Photographs of Louis A. Johnson, Lawyer and Politician
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 4029
Photographs of Louis A. Johnson (1891-1966), Clarksburg lawyer, and Washington, D.C. politician who founded the law office of Steptoe and Johnson. Highlights include group photo with Eddie Rickenbacker and others walking at the Indianapolis Speedway attending a race (1936), photo with President Truman at American Legion Event (1949), and other American Legion event photos.
English
No special access restriction applies.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
[Information adapted from Wikipedia.]
Johnson was born on 10 January 1891 in Roanoke, Virginia. He earned a law degree from the University of Virginia. After graduation he practiced law in Clarksburg, West Virginia; his firm, Steptoe & Johnson eventually opened offices in Charleston, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1916, he served as majority floor leader and chairman of the Judiciary Committee.
During World War I Johnson saw action as an Army Captain in France, where he compiled a long report to the War Department on Army management and material requisition practices. After the war he resumed his law practice and was active in veterans' affairs, helping to found the American Legion and serving as its national commander in 1932-33.
As Assistant Secretary of War from 1937 to 1940, Johnson advocated Universal Military education and training, rearmament, and expansion of military aviation. He feuded with isolationist Secretary of War Harry Hines Woodring over military aid to Great Britain. During World War II, Johnson had no major responsibilities within the government involving military matters, though he did agree to participate in the Roosevelt administration's war mobilization of U.S. industry.
Louis Arthur Johnson was the second United States Secretary of Defense, serving in the cabinet of President Harry S. Truman from March 28, 1949 to September 19, 1950. President Truman replaced him with General George C. Marshall.
His political career at an end, Johnson returned to his law practice, which he pursued until his death from a stroke in 1966 in Washington, D.C. at the age of 75. Johnson is buried at the Elkview Masonic Cemetery in Clarksburg, West Virginia.
0.01 Linear Feet (Summary: 1/4 in. (14 items in 1 folder))
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / Fax: 304-293-3981 / URL: https://wvrhc.lib.wvu.edu/
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository