Isaac Johnson

     Isaac Johnson was born on 1 November 1803 at Troy Plantation, St. Francisville, West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.¹ He was the son of John Hunter Johnson and Thenia Munson.¹ He married Charlotte McDermett.¹ He died of a heart attack on 15 March 1853 in New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, at age 49.² He was buried in West Feliciana Parish.²
     
     Isaac Johnson was born one day after the Senate authorized President Jefferson to take possession of the Louisiana Territory. He grew up on Troy Plantation and was privately tutored and studied law with his uncle. He was an Episcopalian. He rose to the rank of Major General in the State Militia, and served as State Representative, State Judge, and Secretary of State before being elected as the thirteenth Governor of Louisiana in 1846. His term as Governor began in controversy when Whig Party opponents claimed he had taken an improper oath and was not legally governor. His administration continued in conflict when he appointed Whigs instead of fellow Democrats to some offices. Johnson took a strong stand on the issue of the expansion of slavery into new U. S. territories. He denounced illegal the Wilmot Proviso which would have prohibited the sale of slaves in the territories obtained from Mexico after the Mexican War. In 1849, Johnson moved his office to Baton Rouge--the new seat of state government had been selected by the legislature in 1846. He became Attorney General after he left the Governors office in 1850. He died of a heart attack in a New Orleans hotel in 1853 while running for a seat on the State Supreme Court.^1,2