James Johnson (Georgia)

Last updated
James Johnson
JJohnson Governor.jpg
43rd Governor of Georgia
In office
June 17, 1865 –December 14, 1865
Preceded by Joseph E. Brown
Succeeded by Charles J. Jenkins
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 2nd district
In office
March 4, 1851 –March 3, 1853
Preceded by Marshall J. Wellborn
Succeeded by Alfred H. Colquitt
Personal details
Born February 12, 1811
Robeson County, North Carolina
Died November 20, 1891 (aged 80)
Chattahoochee County, Georgia
Resting place Linwood Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia
Political party Democratic
Alma mater University of Georgia
Profession Law

James Johnson (February 12, 1811 – November 20, 1891) was a U.S. Representative from Georgia and served as the 43rd Governor of Georgia between June and October 1865.

Georgia (U.S. state) State of the United States of America

Georgia is a state in the Southeastern United States. It began as a British colony in 1733, the last and southernmost of the original Thirteen Colonies to be established. Named after King George II of Great Britain, the Province of Georgia covered the area from South Carolina south to Spanish Florida and west to French Louisiana at the Mississippi River. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. In 1802–1804, western Georgia was split to the Mississippi Territory, which later split to form Alabama with part of former West Florida in 1819. Georgia declared its secession from the Union on January 19, 1861, and was one of the original seven Confederate states. It was the last state to be restored to the Union, on July 15, 1870. Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States. From 2007 to 2008, 14 of Georgia's counties ranked among the nation's 100 fastest-growing, second only to Texas. Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South. Atlanta, the state's capital and most populous city, has been named a global city. Atlanta's metropolitan area contains about 55% of the population of the entire state.

Contents

Early life

Johnson was born in 1811 in Robeson County, North Carolina to Peter and Nancy McNeill Johnson, whose parents had come from Scotland. The Johnsons moved from North Carolina to Henry County, Georgia, the newly created county by the Georgia General Assembly's Land Lottery Act of 1821 from previously Indian-held territory between the Ocmulgee and Flint rivers. He graduated from Franklin College (the predecessor of the University of Georgia) in 1832 with his classmates Alexander H. Stephens, Crawford W. Long, and William H. Crawford. He married Ann Harris of Jones County on June 12, 1834. They moved to Columbus, Georgia where he started his law practice after passing the bar in 1835. In 1845, Johnson and a fellow member of the Columbus bar, Henry L. Benning (namesake of Ft. Benning) memorialized General Andrew Jackson.

Robeson County, North Carolina County in the United States

Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2010 census, the population was 134,168. Its county seat is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County. It was named in honor of Col. Thomas Robeson of Tar Heel, a hero of the Revolutionary War.

Henry County, Georgia County in the United States

Henry County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. Per the 2010 census, the population of Henry County is 203,922. The county seat is McDonough. The county was named for Patrick Henry.

Georgia General Assembly


The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Political life

In 1851, Johnson was elected to the United States House of Representatives as a Unionist. Some historians labeled him a Whig, but in the later 1850s he was a member of the American, or Know-Nothing, party. He was defeated in his re-election bid by Alfred H. Colquitt in 1853. [1] Johnson opposed secession, and historians agree that he kept a low profile during the Civil War.

United States House of Representatives lower house of the United States Congress

The United States House of Representatives is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they compose the legislature of the United States.

Union (American Civil War) United States national government during the American Civil War

During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the Union, also known as the North, referred to the United States of America and specifically to the national government of President Abraham Lincoln and the 20 free states, as well as 4 border and slave states that supported it. The Union was opposed by 11 southern slave states that formed the Confederate States of America, also known as "the Confederacy" or "the South".

Whig Party (United States) Political party in the USA in the 19th century

The Whig Party was a political party active in the middle of the 19th century in the United States. Four presidents belonged to the party while in office. It emerged in the 1830s as the leading opponent of Jacksonian democracy, pulling together former members of the National Republican and the Anti-Masonic Party. It had some links to the upscale traditions of the long-defunct Federalist Party. Along with the rival Democratic Party, it was central to the Second Party System from the early 1840s to the mid-1860s. It originally formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. It became a formal party within his second term, and slowly receded influence after 1854. In particular terms, the Whigs supported the supremacy of Congress over the presidency and favored a program of modernization, banking and economic protectionism to stimulate manufacturing. It appealed to entrepreneurs, planters, reformers and the emerging urban middle class, but had little appeal to farmers or unskilled workers. It included many active Protestants and voiced a moralistic opposition to the Jacksonian Indian removal. Party founders chose the "Whig" name to echo the American Whigs of the 18th century who fought for independence. The political philosophy of the American Whig Party was not related to the British Whig party. Historian Frank Towers has specified a deep ideological divide:

