Justice John Johnson had a brief career in the Indiana Supreme Court, but this shouldn’t be the legacy he leaves behind, especially inasmuch as there were no important decisions handed down during the six-ish months in which he was part of that bench.
It would be his earlier efforts as an Indiana politician that you want to know about. And yes, Johnson was an active politician early in the days of the Indiana Congress. Before there was a state Constitution, there were the Territorial laws that Johnson helped to organize, so he was probably quite well-versed in what was already down on paper.
Dennis Pennington gets a lot of well-deserved attention for his political work in Indiana, but the fact is that what he did affected the entire Northwest Territory, which also includes most of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota east of the Mississippi River. He was also instrumental in the anti-slavery movement in that area, first supporting like-minded individuals for public offices, and then getting anti-slavery laws introduced and passed as a territorial legislator. When Indiana put together its first constitutional convention, Pennington was among the delegates.
Pennington is remembered for his honesty and common sense, as well as his kindness. Beginning in 1810 he served speaker of its lower house of representatives and helped secure the town of Corydon’s selection as the new seat of government in 1813. Pennington also served in the Indiana General Assembly for eighteen years.
Pennington’s most visible legacy is located in Corydon, Indiana, where he supervised construction of Indiana’s first state capitol building. The Old Capitol, located in the Corydon Historic District is part of the Corydon Capital State Historic Site, administered by the Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites.
