Virginia Johnson (Arkansas)
Encyclopedia
Virginia Lillian Morris Johnson (January 21, 1928–June 27, 2007), was, in 1968, the first woman to seek the office of governor of Arkansas.
in Faulkner County, Arkansas
, to Jesse Lyman Morris, Sr., and the former Frances Morgan. Her family later moved to El Paso
in White County
, Arkansas. Frances Morris died when Virginia was fourteen. The teenager then moved to Bee Branch
in Van Buren County to live with her maternal aunt and uncle by-marriage, Mildred Boots French and Thomas Quinn French (1903–1981). Jesse Morris, meanwhile, served in the United States Marine Corps
. Virginia Morris graduated as the valedictorian from Southside High School in Bee Branch and procured a scholarship
to study at Draughon’s School of Business in Little Rock
, the state's largest city and the seat of Pulaski County. After graduation, she was employed as a legal secretary
at the law firm of Carter, Pickthorne, and Jones. Later, she worked as an under-insurance secretary in Little Rock.
On December 21, 1947, 19-year-old Virginia Morris married James D. Johnson
, a 23-year-old attorney from Crossett
in Ashley County in south Arkansas. They later settled permanently at Beaverfork Lake near Conway. Virginia Johnson served as her husband's legal secretary for his entire legal career.
In 1950, Jim Johnson was elected to the Arkansas State Senate, and his wife served on the Senate staff during the 1951 and 1953 legislative sessions. In 1956, she headed her husband's successful petition drive to place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot calling upon the Arkansas General Assembly to oppose the 9-0 Brown v. Board of Education
decision of the United States Supreme Court regarding school desegregation
. The measure was repealed in 1990, though Johnson never wavered in her support for it. She wrote the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
in Little Rock in 2005 that Arkansas people "have solid convictions and, if offered the opportunity, they will demonstrate once again that they prefer their own," a reference to segregation
. She assisted in her husband's failed bid to oust Orval Eugene Faubus
in the 1956 Democratic primary and in his successful 1958 campaign for a spot on the Arkansas Supreme Court
.
primary election
for the nomination
to oppose the Republican
incumbent
Winthrop Rockefeller
, younger brother of then Governor
Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York
. State Representative
Marion H. Crank (1915–1994) of Foreman
in Little River County
, led the five-candidate field with 106,092 votes (25.6 percent). Johnson, like her husband a segregationist, finished second with 86,038 votes (20.7 percent). Johnson topped the third-place candidate, Ted Boswell, an attorney from Bryant
in Saline County, by only 406 ballots. Boswell hence polled 85,727 votes. Former Arkansas Attorney General Bruce Bennett
finished fourth with 65,905 votes (15.7 percent), and Frank L. Whitbeck (1916–2002) of Little Rock followed with 61,758 (14.9 percent). In the runoff election two weeks later, Crank handily defeated Mrs. Johnson, 215,098 (63.3 percent) to her 124,880 ballots (36.7 percent). Crank then narrowly lost the general election
to Rockefeller.
Mrs. Johnson at first said that she would support Crank's bid against Rockefeller but instead withdrew her support from all Arkansas Democratic nominees in 1968. She declined to accept a spot on the Democratic State Executive Committee because the Johnsons supported George C. Wallace, Jr., nominee of the American Independent Party
for U.S. President, rather than the Democratic nominee, Vice President of the United States
Hubert H. Humphrey.
Jim Johnson ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate nomination against long-term incumbent J. William Fulbright
in the same 1968 election cycle in which his wife ran for governor. Arkansas voters that year split tickets to reelect Rockefeller and Fulbright, in what would be the last elections won by either man, and to cast electoral votes for George Wallace.
in his three gubernatorial races against the future Democratic President Bill Clinton
. Talk had persisted in 1982 that Jim Johnson would formally switch parties and challenge White for renomination and then, if successful in a primary, lead the GOP
banner against Clinton. However, while Johnson did not switch parties at the time, he and his wife expressed support for White's reelection. Jim Johnson had long been friendly with U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond
, a South Carolina
Republican who in 1981 had recommended the Arkansan for a vacancy on the U.S. Parole Commission. Virginia Johnson met with Governor White in Conway in the 1982 fall campaign and told him, "Don't you believe those polls," which repeatedly and correctly showed Clinton with his ultimate 55-45 percent victory margin over White.
