Home » History » American Presidents » WHEN NO ONE WON: RICHARD MENTOR JOHNSON, PART III

WHEN NO ONE WON: RICHARD MENTOR JOHNSON, PART III

© John S. Cooper

Johnson’s actions in “marrying” slaves, trying to recognize them as equal to white plantation aristocracy ladies and forcing them upon society as such, cost him, and the Democratic ticket, many southern votes. His selling of his “wife” back into slavery hurt him, and again the Democratic ticket, in the North. For all this, Johnson failed to help win western votes he was expected to attract. In fact, Johnson’s presence on the ticket did not even help them in Kentucky, which they lost to Harrison and the Whigs.

In spite of all this, Van Buren and Johnson managed to win a narrow popular vote majority and a majority in the electoral college. All the Democratic electors voted for Van Buren for President. But the Virginia delegation refused to vote for Johnson for Vice President, casting their 23 votes for William Smith. This resulted in Johnson having one vote less than a majority, and threw the election of the Vice President into the U.S. Senate.

When Congress convened to count the electoral vote, Van Buren had 170 and was declared “duly elected President of the United States.” When the votes for Vice President were counted, Johnson had 147, one vote short of a majority. Francis Granger had 77, and William Smith had 23. The Senate then retired to their own chamber to elect the Vice President according to the Constitution. When the Senators voted along strict party lines, Johnson had 33, Granger had 16, and President Pro Tem William King (who himself would be elected Vice President in 1852) declared Johnson “constitutionally elected Vice President of the United States for four years, commencing on the fourth day of March, 1837.”

As Vice President, Johnson found himself with considerably less influence than he had while a member of Congress. During Jackson’s two terms, Johnson’s influence in the House and his long-standing personal and political friendship with Jackson had always assured him access to the President and the influence that went with that access. Given his rivalry with Van Buren, plus his poor showing in the 1836 election, he found his role in the Van Buren administration very limited. Johnson’s activities were confined to the Senate chamber where he served as presiding officer.

Johnson was considered a competent presiding officer, but not a brilliant one. He made the most of his power to assign Senators to standing and select committees to continue to gain favors for himself and his family and friends. When he entered the Vice Presidency, he was still heavily in debt. He opened the Choctaw Academy and received funds for each student he enrolled as part of the government’s attempt to “socialize and civilize” Native Americans. He also opened a spa, hotel and tavern at White Sulphur Spring, Kentucky. Although very successful and fashionable, this spa became an embarrassment to the Van Buren administration. Johnson spent much of his term running his spa rather than being in Washington.

Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson (1837-1841)

The copyright of the article WHEN NO ONE WON: RICHARD MENTOR JOHNSON, PART III in American Presidents is owned by . Permission to republish WHEN NO ONE WON: RICHARD MENTOR JOHNSON, PART III in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.