American politician
Cave Johnson
|
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|
|
|
In office
March 6, 1845 ? March 4, 1849
|
President
| James K. Polk
|
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Preceded by
| Charles A. Wickliffe
|
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Succeeded by
| Jacob Collamer
|
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In office
March 4, 1839 ? March 3, 1845
|
Preceded by
| Richard Cheatham
|
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Succeeded by
| Lucien Bonaparte Chase
|
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Constituency
| 9th district
(1843?1845)
11th district
(1839?1843)
|
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In office
March 4, 1829 ? March 3, 1837
|
Preceded by
| John Hartwell Marable
|
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Succeeded by
| Richard Cheatham
|
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Constituency
| 11th district
(1833?1837)
8th district
(1829?1833)
|
---|
|
|
Born
| (
1793-01-11
)
January 11, 1793
Tennessee County
,
Southwest Territory
, U.S.
|
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Died
| November 23, 1866
(1866-11-23)
(aged 73)
Clarksville, Tennessee
, U.S.
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Political party
| Democratic
|
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Spouse
| Elizabeth Dortch Brunson
|
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Education
| Cumberland College
|
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Signature
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Cave Johnson
(January 11, 1793 – November 23, 1866) was an American politician who served the state of
Tennessee
as a
Democratic
congressman in the
United States House of Representatives
. Johnson was the 12th
United States Postmaster General
in the administration of
James K. Polk
from 1845 to 1849.
Early life
[
edit
]
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
.
[1]
He was studying at
Cumberland College
when the
War of 1812
began, and organized a band of volunteers that
Andrew Jackson
declined. In 1813 he joined his father's militia unit in the
Creek War
, returning to Nashville the next year to complete law studies in the firm of
Parry Wayne Humphreys
.
[2]
Career
[
edit
]
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.
[3]
He advocated legal protection of slavery under the federal constitution, believing that this would prevent "moderate" southerners from being overwhelmed by secessionist
Fire-Eaters
.
[4]
Samuel Morse
's proposal for the
Baltimore?Washington telegraph line
came before Congress for funding during Johnson's tenure. Johnson mocked the idea by introducing a
rider
to fund research into
animal magnetism
. After the line was successfully demonstrated he apologized to Morse, calling the telegraph an "astonishing invention".
[5]
Johnson acted as a campaign manager for presidential candidate
James K. Polk
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
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.
[5]
[6]
He later served as a state circuit court judge and as president of the
Third Bank of Tennessee
from 1854 to 1860.
[2]
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
.
[7]
Failing in this effort, he sided with the Confederacy but took no personal part in the war.
[2]
After the
Battle of Fort Donelson
brought Clarksville under Union control, Johnson was one of three spokesmen who greeted the administering Union officer.
[8]
He was elected to the
state Senate
in 1866, but allies of Republican Governor
William G. Brownlow
refused to seat him.
Personal life
[
edit
]
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.
[1]
Johnson was the maternal uncle of Lt. Col.
Cave Johnson Couts
of California
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Titus, William T., ed. (1887).
Picturesque Clarksville, Past and Present
.
- ^
a
b
c
Moor, John Trotwood (1923).
Tennessee: The Volunteer State
. Vol. II.
- ^
"Nebraska and Kansas".
Congressional Globe
.
23
(2): 1305. May 24, 1854.
- ^
Hamilton, Holman (2014).
Prologue to Conflict: The Crisis and Compromise of 1850
.
- ^
a
b
Wheeler, Tom (2019).
From Gutenberg to Google
.
- ^
Wolff, Joshua D. (2013).
Western Union and the Creation of the American Corporate Order, 1845?1893
.
- ^
Hoss, Elijah Embree; Reese, William B. (1890).
History of Nashville, Tenn
.
- ^
Hoppin, James Mason (1874).
Life of Andrew Hull Foote, Rear Admiral
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Military Affairs Committee
(1822?1947)
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Naval Affairs Committee
(1822?1947)
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Armed Services Committee*
(from 1947)
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*
Alternately named
National Security
in 104th and 105th Congresses.
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International
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National
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People
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Other
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