Martin Nelson Johnson (March 3, 1850October 21, 1909) was an American attorney and politician who served as a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

and

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

from

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

Early life and education

Born to Norwegian immigrants in

Racine County, Wisconsin Racine County ( ) is a County (United States), county in southeastern Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 197,727, making it Wisconsin's fifth-most populous county. Its county seat is Racine, Wisconsi ...

in 1850, he moved with his parents to

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...

in the same year. He was taught at home and attended the country schools. Johnson started college at

Upper Iowa University Upper Iowa University (UIU) is a private university in Fayette, Iowa, United States. It enrolls around 3,000 students and offers distance education programs that include centers in the U.S., an online program, an independent study program, an ...

Fayette, Iowa Fayette is a city in Fayette County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 1,256. It was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, French hero of the American Revolutionary War. Fayette is the home of Upper Iowa U ...

, later transferring to the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

Iowa City Iowa City is the largest city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. At the time of the 2020 census the population was 74,828, making it the state's fifth-most populous city. The Iowa City metropolitan area, which enc ...

where he graduated with a bachelors in law from the

law department Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the art ...

in 1873.

Career

Johnson taught for two years at the California Military Academy at

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, and returned to Iowa in 1875, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1876, and commenced practice in Decorah. He was a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1877 and a member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the Iowa, state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . Each Senat ...

from 1878 to 1882, where he served as chairman of the Committee on the State Library in both chambers. He was a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

on the Republican ticket in

1876 Events January * January 1 ** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin. ** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol. *January 27 – The Northampton Bank robbery occurs in Massachusetts. February * Febr ...

. In 1879 Johnson married Stella White. In October 1882 the two moved to the

Dakota Territory The Territory of Dakota was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1861, until November 2, 1889, when the final extent of the reduced territory was split and admitted to the Union as the states of ...

to pursue agricultural prospects. They purchased 2,500 acres near the Great Northern Railway a few miles west of

Larimore, North Dakota Larimore is a city in Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. It is located three miles south of the junction of U.S. Route 2 and North Dakota Highway 18. Larimore is part of the " Grand Forks, ND- MN Metropolitan Statistical Area" o ...

. Johnson and his neighbor, Levi Peterson, established a town near the railroad named Petersburg. He was district attorney of Nelson County from 1886 to 1890, and was a member of the constitutional convention of

in 1889, where he gained attention for his support of a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

state legislature. He was recruited to join the state's constitutional convention as part of an effort by the Scandinavian Republican League to get as many Scandinavian delegates as possible into the convention. Only 10 out of 75 delegates selected were of Scandinavian descent. Johnson was an active member of the North Dakota

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance an ...

, a group representing the interests and concerns of farmers. Feeling like they had found a strong voice, Norwegian farmers across North Dakota fought to get Johnson on the ballot for the U.S. Senate. The newly formed state legislative assembly elected Lyman Casey after several days of voting. Johnson would have been the first Norwegian-American elected to the Senate. Johnson continued his career in politics with a run for

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

. He was elected in 1890, and served 4 terms from March 4, 1891, to March 4, 1899. He did not seek renomination at the end of his fourth term, instead choosing to seek a senate seat again. After losing the nomination to Porter J. McCumber, Johnson took a break from politics and returned to Petersburg. In 1909, the state legislature elected Johnson over the incumbent Henry C. Hansbrough. His term began March 4, 1909. In the Senate, he was the chairman of the committee to Investigate Trespassers Upon Indian Lands. He was respected among his colleagues as a man with intelligence and ability. He presided over the Senate 9 times in his short career in the body. He served until his death on October 21, 1909, just eight months into his first term.

Death

Johnson died on October 21, 1909, in the Gardner Hotel in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

after an attack of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine. It was frequently accompanied ...

following nasal surgery. He was buried in the City Cemetery in Petersburg, North Dakota.

References

Martin N. Johnson, late a senator from North Dakota, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1910
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Martin 1850 births 1909 deaths People from Racine County, Wisconsin American people of Norwegian descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Dakota Republican Party United States senators from North Dakota 1876 United States presidential electors Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican Party Iowa state senators People from Nelson County, North Dakota People from Decorah, Iowa Iowa lawyers North Dakota lawyers University of Iowa College of Law alumni 20th-century United States senators 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly

Early life and education

Career

Death

See also

References