Thomas Johnson (governor)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Johnson was an American
jurist with a distinguished political career. He was the first Governor of Maryland
, a delegate to the Continental Congress
and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
.
, on November 4, the son of Thomas and Dorcas Sedgwick Johnson. His grandfather, also named Thomas, was a lawyer in London
who emigrated to Maryland sometime before 1700. He was the fourth of ten children, some of whom also had large families. (His brother Joshua's daughter Louisa Johnson
married John Quincy Adams
.)
The family, including Thomas, were educated at home. The young man was attracted to the law, studied it, and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1753. By 1760, he had moved his practice to Frederick County, Maryland
. He was also elected for the first time to the provincial assembly in 1761. This Thomas Johnson married Ann Jennings, the daughter of an Annapolis
judge on February 16, 1766.
The couple had eight children: Thomas Jennings, Ann Jennings, Rebecca (who died in infancy), Elizabeth, Rebecca Jennings, James, Joshua, and Dorcas.
. In the Congress he was firmly in the camp of those who favored separation from Great Britain
. In 1775, Congress created a committee of Secret Correspondence that was to seek foreign support for the war. Thomas Johnson was a committeeman along with Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, Benjamin Harrison and John Jay.
He returned to Maryland and continued his work in the Assembly so he missed the chance to join in the United States Declaration of Independence
. But in 1775 he did draft a declaration of rights adopted by the Maryland assembly. The declaration was later included as the first part of the state's first constitution
, which was adopted for Maryland by the state's constitutional convention at Annapolis in 1776. He also began his service as brigadier general in the Maryland militia.
In addition to his political activities, he and his brother Roger supported the revolution by manufacturing ammunition.
The remains of their factory, Catoctin Furnace
, is located just north of Frederick, Maryland
.
As Maryland began to exercise its newly declared autonomy, the state legislature elected Thomas as the state's first Governor in 1777. He served in that capacity until 1779. In the 1780s he held a number of judicial posts in Maryland, and served in the assembly in 1780, 1786, and 1787. In 1785 he was one of the commissioners from Maryland and Virginia that met at Mount Vernon
to agree on jurisdiction and navigation rules for the Potomac River
. He attended the Maryland Convention in 1788, where he successfully urged the ratification of the United States Constitution
.
nominated Johnson to be the first federal judge for the District of Maryland, but he declined the appointment. In 1790 and 1791, Johnson was the senior justice in the Maryland General Court system. In January 1791, President Washington appointed him, with David Stuart and Daniel Carroll
, to the commission that would lay out the federal capital in accordance with the Residence Act
of 1790. Among other contributions, in September 1791 the commissioners named the federal city "The City of Washington" and the federal district "The Territory of Columbia".
On August 5, 1791, Johnson received a recess appointment
from Washington to the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that became available after John Rutledge
resigned. Formally nominated on October 31, 1791, Johnson was confirmed by the United States Senate
on November 7, 1791, and received his commission that day. He was not sworn in until August 5, 1792. Johnson was the author of the Court's first written opinion, Georgia v. Brailsford
, in 1792. He served on the court until January 16, 1793, when he resigned due to the difficulties of circuit-riding with his poor health, giving him the shortest tenure (to date) on the Court.
His health also made him decline Washington's 1795 offer to make him Secretary of State
, an office for which Thomas Jefferson
had recommended him. On February 28, 1801, President John Adams
named him chief judge for the District of Columbia
.
. The home, called Rose Hill Manor
, is now a county park, and is open to the public (a high school with his namesake is on half of the Rose Hill property). Thomas was in very poor health for many years. He did deliver a eulogy for his friend George Washington at a birthday memorial service on February 22, 1800. He died at Rose Hill on October 26, 1819, and He was originally buried in All Saints churchyard. His remains were removed and reinterred at Mount Olivet Cemetery
515 South Market Street in Frederick.
Governor Thomas Johnson High School
in Frederick, Maryland
, Governor Thomas Johnson Middle School in Frederick, Maryland, Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham, Maryland
and
Thomas Johnson Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1978, the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge was opened to traffic after being named for Johnson. The bridge crosses the Patuxent River
and connects Calvert County, Maryland
with St. Mary's County, Maryland.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
jurist with a distinguished political career. He was the first Governor of Maryland
Governor of Maryland
The Governor of Maryland heads the executive branch of the government of Maryland, and he is the commander-in-chief of the state's National Guard units. The Governor is the highest-ranking official in the state, and he has a broad range of appointive powers in both the State and local governments,...
