secure in the exercise of his power only so long as it rested upon a military basis. He therefore seemed in no hurry to reorganize the State government. He contented himself with filling the vacant offices, most of which under the laws were elective, by the appointment of his political friends thereto.
The leaders of the Union men in the State, the majority of whom were never in sympathy with Johnson, began to grow restive under his military dictatorship.
In May, 1864, occurred Johnson's nomination for the Vice-Presidency. He naturally desired to obtain the electoral vote of his own State. A Convention was therefore called to meet in Nashville for the purpose of nominating an electoral ticket. The Union leaders seized the opportunity which the Convention presented for perfecting an organization of the Union party. A committee was appointed by the Convention, and empowered to issue a call for a second Convention.
The second Convention was called to meet in Nashville, Dec. 19, 1864. It failed to convene on the day appointed, as Nashville was at that time threatened by Hood's army. The defeat of the Confederate forces in the battle of Nashville removed the danger, and the Convention came together on the third day of January, 1865.
The work of the Convention was summed up in the passage of one resolution.[1] The first section contained this statement of the authority under which it claimed to act: "Whereas the first article and the first section of the Declaration of Rights in the Constitution of the State of Tennessee declares, 'That all power is inherent in the people, and all free governments are founded on their authority, and instituted for their peace, safety, and happiness; and that for the advancement of these ends they have at all times an inalienable and indefeasable right to alter, reform, or amend the governments as they may think proper,' We,
- ↑ Laws of Tennessee, 1865, Introductory Documents, p. 3.
