interests or those of any party. In his public life he was incorruptible. A man of ardent nature, strong convictions, and indomitable will, it was not possible that he should avoid errors, or fail to stir up a warm and determined opposition to his policy.

The first duty devolving upon the new administration was the disbanding of the army, which at the close of the war numbered over a million of men. It was prophesied by foreign nations and feared by many persons at home, that the sudden return of such a large body of men to the pursuits of civil life would be attended with serious evils, but both the Union and the Confederate soldiers went back quietly and readily to their old avocations. Thus did these citizen-soldiers give to the world a splendid exhibition of the triumph of law