Richard Mentor Johnson was born on October 17,1780 in Beargrass, near present-day Louisville, Kentucky, then part of Virginia. The Johnsons were an established family of means. Johnson’s parents had come from Orange County, Virginia, in 1779 and by 1812 were one of the largest landowning families in Kentucky. Richard Johnson’s father served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, the Kentucky Constitutional Convention, and the Kentucky state legislature. Two of Johnson’s brothers served in the U.S. House of Representatives and a third was a federal district judge. The family excelled in securing government contracts for family members and friends, which along with their financial interests in local newspapers, added to their political influence.
Richard Johnson read for the law and was admitted to the bar in 1802. He started a law practice in Great Crossings, Kentucky, and operated a store and entered into other business ventures with his brothers. He also inherited a large amount of land and slaves from his father. He soon became a very wealthy man. Even so, he identified with the average man, and often represented them for free against more wealthy people. He often received people in need, such as veterans and widows, at his home. Margaret Bayard Smith, a Washington socialite, described him as “the most tender hearted, mild, affectionate and benevolent of men . . . whose countenance beams with good will to all, whose soul seems to feed on the milk of human kindness.” He “might have been a fashionable man if not for his retiring nature and plain . . . dress and manners.” One writer said Johnson possessed “the rare quality of being liked by everyone.” He would be described very differently later in his life.
From 1804 to 1806, Johnson served in the Kentucky House of Representatives. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1806, and served for six consecutive terms. In 1818, he did not run for re-election, but instead ran for the U.S. Senate.