Virginia Johnson died of cancer
at the age of seventy-eight. Jim Johnson was also stricken with the disease and took his own life by gunshot on February 13, 2010, some two and a half years after his wife's passing. They are interred at Oak Grove Cemetery in Conway. The Johnsons had three sons, Mark Johnson of Little Rock, John David Johnson of Fayetteville
, and Joseph Daniel Johnson of Conway.
Early years
Johnson was born in ConwayConway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
in Faulkner County, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, to Jesse Lyman Morris, Sr., and the former Frances Morgan. Her family later moved to El Paso
El Paso, Arkansas
El Paso is an unincorporated community in central Arkansas, located in southwestern White County. Its name is Spanish for "the pass", referring to a small gap in the hills on the community's northern edge...
in White County
White County, Arkansas
White County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 77,076. The county seat is Searcy. White County is Arkansas's 31st county, formed on October 23, 1835, from portions of Independence, Jackson, and Pulaski counties and named for Hugh Lawson White, a...
, Arkansas. Frances Morris died when Virginia was fourteen. The teenager then moved to Bee Branch
Bee Branch, Arkansas
Bee Branch is an unincorporated community in Van Buren County, Arkansas, U.S.A.. The community is located near secondary roads and no Interstate highways in the immediate area. U.S. Route 65 is the most major highway to go through Bee Branch. The elevation of Bee Branch is above sea level and its...
in Van Buren County to live with her maternal aunt and uncle by-marriage, Mildred Boots French and Thomas Quinn French (1903–1981). Jesse Morris, meanwhile, served in the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
. Virginia Morris graduated as the valedictorian from Southside High School in Bee Branch and procured a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to study at Draughon’s School of Business in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, the state's largest city and the seat of Pulaski County. After graduation, she was employed as a legal secretary
Legal secretary
A legal secretary is a particular category of worker within the legal profession.In the practice of law in the United States, a legal secretary is person who works in the legal profession, typically assisting lawyers. Legal secretaries help by preparing and filing legal documents, such as appeals...
at the law firm of Carter, Pickthorne, and Jones. Later, she worked as an under-insurance secretary in Little Rock.
On December 21, 1947, 19-year-old Virginia Morris married James D. Johnson
James D. Johnson
James Douglas Johnson, known as Justice Jim Johnson , was a former associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, a two-time candidate for governor of Arkansas in 1956 and 1966, and in 1968 an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S...
, a 23-year-old attorney from Crossett
Crossett, Arkansas
Crossett is the largest city in Ashley County, Arkansas, United States, with a population of 5,507, according to 2010 Census Bureau estimates. Combined with North Crossett and West Crossett, the population is 10,752...
in Ashley County in south Arkansas. They later settled permanently at Beaverfork Lake near Conway. Virginia Johnson served as her husband's legal secretary for his entire legal career.
In 1950, Jim Johnson was elected to the Arkansas State Senate, and his wife served on the Senate staff during the 1951 and 1953 legislative sessions. In 1956, she headed her husband's successful petition drive to place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot calling upon the Arkansas General Assembly to oppose the 9-0 Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
decision of the United States Supreme Court regarding school desegregation
Desegregation
Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...
. The measure was repealed in 1990, though Johnson never wavered in her support for it. She wrote the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is the newspaper of record in the U.S. state of Arkansas, printed in Little Rock with a northwest edition published in Lowell...
in Little Rock in 2005 that Arkansas people "have solid convictions and, if offered the opportunity, they will demonstrate once again that they prefer their own," a reference to segregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
. She assisted in her husband's failed bid to oust Orval Eugene Faubus
Orval Faubus
Orval Eugene Faubus was the 36th Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1955 to 1967. He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the...
in the 1956 Democratic primary and in his successful 1958 campaign for a spot on the Arkansas Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court
The Arkansas Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Arkansas. Since 1925, it has consisted of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices, and at times Special Justices are called upon in the absence of a regular justice...
.
Running for governor
At the age of forty, Johnson ran in the 1968 DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary election
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
for the nomination
Nomination
Nomination is part of the process of selecting a candidate for either election to an office, or the bestowing of an honor or award.In the context of elections for public office, a candidate who has been selected by a political party is normally said to be the nominee of that party...
to oppose the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
, younger brother of then Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
Nelson A. Rockefeller of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. State Representative
Arkansas House of Representatives
The Arkansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the state. Each district has an average population of 26,734...