, a delegate to the Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
.
Background
Johnson was born in Calvert County, MarylandCalvert County, Maryland
Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...
, on November 4, the son of Thomas and Dorcas Sedgwick Johnson. His grandfather, also named Thomas, was a lawyer in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
who emigrated to Maryland sometime before 1700. He was the fourth of ten children, some of whom also had large families. (His brother Joshua's daughter Louisa Johnson
Louisa Adams
Louisa Catherine Johnson Adams, born Louisa Catherine Johnson , wife of John Quincy Adams, was First Lady of the United States from 1825 to 1829.-Early life:...
married John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States . He served as an American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former...
.)
The family, including Thomas, were educated at home. The young man was attracted to the law, studied it, and was admitted to the Maryland bar in 1753. By 1760, he had moved his practice to Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....
. He was also elected for the first time to the provincial assembly in 1761. This Thomas Johnson married Ann Jennings, the daughter of an Annapolis
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
judge on February 16, 1766.
The couple had eight children: Thomas Jennings, Ann Jennings, Rebecca (who died in infancy), Elizabeth, Rebecca Jennings, James, Joshua, and Dorcas.
Revolutionary years
In 1774 and 1775 the Maryland assembly sent him as a delegate to the Continental CongressContinental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
. In the Congress he was firmly in the camp of those who favored separation from Great Britain
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
. In 1775, Congress created a committee of Secret Correspondence that was to seek foreign support for the war. Thomas Johnson was a committeeman along with Benjamin Franklin, John Dickinson, Benjamin Harrison and John Jay.
He returned to Maryland and continued his work in the Assembly so he missed the chance to join in the United States Declaration of Independence
United States Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies then at war with Great Britain regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a...
. But in 1775 he did draft a declaration of rights adopted by the Maryland assembly. The declaration was later included as the first part of the state's first constitution
Maryland Constitution of 1776
The Maryland Constitution of 1778 was the first of four constitutions under which the U.S. state of Maryland has been governed. It was that state's basic law from its adoption in 1776 until the Maryland Constitution of 1851 took effect on July 4th of that year.-Background and drafting:The eighth...
, which was adopted for Maryland by the state's constitutional convention at Annapolis in 1776. He also began his service as brigadier general in the Maryland militia.
In addition to his political activities, he and his brother Roger supported the revolution by manufacturing ammunition.
The remains of their factory, Catoctin Furnace
Catoctin Furnace
Catoctin Furnace was constructed in 1774 by four brothers Thomas, Baker, Roger and James Johnson to produce pig iron from locally mined hematite.In blast by 1776,...
, is located just north of Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
.
As Maryland began to exercise its newly declared autonomy, the state legislature elected Thomas as the state's first Governor in 1777. He served in that capacity until 1779. In the 1780s he held a number of judicial posts in Maryland, and served in the assembly in 1780, 1786, and 1787. In 1785 he was one of the commissioners from Maryland and Virginia that met at Mount Vernon
Mount Vernon (plantation)
Mount Vernon, located near Alexandria, Virginia, was the plantation home of the first President of the United States, George Washington. The mansion is built of wood in neoclassical Georgian architectural style, and the estate is located on the banks of the Potomac River.Mount Vernon was designated...
to agree on jurisdiction and navigation rules for the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
. He attended the Maryland Convention in 1788, where he successfully urged the ratification of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
Federal years
In September 1789, President George WashingtonPresidency of George Washington
With inauguration on April 30, 1789, the presidency of George Washington initiated a significant leadership role over the United States. President Washington entered office with the full support of the national and state leadership, and established the executive and judicial branches of the federal...
nominated Johnson to be the first federal judge for the District of Maryland, but he declined the appointment. In 1790 and 1791, Johnson was the senior justice in the Maryland General Court system. In January 1791, President Washington appointed him, with David Stuart and Daniel Carroll
Daniel Carroll
Daniel Carroll was a politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He was a prominent member of one of the United States' great colonial Catholic families, whose members included his younger brother Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in the United States and...
, to the commission that would lay out the federal capital in accordance with the Residence Act
Residence Act
The Residence Act of 1790, officially titled An Act for establishing the temporary and permanent seat of the Government of the United States, is the United States federal law that settled the question of locating the capital of the United States, selecting a site along the Potomac River...
of 1790. Among other contributions, in September 1791 the commissioners named the federal city "The City of Washington" and the federal district "The Territory of Columbia".
