North and South over the issue of slavery. Though not opposed to slavery, Etheridge rejected its expansion into new territories. He was one of nine Southern representatives to vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, his main concern being the act's repeal of the Missouri Compromise. Following the collapse of the Whig Party in the mid-1850s, Etheridge, like many Tennessee Whigs, joined the nativist American ("Know Nothing") Party. Assailed for his vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Act, he was nearly defeated for reelection in 1855, edging his Democratic challenger, Thomas J. Freeman, by just over 500 votes with more than 15,000 cast. Etheridge was the only Southern representative to support an 1857 House resolution condemning the repeal of the Missouri Compromise. In February 1857, Etheridge spoke in opposition to the reopening of the African slave trade, calling any such proposition "shocking to the moral sentiment of the enlightened portion of mankind." Following a bitter reelection campaign in 1857, Etheridge was defeated by the Democratic challenger, J.D.C. Atkins, by just 129 votes. Joining fellow Southern ex-Whigs in the Opposition Party, Etheridge ran again for the seat in a still more heated campaign in 1859, and managed to defeat Atkins by just eight votes out of nearly 19,000 votes cast. During this tumultuous third term, Etheridge consistently expressed opposition to secessionist sentiment in the South. He endorsed the centrist campaign of fellow Tennessean John Bell in the 1860 presidential election. Following Abraham Lincoln's victory in the election, Etheridge offered a "Border States Plan" that would protect the institution of slavery while preserving the Union, but the plan failed to pass in the House. In January 1861, he declared secession to be a rebellion that must be put down at any cost. Civil War During the Spring of 1861, Etheridge returned to Tennessee to campaign against secession, often speaking to bitterly divided audiences. At one stop in Paris, Tennessee, a mob of secessionists broke up the rally, killing one Unionist in the process. After Tennessee voted to secede in June 1861, Etheridge returned to Washington (as did Andrew Johnson). In recognition of his dedication to preserving the Union, the House elected him Clerk of the House of Representatives in July 1861. After the Union Army regained control of Nashville in early 1862, Etheridge returned to the city and spoke before a crowd of 1,200. He threw his support behind Andrew Johnson, who had by