Marion H. Crank (1915–1994) of Foreman
Foreman, Arkansas
Foreman is a city in Little River County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 1,011 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Foreman is located at ....
in Little River County
Little River County, Arkansas
Little River County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 13,171. The county seat is Ashdown. Little River County is Arkansas's 59th county, formed from Sevier County on March 5, 1867, and named for the Little River...
, led the five-candidate field with 106,092 votes (25.6 percent). Johnson, like her husband a segregationist, finished second with 86,038 votes (20.7 percent). Johnson topped the third-place candidate, Ted Boswell, an attorney from Bryant
Bryant, Arkansas
Bryant is a city in Saline County, Arkansas, United States and a suburb of Little Rock. According to 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city was 13,185...
in Saline County, by only 406 ballots. Boswell hence polled 85,727 votes. Former Arkansas Attorney General Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett (Arkansas politician)
Bruce Bennett was a Democratic politician from El Dorado, Arkansas, who served as his state's attorney general from 1957–1960 and from 1963–1966...
finished fourth with 65,905 votes (15.7 percent), and Frank L. Whitbeck (1916–2002) of Little Rock followed with 61,758 (14.9 percent). In the runoff election two weeks later, Crank handily defeated Mrs. Johnson, 215,098 (63.3 percent) to her 124,880 ballots (36.7 percent). Crank then narrowly lost the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
to Rockefeller.
Mrs. Johnson at first said that she would support Crank's bid against Rockefeller but instead withdrew her support from all Arkansas Democratic nominees in 1968. She declined to accept a spot on the Democratic State Executive Committee because the Johnsons supported George C. Wallace, Jr., nominee of the American Independent Party
American Independent Party
The American Independent Party is a right-wing political party of the United States that was established in 1967 by Bill and Eileen Shearer. In 1968, the American Independent Party nominated George C. Wallace as its presidential candidate and retired Air Force General Curtis E. LeMay as the vice...
for U.S. President, rather than the Democratic nominee, Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
Hubert H. Humphrey.
Jim Johnson ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate nomination against long-term incumbent J. William Fulbright
J. William Fulbright
James William Fulbright was a United States Senator representing Arkansas from 1945 to 1975.Fulbright was a Southern Democrat and a staunch multilateralist who supported the creation of the United Nations and the longest serving chairman in the history of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee...
in the same 1968 election cycle in which his wife ran for governor. Arkansas voters that year split tickets to reelect Rockefeller and Fulbright, in what would be the last elections won by either man, and to cast electoral votes for George Wallace.
Later years
In later years, Jim and Virginia Johnson supported Republican Frank D. WhiteFrank D. White
Frank Durward White was the 41st Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He served a single two-year term from 1981 to 1983. He is one of only two people to have defeated President Bill Clinton in an election. Frank Durward White (June 4, 1933 – May 21, 2003) was...
in his three gubernatorial races against the future Democratic President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Talk had persisted in 1982 that Jim Johnson would formally switch parties and challenge White for renomination and then, if successful in a primary, lead the GOP
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
banner against Clinton. However, while Johnson did not switch parties at the time, he and his wife expressed support for White's reelection. Jim Johnson had long been friendly with U.S. Senator Strom Thurmond
Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond was an American politician who served as a United States Senator. He also ran for the Presidency of the United States in 1948 as the segregationist States Rights Democratic Party candidate, receiving 2.4% of the popular vote and 39 electoral votes...
, a South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
Republican who in 1981 had recommended the Arkansan for a vacancy on the U.S. Parole Commission. Virginia Johnson met with Governor White in Conway in the 1982 fall campaign and told him, "Don't you believe those polls," which repeatedly and correctly showed Clinton with his ultimate 55-45 percent victory margin over White.
Virginia Johnson died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
at the age of seventy-eight. Jim Johnson was also stricken with the disease and took his own life by gunshot on February 13, 2010, some two and a half years after his wife's passing. They are interred at Oak Grove Cemetery in Conway. The Johnsons had three sons, Mark Johnson of Little Rock, John David Johnson of Fayetteville
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Fayetteville is the county seat of Washington County, and the third largest city in Arkansas. The city is centrally located within the county and is home to the University of Arkansas. Fayetteville is also deep in the Boston Mountains, a subset of The Ozarks...
, and Joseph Daniel Johnson of Conway.