Cave Johnson

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Cave Johnson

Cave Johnson (born January 11, 1793 in Robertson County , Southwest Territory , †  November 23, 1866 in Clarksville , Tennessee ) was an American politician who belonged to the cabinet of US President James K. Polk as Minister of Post .

After finishing school, Johnson attended Cumberland College in Nashville . He studied law , was inducted into the bar in 1814, and worked as a lawyer in Clarksville. In 1817 he became a district attorney for Montgomery County .

In 1829, Andrew Jackson's partisan was elected to the US House of Representatives for the state of Tennessee , to which he initially belonged for four session periods until 1837 as a representative of the eighth electoral district ; during this time he was chairman of the private land tenure committee. After a missed re-election in 1836, he managed to return to Washington two years later : Three more terms in Congress followed , in which he chaired several committees.

After James K. Polk took up his new office as US President in March 1845, he appointed Cave Johnson as Postmaster General in his cabinet . During his four-year tenure, he fundamentally changed the delivery system in the United States. Until then, letters were paid for by cash on delivery . From 1847, postage stamps were introduced and the option of prepayment was available. In addition, the introduction of letter boxes in large cities can be traced back to him. Johnson was also involved in setting up the first regular mail steamship line between the United States and mainland Europe, which was put into operation in 1847 by the newly founded Ocean Steam Navigation Company between New York and Bremerhaven .

Together with James K. Polk, who no longer ran after four years, Cave Johnson left the government. He initially acted from 1850 to 1851 as a judge for the 7th  Federal Court District ; from 1854 to 1860 he was President of the Bank of Tennessee .

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personal data
SURNAME Johnson, Cave
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 11, 1793
PLACE OF BIRTH Robertson County , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH November 23, 1866
Place of death Clarksville , Tennessee