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Richard M. Johnson

Richard Mentor Johnson
RichardMentorJohnson.png
9th Vice President of the United States
In office
March 4, 1837 – March 4, 1841
President Martin Van Buren
Preceded by Martin Van Buren
Succeeded by John Tyler
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 13th district
In office
March 4, 1833 – March 3, 1837
Preceded by District created
Succeeded by William Wright Southgate
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 5th district
In office
March 4, 1829 – March 3, 1833
Preceded by Robert L. McHatton
Succeeded by Robert P. Letcher
United States Senator
from Kentucky
In office
December 10, 1819 – March 3, 1829
Preceded by John J. Crittenden
Succeeded by George M. Bibb
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 3rd district
In office
March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1819
Preceded by Stephen Ormsby
Succeeded by William Brown
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Kentucky's 4th district
In office
March 4, 1807 – March 3, 1813
Preceded by Thomas Sandford
Succeeded by Joseph Desha
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office
1804–1806
1819
1841–1843
1850
Personal details
Born (1780-10-17)October 17, 1780
Beargrass, Virginia (now Kentucky), United States
Died November 19, 1850(1850-11-19) (aged 70)
Frankfort, Kentucky
Political party Democratic-Republican, Democratic
Spouse(s) Julia Ann Chinn (c.1790–1833) (common law marriage)
Relations Brother of James Johnson
Brother of John Telemachus Johnson
Uncle of Robert Ward Johnson
Children
  • Adaline Chinn Johnson
  • Imogene Chinn Johnson
Alma mater Transylvania University
Religion Baptist
Signature Cursive signature in ink
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1812–1814
Rank Colonel
Battles/wars

War of 1812


War of 1812

Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) was the ninth Vice President of the United States, serving in the administration of Martin Van Buren (1837–41). He is the only vice president ever elected by the United States Senate under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. Johnson also represented Kentucky in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate; he began and ended his political career in the Kentucky House of Representatives.

Johnson was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1806. He became allied with fellow Kentuckian Henry Clay as a member of the War Hawks faction that favored war with Britain in 1812. At the outset of the War of 1812, Johnson was commissioned a colonel in the Kentucky Militia and commanded a regiment of mounted volunteers from 1812 to 1813. He and his brother James served under William Henry Harrison in Upper Canada. Johnson participated in the Battle of the Thames. Some reported that he personally killed the Shawnee chief Tecumseh, which he later used to his political advantage.

After the war, Johnson returned to the House of Representatives. The legislature appointed him to the Senate in 1819 to fill the seat vacated by John J. Crittenden. As his prominence grew, his interracial relationship with Julia Chinn, an octoroon slave, was more widely criticized. It worked against his political ambitions. Unlike other upper class leaders who had African American mistresses but never mentioned them, Johnson openly treated Chinn as his common law wife. He acknowledged their two daughters as his children, giving them his surname, much to the consternation of some of his constituents. The relationship is believed to have led to the loss of his Senate seat in 1829, but his Congressional district returned him to the House the next year.


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