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 South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

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 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. According to the 2020 census, the population of Henry County was 240,712, up from 203,922 in 2010. The county seat is McDonough. The county was named for Patric ...

, the newly created county by the

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. Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directl ...

'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. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

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

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

) 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 first and only Vice President of the Confederate States of America, vice president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, and l ...

, Crawford W. Long, and

William H. Crawford William Harris Crawford (February 24, 1772 – September 15, 1834) was an American politician who served as U.S. Secretary of War and U.S. Secretary of the Treasury. He later ran for U.S. president in the 1824 United States presidential electi ...

. 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 (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

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 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 ...

Political life

In 1851, Johnson was elected to 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 ...

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. Johnson opposed

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

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

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

. Johnson was appointed as provisional Governor of Georgia on June 17, 1865, by

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

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

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

Herschel V. Johnson Herschel Vespasian Johnson (September 18, 1812August 16, 1880) was an American politician. He was the List of governors of Georgia, 41st Governor of Georgia from 1853 to 1857 and the vice presidential nominee of the Stephen A. Douglas, Douglas w ...

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 United States of America, U.S. seaport located at Savannah, Georgia, Savannah, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As of 2021, the port was the third busiest seaport in the United States. Its facilities for oceangoing ...

. He served in this capacity from October 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).

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 Members of the United States House of Representatives who owned slaves 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives