 William
Samuel Johnson was the son of Samuel Johnson, the first president of
King's College (later Columbia College and University). William was
born at Stratford, CT, in 1727. His father, who was a well-known
Anglican clergyman-philosopher, prepared him for college and he
graduated from Yale in 1744. About 3 years later he won a master of
arts degree from the same institution and an honorary master's from
Harvard.Resisting his father's wish
that he become a minister, Johnson embraced law instead--largely by
educating himself and without benefit of formal training. After
admittance to the bar, he launched a practice in Stratford,
representing clients from nearby New York State as well as
Connecticut, and before long he established business connections
with various mercantile houses in New York City. In 1749, adding to
his already substantial wealth, he married Anne Beach, daughter of a
local businessman. The couple was to have five daughters and six
sons, but many of them died at an early age.
Johnson did not shirk the civic
responsibilities of one of his station. In the 1750s he began his
public career as a Connecticut militia officer. In 1761 and 1765 he
served in the lower house of the colonial assembly. In 1766 and 1771
he was elected to the upper house. At the time of the Revolution,
Johnson was disturbed by conflicting loyalties. Although he attended
the Stamp Act Congress in 1765, moderately opposed the Townshend
Duties of 1767, and believed that most British policies were unwise,
he retained strong transatlantic ties and found it difficult to
choose sides. Many of his friends resided in Britain; in 1765 and
1766 Oxford University conferred honorary master's and doctor's
degrees upon him; he had a strong association with the Anglican
Church; he acted as Connecticut's agent in Britain during the years
1767-71; and he was friendly with men such as Jared Ingersoll, Sr.,
who were affiliated with the British administration.
Johnson finally decided to work for peace
between Britain and the colonies and to oppose the extremist Whig
faction. On that basis, he refused to participate in the First
Continental Congress, to which he was elected in 1774, following
service as a judge of the Connecticut colonial supreme court
(1772-74). When hostilities broke out, he confined his activities to
peacemaking efforts. In April 1775 Connecticut sent him and another
emissary to speak to British Gen. Thomas Gage about ending the
bloodshed. But the time was not ripe for negotiations and they
failed. Johnson fell out of favor with radical patriot elements who
gained the ascendancy in Connecticut government and they no longer
called upon his service. Although he was arrested in 1779 on charges
of communicating with the enemy, he cleared himself and was
released.
Once the passions of war had ebbed, Johnson
resumed his political career. In the Continental Congress (1785-87),
he was one of the most influential and popular delegates. Playing a
major role in the Constitutional Convention, he missed no sessions
after arriving on June 2; espoused the Connecticut Compromise; and
chaired the Committee of Style, which shaped the final document. He
also worked for ratification in Connecticut.
Johnson took part in the new government, in the
U.S. Senate where he contributed to passage of the Judiciary Act of
1789. In 1791, the year after the government moved from New York to
Philadelphia, he resigned mainly because he preferred to devote all
his energies to the presidency of Columbia College (1787-1800), in
New York City. During these years, he established the school on a
firm basis and recruited a fine faculty.
Johnson retired from the college in 1800, a few
years after his wife died, and in the same year wed Mary Brewster
Beach, a relative of his first bride. They resided at his
birthplace, Stratford. He died there in 1819 at the age of 92 and
was buried at OldEpiscopal Cemetery. |
