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News Updates
Region's Pre-Civil War Politics Will Be Lecture Topic Thursday
Source: The Greeneville Sun
by Staff
Date: 2008-01-21
One of the most tumultuous and divisive times in the history of the East Tennessee region will be the focus a presentation Thursday, Jan. 24, at Tusculum College.
"Partisan Politics in East Tennessee on the Eve of the Civil War" will be presented by Dr. Michael Toomey at 7 p.m. in the Chalmers Conference Center in Niswonger Commons on the Tusculum campus.
Dr. Toomey is managing editor of The Journal of East Tennessee History and an adjunct professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University.
Remembered as the "Constitutional President" for his staunch defense of the Constitution, Johnson was already a veteran of public service in the years prior to the Civil War, serving as a mayor, state representative, state senator, governor of Tennessee, a U.S. representative and a U.S. senator.
East Tennessee in the years leading up to the Civil War was divided in public opinion between those who supported secession from the Union and those, including Johnson, who took a pro-Union stance. Dr. Toomey will offer insights into this time when neighbors were literally ready to take arms against neighbors.
Bicentennial Year
Dr. Toomey's presentation is part of the year-long Andrew Johnson Bicentennial Celebration in 2008. This year is the 200th anniversary of the 17th president's birth.
Johnson's hometown of Greeneville is honoring him through community events focusing on his life and times. The program is supported by the Museums of Tusculum College in conjunction with the Andrew Johnson National Historic Site and the Andrew Johnson Bicentennial Committee.
Commemoration of the Andrew Johnson Bicentennial will be a focal point this year for the two museums at the college through a special exhibit about its namesake at the President Andrew Johnson Museum and Library and an emphasis on the Constitution and Johnson's life in the educational programs at the Doak House Museum.
Dr. Toomey served eight years as curator of history of the East Tennessee Historical Society, and taught history during the 1990s at Knoxville College and the University of Tennessee at Knoxville. He also served as dean of academic affairs at Knoxville College, and head of the Division of Arts and Humanities and the Department of History there.
He earned his doctoral and master's degrees in history from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
His recent publications include articles about the Watauga Association, the State of Franklin, John Sevier, and William Blount for the North Carolina History Project Online Encyclopedia, as well as articles about the Tennessee frontier and the early days of the state for a variety of historical publications.
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