Cave Johnson (January 11, 1793 – November 23, 1866) was an American politician who served the state of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

as a Democratic congressman in the

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 ...

. Johnson was the 12th

United States Postmaster General The United States postmaster general (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

in the administration of

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (; November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. A protégé of Andrew Jackson and a member of the Democratic Party, he was an advocate of Jacksonian democracy and ...

from 1845 to 1849.

Early life

Johnson was born near present-day Springfield, Tennessee to Robert and Mary Noel Johnson. He was named for Rev. Richard Cave, a Baptist minister in the Travelling Church with whom Mary's mother, also named Mary Noel, had been acquainted in Kentucky. He suspected but could never prove a relation to William Cave Johnson of Boone County, Kentucky. He was studying at Cumberland College when the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

began, and organized a band of volunteers that

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before Presidency of Andrew Jackson, his presidency, he rose to fame as a general in the U.S. Army and served in both houses ...

declined. In 1813 he joined his father's militia unit in the

Creek War The Creek War (also the Red Stick War or the Creek Civil War) was a regional conflict between opposing Native American factions, European powers, and the United States during the early 19th century. The Creek War began as a conflict within th ...

, returning to Nashville the next year to complete law studies in the firm of Parry Wayne Humphreys.

Career

Johnson settled in Clarksville and served on its first board of aldermen. At the time of his first election to Congress in 1829, he owned an iron factory that employed both free and enslaved black workers. He advocated legal protection of slavery under the federal constitution, believing that this would prevent "moderate" southerners from being overwhelmed by secessionist Fire-Eaters.

Samuel Morse Samuel Finley Breese Morse (April 27, 1791 – April 2, 1872) was an American inventor and painter. After establishing his reputation as a portrait painter, Morse, in his middle age, contributed to the invention of a Electrical telegraph#Morse ...

's proposal for the

Baltimore–Washington telegraph line The Baltimore–Washington telegraph line was the first long-distance telegraph system set up to run overland in the United States. Building of line In March 1843, the US Congress appropriated to Samuel Morse to lay a telegraph line between Washi ...

came before Congress for funding during Johnson's tenure. Johnson mocked the idea by introducing a rider to fund research into

animal magnetism Animal magnetism, also known as mesmerism, is a theory invented by German doctor Franz Mesmer in the 18th century. It posits the existence of an invisible natural force (''Lebensmagnetismus'') possessed by all living things, including humans ...

. After the line was successfully demonstrated he apologized to Morse, calling the telegraph an "astonishing invention". State-dining-room-polk-cabinet

Johnson acted as a campaign manager for presidential candidate

at both the Democratic party convention and for the general election. After his victory Polk appointed him Postmaster General, which he held during the full term. He shifted the department from a collect on delivery system to a prepaid system by introducing the adhesive

postage stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail). Then the stamp is affixed to the f ...

in 1847. Johnson's duties included overseeing operation of the Baltimore–Washington line, which he struggled to make profitable as other private telegraph lines were constructed. He urged that telegraph lines not be left in unregulated private hands, concerned that they would ruin the Post Office while enriching those who held preferential information access, but his fellow Democrats were unreceptive. He later served as a state circuit court judge and as president of the Third Bank of Tennessee from 1854 to 1860. During the secession crisis he joined the short-lived Union Party that sought to keep Tennessee loyal to the federal government. He joined in drafting an address that urged the state to remain in the Union while refusing to participate in coercive measures against the Confederacy. Failing in this effort, he sided with the Confederacy but took no personal part in the war. After the

Battle of Fort Donelson The Battle of Fort Donelson was fought from February 11–16, 1862, in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. The Union capture of the Confederate fort near the Tennessee–Kentucky border opened the Cumberland River, an important ave ...

brought Clarksville under Union control, Johnson was one of three spokesmen who greeted the administering Union officer. He was elected to the

state Senate In the United States, the state legislature is the legislative branch in each of the 50 U.S. states. A legislature generally performs state duties for a state in the same way that the United States Congress performs national duties at ...

in 1866, but allies of Republican Governor William G. Brownlow refused to seat him. He died in Tennessee on November 23, 1866.

Personal life

Johnson proposed to Elizabeth Dortch in 1815. She rejected him for another suitor, embarrassing him so deeply that he dared not pursue a woman again for more than twenty years. His next proposal in 1838 was to the same Elizabeth Dortch, by then widowed. She accepted and they had three sons. Johnson was the maternal uncle of Lt. Col. Cave Johnson Couts of California

References

External links

*
Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
Emory University
Cave Johnson papers, 1833-1948
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Cave 1793 births 1866 deaths People from Clarksville, Tennessee People from Robertson County, Tennessee Polk administration cabinet members United States postmasters general Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee American bankers American lawyers University of Nashville alumni 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives