Thomas Johnson (July 11, 1802 – January 2, 1865) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

who founded the

Shawnee Methodist Mission Shawnee Methodist Mission, also known as the Shawnee Mission, which later became the Shawnee Indian Manual Labor School, is located in Fairway, Kansas, United States. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1968, the Shawnee Methodist Missi ...

in 1830. It was intended to serve and convert the

Shawnee The Shawnee ( ) are a Native American people of the Northeastern Woodlands. Their language, Shawnee, is an Algonquian language. Their precontact homeland was likely centered in southern Ohio. In the 17th century, they dispersed through Ohi ...

, several hundred of whom had been relocated to

Indian Territory Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...

(which became Kansas) from east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

. Johnson was a Kansas slave holder and sided strongly with the pro-slavery faction during a period known as

Bleeding Kansas Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas, or the Border War, was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859. It emerged from a political and ideological debate over the ...

. Residents on either side of the slavery question recruited newcomers and fought violently prior to voting as to whether

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

would be allowed in the

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

. Johnson was elected as a member of the Kansas Territorial Legislature, which temporarily designated Shawnee Mission as the state capital from 1855 to 1856. Johnson was pro- Southern in sympathy but signed a Unionist pledge at the time of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Johnson County, Kansas Johnson County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kansas, along the border of the state of Missouri. Its county seat is Olathe, Kansas, Olathe. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 609, ...

is named for him.

Death

Johnson was murdered at his home on January 2, 1865, in the last year of the Civil War. It is unknown whether he was killed during a robbery or whether it was a political assassination. Some historians have suggested that his murderers were outraged at his apparent betrayal of the Southern cause.

References

1802 births 1865 deaths American Methodist missionaries People murdered in Kansas Border ruffians Deaths by firearm in Kansas Assassinated American politicians Methodist missionaries in the United States Politicians assassinated in the 1860s People murdered in 1865 Civilians killed in the American Civil War Politicians killed in the American Civil War Proslavery activists killed in the American Civil War Slave owners killed in the American Civil War {{Kansas-politician-stub