of 1850 as a matter of expediency, but opposed compromises in general
as a sacrifice of principle. Was elected governor of Tennessee in 1853
over Gustavus A. Henry, the "Eagle Orator" of the State. 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 Governor." Opposed the Know-nothing movement with
characteristic vehemence. Was reelected governor in 1855, defeating
Meredith P. Gentry, the Whig-American candidate, after a most remarkable
canvass. The Kansas-Nebraska bill received his earnest support. In 1857
was elected to the United States Senate, where he urged the passage of
the homestead bill, and on May 20, 1858, made his greatest speech on
this subject. Opposed the grant of aid for the construction of a Pacific
railroad. Was prominent in debate, and frequently clashed with Southern
supporters of the Administration. His pronounced Unionism estranged him
from the extremists on the Southern side, while his acceptance of
slavery as an institution guaranteed by the Constitution caused him
to hold aloof from the Republicans on the other. At the Democratic
convention at Charleston, S.C., in 1860 was a candidate for the
Presidential nomination, but received only the vote of Tennessee, and
when the convention reassembled in Baltimore withdrew his name. In the
canvass that followed supported John C. Breckinridge. At the session
of Congress beginning in December, 1860, took decided and unequivocal
grounds in opposition to secession, and on December 13 introduced a
joint resolution proposing to amend the Constitution so as to elect the
President and Vice-President by district votes, Senators by a direct
popular vote, and to limit the terms of Federal judges to twelve
years, the judges to be equally divided between slaveholding and
non-slaveholding States. In his speech on this resolution, December 18
and 19, declared his unyielding opposition to secession and announced
his intention to stand by and act under the Constitution. Retained