Edwin C Johnson
26th Governor and 34th Governor
Governors: Bill Ritter | Bill Owens | Roy R Romer | Richard D Lamm | John D Vanderhoof | John A Love | Stephen LR McNichols | Edwin C Johnson | Daniel IJ Thornton | Walter W Johnson | William L Knous | John C Vivian | Ralph L Carr | Teller Ammons | Ray H Talbot | Edwin C Johnson | Williams H Adams | Clarence J Morley | William Sweet | Oliver H Shoup | Julius Gunter | George Carlson | Elias M Ammons | John Shafroth | Henry Buchtel | Jesse F McDonald | James H Peabody | Alva Adams | James H Peabody | James B Orman | Charles S Thomas | Alva Adams | Albert W McIntire | Davis H Waite | John L Routt | Job A Cooper | Alva Adams | Benjamin H Eaton | James B Grant | Frederick W Pitkin | John L Routt | Territorial governors: John L Routt | Edward McCook | Samuel E Elbert | Edward McCook | Alexander C Hunter | Alexander Cummings | John Evans | William Gilpin |
25th Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant Governors: Jane E Norton | Joe Rogers | Gail Schoettler | Sam Cassidy | Mike Callihan | Nancy E Dick | George L Brown | Ted Strickland | John D Vanderhoof | Mark Anthony Hogan | Robert Lee Knous | Frank L Hays | Stephen LR McNichols | Gordon Llewellyn Allott | Charles Murphy | Walter Walford Johnson | Homer L Pearson | William Eugene Higby | John C Vivian | Frank J Hayes | Raymond Herbert Talbot | Edwin C Johnson | George Milton Corlett | Sterling Byrd Lacy | Robert Fay Rockwell | Earl Cooley | George Stephan | James A Pulliam | Moses E Lewis | Stephen R Fitzgarrald | Erastus R Harper | Fred W Parks | Arthur Cornforth | Jesse F McDonald | Warren Armstrong Haggott | David Courtney Coates | Francis Patrick Carney | Jared L Brush | David Hopkinson Nichols | William Story | William Grover Smith | Norman H Meldrum | Peter W Breene | William H Meyer | Horace Austin Warner Tabor | Lafayette Head |
Biography
Edwin Carl Johnson, Governor of Colorado in 1933 – 1937 and 1955 – 1957, was born January 1, 1884 in Scandia, Kansas. Four years later his family moved to Nebraska, where Johnson had the privilege to attend Lincoln High under the tutelage of a substitute teacher named William Jennings Bryan. After graduation in 1903 Johnson pursued his dream of becoming a railroad man, and after numerous positions became a train dispatcher/telegrapher at Fairmont, Nebraska.
In 1909 Johnson contracted tuberculosis and was advised to go to Colorado where the climate was believed to be the cure. Johnson and his new wife arrived at the tent colony in Fountain, Colorado, where he convalesced for one year. After his successful recovery, Johnson and his wife built a wilderness homestead near Craig, Colorado. During its construction, the Johnsons lived in a nearby cave that offered them scant protection from the elements. This rustic background endeared him to the Colorado populace and helped him secure eleven undefeated political elections.
"Big Ed", as Johnson was affectionately named, has the distinct honor of being the only person to serve three terms as Governor of Colorado and three terms as a United States Senator. Beginning in 1923, Johnson served in the Colorado House of Representatives for four consecutive terms. Eight years later Johnson was elected Lieutenant Governor and served as the private secretary for Governor William "Billy" Adams. Based on his commitment to the development of the Colorado highway system and his leadership within the Democratic Party, Johnson became Governor of Colorado in 1933 and was reelected two years later. Johnson also served as President of the Colorado Senate from 1931 to 1932. In 1937 he began his first of three consecutive terms as a United States Senator.
Johnson’s greatest challenge as governor was to deal with the Great Depression in the 1930's. Even though Johnson was a Democrat he did not support New Deal legislation. "Big Ed" instead created his own statewide reorganization and reform program. Tax reduction, a $20 million highway construction program, balanced budget legislation, and civil service reform earmarked this successful program. Edwin Johnson's isolationist views became apparent in 1936 when he called out the National Guard to prevent the entry into Colorado of Mexican migrant farm laborers. Pressured by federal government and other public officials, he reversed this stance but reinstituted the ban in 1958.
Despite his popularity, Senator Edwin Johnson is known for his political vacillations, which were largely caused by his allegiances being split between the Democratic Party and his Republican constituency. For instance, while "Big Ed" was a proponent of isolationism and consistently voted against America’s military involvement in foreign wars, he became Vice-Chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee and was instrumental in the creation of the G.I. Bill of Rights, Lowry Air Force Base, and the Air Force Academy. Once the United States entered World War II, Johnson was solidly behind the war effort, even supporting the Japanese internment camps; a political stance which placed him in direct conflict with Governor Ralph Carr who was much more sympathetic to the Japanese-American population. Johnson's ideological schism is also illustrated by his isolationist votes against lend-lease legislation and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) before the war, while conversely supporting the United Nations Charter and Marshall Plan following World War II. Johnson's isolationist viewpoints surfaced again at his last major address as a United States Senator when he warned the Senate about committing American troops to the Indochina / Vietnam conflict in the 1950's.
Edwin Johnson’s controversial and often conflicting stances were not limited to Depression politics and military affairs. Johnson was on the committee that censured Senator Joseph McCarthy, yet he introduced legislation requiring the licensing of movie performers based on their morality. This legislation was introduced after Johnson publicly called Ingrid Bergman "an apostle of degradation" and her lover / director Roberto Rossellini "vile and unspeakable…Unconventional free – love conduct must be regarded…as an assault upon the institution of marriage."
Concerning most of his policies and programs, however, Johnson had few detractors. He was supported in most of his endeavors and was ultimately responsible for the creation of Interstate 70 and the majority of the Colorado highway system as it stands today. Johnson also co-authored the sections to the Atomic Energy Bill that created the uranium boom in the Four Corners Area of Colorado in the late 1940's. Edwin Johnson was also a campaigner for water reclamation projects such as the Colorado Big Thompson project and for the development of oil shale as a viable energy source.
"Big Ed" seemed unwilling to retire from public office, and after his gubernatorial victory in 1954 continued to act as one of the state’s most dedicated public servants. He served on numerous committees including the Upper Colorado River Commission, the McNichols Reapportionment Commission, the Colorado Commission on the Aged, and the Colorado Committee of 100 on Metro Government. He was also President of the Western Baseball League, instrumental in the construction of Bears Stadium / Mile High Stadium, and was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1968. On May 30, 1970 Edwin "Big Ed" Johnson died of a heart related illness at Denver’s St. Joseph Hospital.