On August 8, 1863, Eliza Johnson, wife of Tennessee's military governor, made an unexpected announcement: The family's slaves were to be freed, in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation issued earlier that year. The place was Greeneville, and the military governor was Andrew Johnson. Less than two years later, the former slave owner would be the man who would lead the nation through its earliest post-slavery era.
Andrew Johnson and his wife owned several slaves: Dolly, Dolly's half-brother Sam, Sam's wife Margaret, Henry, and children born to Margaret and Dolly. Some of Johnson's contemporaries thought him too lenient to his slaves. A letter from Johnson's son, Charles, reveals that Sam was allowed to keep some of the money the Johnsons made from his labor. Accounts also tell of a familial relationship between the two groups.
While Johnson's treatment of his slaves may have been considered liberal for the 1860s, the future president was no abolitionist. Andrew Johnson underwent a significant shift in view, from purchasing and owning slaves in the 1840s, to sharply denouncing the practice in 1864, the year he was elected vice-president of the United States.
After the Civil War, August 8 became a regional holiday. Freed slaves across the southern parts of Appalachia held annual celebrations. Until his death in 1875, Andrew Johnson himself was a guest of honor at Greeneville's August 8 festivities.
In 2004, Greeneville resident Randi Nott began asking detailed questions about the Johnson slaves and the lives they led. Finding little in National Park Service records, she started her own research. Today, twelve years later, Nott says she's still turning up new and interesting bits of information about the Johnsons and their slaves. To commemorate August 8, Nott spoke with WUOT All Things Considered host Brandon Hollingsworth.