On August 5, 1791, Johnson received a recess appointment
Recess appointment
A recess appointment is the appointment, by the President of the United States, of a senior federal official while the U.S. Senate is in recess. The U.S. Constitution requires that the most senior federal officers must be confirmed by the Senate before assuming office, but while the Senate is in...
from Washington to the seat on the U.S. Supreme Court that became available after John Rutledge
John Rutledge
John Rutledge was an American statesman and judge. He was the first Governor of South Carolina following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 31st overall...
resigned. Formally nominated on October 31, 1791, Johnson was confirmed by the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
on November 7, 1791, and received his commission that day. He was not sworn in until August 5, 1792. Johnson was the author of the Court's first written opinion, Georgia v. Brailsford
Georgia v. Brailsford (1792)
Georgia v. Brailsford 2 U.S. 402 is the first United States Supreme Court case where a state was a party. The court held that "[a] State may sue in the Supreme Court to enjoin payment of a judgment in behalf of a British creditor taken on a debt, which was confiscated by the State, until it can...
, in 1792. He served on the court until January 16, 1793, when he resigned due to the difficulties of circuit-riding with his poor health, giving him the shortest tenure (to date) on the Court.
His health also made him decline Washington's 1795 offer to make him Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, an office for which Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
had recommended him. On February 28, 1801, President John Adams
John Adams
John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...
named him chief judge for the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Later life
His daughter Ann had married John Colin Grahame in 1788, and in his later years he lived with them in a home they had built in Frederick, MarylandFrederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
. The home, called Rose Hill Manor
Rose Hill Manor
Rose Hill Manor is a historic home located at Frederick, Frederick County, Maryland. It is a -story brick house. A notable feature is the large two-story pedimented portico supported by fluted Doric columns on the first floor and Ionic columns on the balustraded second floor...
, is now a county park, and is open to the public (a high school with his namesake is on half of the Rose Hill property). Thomas was in very poor health for many years. He did deliver a eulogy for his friend George Washington at a birthday memorial service on February 22, 1800. He died at Rose Hill on October 26, 1819, and He was originally buried in All Saints churchyard. His remains were removed and reinterred at Mount Olivet Cemetery
Mount Olivet Cemetery (Frederick)
Mount Olivet Cemetery is a cemetery in Frederick City, Maryland. It was chartered on October 4, 1852 to provide several of the downtown churches more room for interments, after their cemeteries became full...
515 South Market Street in Frederick.
Monuments and memorials
More than one school is named after Thomas Johnson, e.g.,Governor Thomas Johnson High School
Governor Thomas Johnson High School
for schools of the same name.Governor Thomas Johnson High School is a Four-Year Visual & Performing Arts public high school in Frederick, MD, Frederick County, Maryland, United States.- Thomas Johnson :...
in Frederick, Maryland
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, Governor Thomas Johnson Middle School in Frederick, Maryland, Thomas Johnson Middle School in Lanham, Maryland
Lanham, Maryland
Lanham is an unincorporated community in Prince George's County in the State of Maryland in the United States of America. Because it is not formally incorporated, it has no official boundaries, but the United States Census Bureau has defined a census-designated place consisting of Lanham and the...
and
Thomas Johnson Elementary School in Baltimore, Maryland.
In 1978, the Governor Thomas Johnson Bridge was opened to traffic after being named for Johnson. The bridge crosses the Patuxent River
Patuxent River
The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeast passing through Baltimore, and the Patuxent River between...
and connects Calvert County, Maryland
Calvert County, Maryland
Calvert County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. It occupies the Calvert Peninsula which is bordered on the east by the Chesapeake Bay and on the west by the Patuxent River. Calvert County is part of the Southern Maryland region. Calvert County's residents are among the highest...
with St. Mary's County, Maryland.
See also
- Catoctin FurnaceCatoctin FurnaceCatoctin Furnace was constructed in 1774 by four brothers Thomas, Baker, Roger and James Johnson to produce pig iron from locally mined hematite.In blast by 1776,...
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Jay Court
Further reading
- Flanders, Henry. http://books.google.com/books?id=eEQEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&dq=Flanders,+Henry.+The+Lives+and+Times+of+the+Chief+Justices+of+the+United+States+Supreme+Court&source=bl&ots=TlVq46f3l1&sig=xFW-bezy_iOIcXW3X8l-bbzddk8&hl=en&ei=kh1TS5atOIzkNc3DuYkJ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=falseThe Lives and Times of the Chief Justices of the United States Supreme Court]. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1874 at Google Books.