J. Neely Johnson - Biography

Biography

Born in rural Gibson County, Indiana, Johnson studied to become a lawyer, successfully completing his studies at the age of 21 in Iowa. In July 1849, Johnson abandoned law to join the Gold Rush in California. Johnson briefly employed himself as a gold prospector, and later as a mule train driver. Upon settling in Sacramento, Johnson restarted his law career, and at the age of 25 in 1850, was elected as Sacramento city attorney. After two years of working in the City Attorney's office in the growing inland city, Johnson embarked on beginning a political career. In the 1852 general election, running as a Democrat, Johnson was elected to the California State Assembly as one of four members representing Sacramento.

During his time in the Assembly, Johnson famously nearly broke a local editor's nose after accusing the editor of writing an insulting article on the young Assemblyman. The editor pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Johnson, but was tackled by onlookers before he could fire.

By 1854, both the state and federal wings of the Democratic Party increasingly split into two separate Lecompton and Anti-Lecompton camps due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Frustrated with increasingly frequent and sometimes violent party splits, Johnson abandoned the Democrats and joined the Nativist American Party, known popularly as the "Know Nothings" due to their semi-secret meetings where members frequently responded when asked of their political activities, "I know nothing." The Whig Party, once a force in national and state politics, all but collapsed.

During the 1855 general elections, the new American Party, fresh from the Whig disintergration and hoping to capitalize on Democratic divisions and growing anti-Catholic sentiment, nominated Assemblyman Johnson as its candidate for Governor of California, running against incumbent Governor John Bigler, who hoped to garner a third term. Johnson and the American Party's distinct anti-immigrant rhetoric and fatigue from deep Democratic divisions proved popular with the electorate, giving Johnson the governorship by a comfortable margin. Johnson was described as "the most startled man in the state" upon hearing of his election. Along with the governorship, Know Nothings also received considerable gains in the California State Legislature, as well as getting elected to every other major executive post in the state, such as the offices of Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, and Controller.