Samuel Johnston

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Samuel Johnston

Samuel Johnston (born December 15, 1733 in Dundee , Scotland , † August 17, 1816 near Edenton in Chowan County , North Carolina ) was an American politician and the sixth governor of North Carolina.

Early years

When Samuel was three years old, his parents immigrated to the British colonies in America and settled in what is now Chowan County, North Carolina. However, he received his school education in New England. He then studied law in North Carolina and opened a law firm in Edenton. Between 1760 and 1775 he was a member of the North Carolina colonial parliament . At the same time he was employed in the administration of the Colony's Supreme Court. When the American Revolution broke out , he was on the side of the Americans. He attended several meetings in North Carolina in preparation for independence.

Political rise

In 1779, Johnston was elected to the North Carolina Senate. The Senate appointed him delegate for the American Continental Congress from 1780 to 1781. There he was elected the first president after the passage of the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the USA, which was valid until 1788. Johnston turned down the election. Instead, he returned to North Carolina and again served in the state's Senate from 1783 to 1784. In 1787, he was elected Governor of North Carolina to succeed Richard Caswell .

North Carolina Governor

Overall, Johnston was elected governor three times in a row. His term of office began on December 20, 1787 and ended on December 17, 1789. Right at the beginning of his third term, he resigned from his office to move to Congress as a senator. In 1788, as governor, he chaired the assembly that ratified the new US Constitution. Otherwise, his term of office passed without any particular highlights. There was still the border conflict in the west with the self-proclaimed “State of Franklin” under the leadership of John Sevier and the post-war development phase of the country was in full swing.

Further career

Johnston, who was a member of the Federalist Party , remained a senator in the US Congress until 1793. Between 1800 and 1803 he was a judge at a state court in North Carolina. This was his last public office. He died in 1816 on his plantation called “Hayes Plantation” near Edenton in Chowan County.

His nephew, James Iredell , later also became governor.

literature

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn .; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Johnston, Samuel
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician and governor of North Carolina
DATE OF BIRTH December 15, 1733
PLACE OF BIRTH Dundee , Scotland
DATE OF DEATH 17th August 1816
Place of death near Edenton , Chowan County , North Carolina