James Johnson (February 12, 1811 – November 20, 1891) was a U.S. Representative from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

and served as the 43rd Governor of Georgia between June and October 1865.

Early life

Johnson was born in 1811 in

Robeson County, North Carolina Robeson County is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of North Carolina and is its largest county by land area. Its county seat is and largest city is Lumberton. The county was formed in 1787 from part of Bladen County and named in ...

to Peter and Nancy McNeill Johnson, whose parents had come from Scotland. The Johnsons moved from North Carolina to

Henry County, Georgia Henry County is located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Georgia. Per the 2020 census, the population of Henry County is 240,712, up from 203,922 in 2010. The county seat is McDonough. The county was named for Patrick Henry. ...

, 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 Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and sta ...

rivers. He graduated from Franklin College (the predecessor of the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

) in 1832 with his classmates

Alexander H. Stephens Alexander Hamilton Stephens (February 11, 1812 – March 4, 1883) was an American politician who served as the vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and later as the 50th governor of Georgia from 1882 until his death in 1 ...

, Crawford W. Long, and

William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as US Secretary of War and US Secretary of the Treasury before he ran for US president in the 1824 ...

. He married Ann Harris of Jones County on June 12, 1834. They moved to

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

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 Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employee ...

) memorialized General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

Political life

In 1851, Johnson was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

as a Unionist. Some historians labeled him a Whig, but in the later 1850s he was a member of the American, or

Know-Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

, party. He was defeated in his re-election bid by Alfred H. Colquitt in 1853. Johnson opposed

secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics le ...

, and historians agree that he kept a low profile during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Johnson was appointed as provisional Governor of Georgia on June 17, 1865, by U.S. President Andrew Johnson (unrelated),Presidential Proclamation No. 41, 17 June 1865, 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 The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

, but on January 30, 1866, the legislature preferred Alexander H. Stephens and Herschel V. Johnson.

Postbellum life

For his service, President Johnson gave James Johnson the position as collector of customs for the

Port of Savannah The Port of Savannah is a major U.S. seaport located at Savannah, Georgia. As of 2021, the port was the third busiest seaport in the United States. Its facilities for oceangoing vessels line both sides of the Savannah River and are approximate ...

. 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.

Death and legacy

He died in 1891 in Chattahoochee County, Georgia. He is buried in

Linwood Cemetery (Columbus, Georgia) The Old City Cemetery, also known as Linwood Cemetery, is a cemetery on what is now Linwood Boulevard, in Columbus, Georgia. It dates from 1828, when the town of Columbus was founded, or before. It appears in surveyor Edward Lloyd Thomas's or ...

References

External links

* *
James Johnson, National Governors Association
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, James 1811 births 1891 deaths People from Robeson County, North Carolina Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) University of Georgia alumni Georgia (U.S. state) Jacksonians Georgia (U.S. state) Unionists Unionist Party members of the United States House of Representatives American slave owners 19th-century American politicians