In a July 10, 1845, letter to his son-in-law David T. Patterson, Andrew Johnson, then serving in the U. S. House of Representatives, describes the political scene in East Tennessee at the time. He details stump speeches of Aaron Venable Brown and Ephraim Foster, candidates for governor who were appearing in a joint canvass. Additionally, Johnson speaks of William B. Carter, a Whig congressman, and Robert W. Powell, the incumbent Democratic senator.