JOHNSON, WILLIAM
William Johnson served in the South Carolina House of Representatives from 1794 to 1798 and as speaker of the house in 1798. He was then elected judge of the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas. In 1804 he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. He served on the U.S.
Supreme Court until his death in 1834, earning a
reputation as a critic of Chief Justice JOHN MAR-
SHALL, a writer of dissenting opinions, and a
nationalist with regard to federal-state relations.
Johnson was born December 27, 1771, in
Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of
Sarah Nightingale Johnson and of William
Johnson, a blacksmith, legislator, and well-
known Revolutionary patriot. During the Revo-
lutionary War, when the British captured
Charleston, Johnson’s father was sent to deten-
tion in Florida, and the family was exiled from
its home. The Johnsons returned to South Car-
olina after being reunited months later.
Johnson graduated first in his class from
Princeton in 1790. He then returned to
Charleston to study law under Charles C. Pinck-
ney, a prominent adviser to President GEORGE WASHINGTON. Johnson was admitted to the bar in 1793.
In 1794 Johnson married Sarah Bennett, sister
of Thomas Bennett, a future governor of South
Carolina. The couple had eight children, six of
whom died in childhood. They also later adopted
two refugee children from Santo Domingo.
From 1794 to 1798, Johnson served in South
Carolina’s house of representatives as a member
of Thomas Jefferson’s new REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Johnson was speaker of the house in 1798. He was then elected judge of the court of common pleas, the state’s highest court.
In 1804 President Jefferson appointed John-
son to the U.S. Supreme Court.During his thirty
years of service on the Court, Johnson became
known as a critic of Chief Justice John Marshall.
Johnson has been called the first great Court dis-
senter because he established a tradition of dis-
senting opinions. Among his most noteworthy
opinions was his dissent in Craig v. Missouri, 29
U.S. (4 Pet.) 410, 7 L. Ed. 903 (1830). In Craig v.
Missouri, Johnson argued in his dissent that states should be able to issue temporary bills of credit or loans.
In general, Johnson leaned toward the nationalist position in judicial issues involving federal-
