In 1816, he was appointed as Deputy Attorney General of Maryland, a position he held until 1817. Johnson fired a pistol at a tree, from which the ball rebounded and hit Johnson's left eye, blinding that eye and triggering the gradual onset of a sympathetic deterioration of the other eye that worsened over the rest of his life, eventually leaving him almost completely blind.
Federal politics From 1845 to 1849, Johnson represented Maryland in the
United States Senate as a
Whig. From his confirmation by the Senate in March 1849 until July 1850, Johnson was
Attorney General of the United States under President
Zachary Taylor. While U.S. Attorney General, he was allowed to help Virginians
Charles W. Russell and
Alexander H. H. Stuart defend the
Wheeling Suspension Bridge in his private capacity, that bridge also connecting two sections of the
National Road as the first bridge crossing a major river west of the Appalachian Mountains. Although the plaintiffs technically won twice based on their argument that the bridge obstructed a navigable river, the bridge was never demolished (only repaired after wind damage) and further bridges were then constructed, including one over the
Mississippi River at Rock Island in 1856.(which also led to litigation). In November 1856, a large crowd, armed with guns and clubs, burned an
effigy of Johnson on the railing of the Battle Monument in front of his house to protest a speech he made in New York against President Fillmore. A conservative
Democrat, Johnson supported
Stephen A. Douglas in the
presidential election of 1860. He represented the
slave-owning
defendant in the controversial 1857 case
Dred Scott v. Sandford. However, Johnson was personally opposed to slavery and became a key figure in the effort to keep Maryland from seceding from the
Union during the
American Civil War. He served as a Maryland delegate to the
Peace Convention of 1861 and from 1861 to 1862 served in the
Maryland House of Delegates. During this time he represented Maj. Gen.
Fitz John Porter at his
court-martial, arguing that Porter's distinguished record of service ought to put him beyond question. The officers on the court-martial, all handpicked by
Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, voted to convict Porter of cowardice and disobedience. After the capture of
New Orleans, President
Abraham Lincoln commissioned Johnson to revise the decisions of the military commandant,
General Benjamin F. Butler, in regard to foreign governments, and reversed all those decisions to the entire satisfaction of the administration. After the war, reflecting the diverse points of view held by his fellow statesmen, Johnson argued for a gentler
Reconstruction effort than that advocated by the
Radical Republicans.
Return to the U.S. Senate In 1863, he again took a seat in the United States Senate, serving through 1868. "The
antislavery amendment caught Johnson's eye, however, because it offered an indisputable constitutional solution to the problem of slavery." In 1864, in a speech on the Senate floor, Johnson "cut loose from all Pro-Slavery associations by a bold declaration of strongest Anti Slavery sentiments", speaking in favor of the immediate and universal emancipation, and advocated the proposed amendment to the Constitution forever prohibiting slavery in the United States. In 1865, he defended
Mary Surratt before a military tribunal. In 1866, he addressed the Senate regarding the appointment of provisional governors in the Southern States. In 1867, Johnson voted for the
Reconstruction Act of 1867, the only Democrat to vote for a Reconstruction measure in 1866 or 1867.
Ambassador to the United Kingdom On June 12, 1868, he was appointed minister to the
United Kingdom, beginning his term on September 14, 1868. While in England, he was criticized for fraternizing with the
Lairds,
Wharncliffes,
Roebucks, and
Gregorios, of England, which was considered a blunder in diplomacy. Soon after his arrival in England negotiated the
Johnson-Clarendon Treaty for the settlement of disputes arising out of the Civil War, including the
Alabama Claims. The Senate, however, refused to advise and consent to
ratification, and he returned home on the accession of General
Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency.
Later career Again resuming his legal practice, he defended
Ku Klux Klan members against indictments brought under the
Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871. Even though out of office, Johnson continued to offer his opinion on public matters. In December 1874, he wrote to
The New York Times, stating that he hoped that after the next Presidential Election, "the General Government will thereafter be brought back into the part of the Constitution, that the limits of its powers will be maintained, that the reserved authority of the States will be recognized, and that the rights of its citizens will be faithfully preserved." In December 1875, he wrote a letter to the
Baltimore Sun discussing the potential impact of England's purchase of a controlling interest in the
Suez Canal. In early 1876, Johnson was in Annapolis arguing the case of
Baker v. Frick in the Court of Appeals and was a guest at the
Maryland Governor's Mansion. On February 10, during a dinner party at the mansion, he fell near a basement door, possibly after tripping, and was killed instantly after hitting his head on a sharp corner of the mansion's
granite base course and then again on the
cobblestone pavement. He was the last surviving member of Taylor's cabinet. Upon Johnson's death, the Supreme Court Bar unanimously issued a statement that praised Johnson for his contributions to the Court, and expressed their condolences for his sudden passing. ==Personal life==