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Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 or 1781 – November 19, 1850) was the ninth Vice President of the United States, serving in the administration of Martin Van Buren (1837–1841). 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. Following 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 following year. In 1836, Johnson was the Democratic nominee for vice-president on a ticket with Martin Van Buren. Campaigning with the slogan "Rumpsey Dumpsey, Rumpsey Dumpsey, Colonel Johnson killed Tecumseh", Johnson fell just short of the electoral votes needed to secure his election. Virginia's delegation to the Electoral College went against the state's popular vote and refused to endorse Johnson. However, he was elected to the office by the Senate, which was dominated by Democrats. Johnson proved such a liability for the Democrats in the 1836 election that they refused to renominate him for vice-president in 1840. Van Buren campaigned without a running mate. He lost to William Henry Harrison, a Whig. Johnson tried to return to public office but was defeated. He finally was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1850, but he died on November 19, 1850, just two weeks into his term. ==Early life and education== Richard Mentor Johnson was born on October 17, 1780, the fifth of Robert and Jemima (Suggett) Johnson's eleven children.〔Bevins, ''Richard M Johnson narrative: Personal and Family Life''〕 At the time, the family was living in the newly founded settlement of "Beargrass", near present-day Louisville, Kentucky;〔Hatfield, ''Vice Presidents (1789–1993)''〕 Kentucky was part of Virginia until organized and admitted as a state in 1792. By 1782, the Johnsons had moved to Bryan's Station (future Lexington) in Fayette County.〔Kleber, p. 475〕 Johnson's mother was considered among the heroic women of the community because of her actions during Simon Girty's raid on Bryan's Station in August 1782.〔〔Burke, ''Window to the Past''〕 According to tradition, as Girty's forces surrounded the fort, the occupants discovered that they had almost no water inside to withstand a siege.〔Meyer, p. 22〕 Several Indians had concealed themselves near the spring outside the fort. The Kentuckians reasoned that the Indians would stay hidden until they attacked.〔 Jemima Johnson approved a plan for the women to go alone and collect water from the spring as usual.〔Meyer, p. 23〕 Many men disapproved of the plan, fearing the women would be attacked and killed. However, faced with no other option they finally agreed.〔 Shortly after sunrise, the women went to the spring and returned without incident.〔 Not long after they had returned, the attack began.〔 Indian warriors set fire to several houses and stables, but a favorable wind kept the fires from spreading.〔 Children used the water drawn by the women to put out the fires.〔Meyer, p. 24〕 A flaming arrow landed in baby Richard Johnson's crib, but it was doused by his sister Betsy.〔 Help arrived from Lexington and Boone Station, and the Indians retreated.〔 By 1784, the Johnson family was at Great Crossing in Scott County. In 1779 Johnson purchased 2000 acres from Patrick Henry and a large portion of James Madison's 3000-acre land grant in the area.〔 As a surveyor, Robert Johnson became successful through well-chosen land purchases and being early in the region when huge land grants were made.〔Pratt, p. 82; McManus〕 The son Richard Johnson did not begin his formal education until age fifteen, since there were no schools on the frontier. He entered Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky.〔Emmons, p.9, Langworthy, p.7; records from Meyer.〕 By 1799, he was studying law (reading the law) as a legal apprentice with George Nicholas and James Brown. They were professors of law at the University in addition to being in private practice. This was the customary way for many young men to enter the law. At least two of Johnson's brothers had notable careers as well: the eldest, James Johnson, went into shipping and stagecoach lines.〔, Georgetown & Scott County Museum, accessed 11 November 2013〕 A younger brother, John T. Johnson, became a minister and prominent in the Christian Churches,〔 a 19th-century movement in the Protestant congregations. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Richard Mentor Johnson」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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