Johnson was appointed as provisional Governor of Georgia on June 17, 1865 by U.S. President Andrew Johnson (unrelated), [2] and tasked primarily with reorganizing the state government, which had collapsed with the Confederacy. He served until a constitutional convention was held in Milledgeville in October 1865; at that convention, the Secession Ordinance was repealed, a new constitution was adopted, and the State's war debt was repudiated. He unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate, but on Jan. 30, 1866 the legislature preferred Alexander H. Stephens and Herschel V. Johnson.

Andrew Johnson 17th president of the United States

Andrew Johnson was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. Johnson assumed the presidency as he was vice president of the United States at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. A Democrat who ran with Lincoln on the National Union ticket, Johnson came to office as the Civil War concluded. He favored quick restoration of the seceded states to the Union. His plans did not give protection to the former slaves; he came into conflict with the Republican-dominated Congress, culminating in his impeachment by the House of Representatives. He was acquitted in the Senate by one vote. Johnson's main accomplishment as president is the Alaska purchase.

Confederate States of America (de facto) federal republic in North America from 1861 to 1865

The Confederate States of America, commonly referred to as the Confederacy, was an unrecognized country in North America that existed from 1861 to 1865. The Confederacy was originally formed by seven secessionist slave-holding states—South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas—in the Lower South region of the United States, whose economy was heavily dependent upon agriculture, particularly cotton, and a plantation system that relied upon the labor of African-American slaves.

Milledgeville, Georgia City in Georgia, United States

Milledgeville is a city in and the county seat of Baldwin County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is northeast of Macon and bordered on the east by the Oconee River. The rapid current of the river here made this an attractive location to build a city. It was the capital of Georgia from 1804 to 1868, notably during the American Civil War. Milledgeville was preceded as the capital city by Louisville and was succeeded by Atlanta, the current capital. Today U.S. Highway 441 connects Milledgeville to Madison, Athens, and Dublin.

Postbellum life

For his service, President Johnson gave James Johnson the position as collector of customs for the Port of Savannah. He served in this capacity Oct. 1, 1866 to May 31, 1869. Johnson moved back to Columbus, where he served as judge of the Superior Court from July 1, 1869 to Oct. 1, 1875, when he resigned.

Port of Savannah major U. S. seaport

The Port of Savannah is a major U. S. seaport located at Savannah, Georgia. Its facilities for oceangoing vessels line both sides of the Savannah River approximately 18 miles (29 km) from the Atlantic Ocean. Operated by the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), the Port of Savannah competes primarily with the Port of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina to the northeast, and the Port of Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida to the south. The GPA operates one other Atlantic seaport in Georgia, the Port of Brunswick, located at Brunswick, Georgia. There are three interior ports linked to the Gulf of Mexico, Port Bainbridge and Port Columbus, and one linked to the Port of Savannah by rail in Cordele, Georgia.

Death and legacy

He died in 1891 in Chattahoochee County, Georgia. He is buried in Linwood Cemetery (Columbus, Georgia).

Chattahoochee County, Georgia County in the United States

Chattahoochee County, also known as Cusseta-Chattahoochee County, is a county located in the west central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 11,267. The county seat is Cusseta, with which the county shares a consolidated city-county government. Despite the city-county government Cusseta is not coterminous with the county; it remains a geographically distinct municipality within the county. The county was created on February 13, 1854.

Linwood Cemetery (Columbus, Georgia)

Linwood Cemetery is an historic cemetery in the city of Columbus, Georgia, that is the resting place of many famous people as well as six hundred Confederate soldiers from the American Civil War. It was from this cemetery that the annual Memorial Day commemoration emerged.

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References

  1. ↑ Shadgett, Olive Hall (1952). "James Johnson, Provisional Governor Of Georgia". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 36 (1): 2. JSTOR   40577322.
  2. ↑ Presidential Proclamation No. 41, 17 June 1865, 13  Stat.   764
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Marshall J. Wellborn 		U.S. Representative from the 2nd District of Georgia
1851–1853 		Succeeded by
Alfred H. Colquitt
Political offices
Preceded by
Joseph E. Brown 		Governor of Georgia
1865 		Succeeded by
Charles J. Jenkins
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