6 LIVES OF THE PRESIDENTS him into a district in which the Whigs had an over whelming majority. Johnson at once announced himself a candidate for the governorship, and was elected by a fair majority. In his message to the legislature he dwelt upon the homestead law and other measures for the benefit of the working- classes, and earned the title of the "mechanic gov ernor." He opposed the Know-nothing movement with characteristic vehemence. In 1855 he was op posed by Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig candidate, and defeated him after a canvass remarkable for the feeling displayed. Mr. Johnson earnestly sup ported the Kansas-Nebraska bill. In 1857 he was elected to the U. S. senate, where he urged the passage of the homestead bill, and on May 20, 1858, made his greatest speech on this sub ject. Finally, in 1860, he had the momentary gratification of seeing his favorite bill pass both houses of congress, but President Buchanan vetoed it, and the veto was sustained. Johnson revived it at the next session, and also introduced a resolution looking to a retrenchment in the expenditures of the government, and on constitutional grounds op posed the grant of aid for the construction of a Pacific railroad. He was prominent in debate, and frequently clashed with southern supporters of the administration. His pronounced Unionism estranged him from the slave-holders on the one side, while his acceptance of slavery as an institu-
