Editing Richard Mentor Johnson (section)

===Post-war career in the House===
[[File:Colonel Richard M. Johnson Trim.jpg|thumb|right|Portrait of Johnson in uniform]]
With the end of the war, Johnson, who was made chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs, turned his legislative attention to issues such as securing [[pension]]s for widows and orphans and funding [[internal improvements]] in the [[Western United States|West]].<ref name=uva /> There were widespread reports of Americans, including women and children, captured by Indians during the war, and Johnson used his congressional office to investigate these matters, and to try to secure the release of captives.<ref>Petriello, pp. 58–59.</ref> Western Democratic-Republicans like Johnson strongly supported the military and urged aid for the veterans; in December 1815, Johnson introduced legislation for the "relief of the infirm, disabled, and superannuated officers and soldiers".<ref>Smith 2013, pp. 131–132.</ref> Fearing that the [[United States Military Academy]] at [[West Point, New York]] produced dandies, not soldiers, Johnson expanded on a proposal by President Madison to establish three additional military academies, urging the placement of one of them in Kentucky.<ref>Smith 2013, pp. 134–135.</ref> Despite the support of such influential members of the House as Clay and [[John C. Calhoun]], the proposal did not pass, but Johnson worked to have federal facilities built in the West throughout his time in Congress.<ref>Petriello, p. 55.</ref>

Johnson believed that Congressional business was too slow and tedious and that the ''per diem'' system of compensation encouraged delays on the part of members.<ref name=meyer168>Meyer, p. 168</ref> To remedy this, he sponsored legislation to pay annual salaries of $1,500 to congressmen rather than a $6 ''per diem'' for the days the body was in session.<ref name=meyer170>Meyer, p. 170</ref> At the time, this had the effect of increasing the total compensation from about $900 to $1500. Johnson noted that congressmen had not had a pay increase in 27 years, during which time the cost of living had greatly increased, and that $1,500 was less than the salaries of 28 of the clerks employed by the government.<ref name=meyer171>Meyer, p. 171</ref> The popular Johnson's sponsorship of the measure provided political cover for proponents; Maryland's [[Robert Wright (Maryland politician)|Robert Wright]] wondered how his colleagues would feel if, "the highly honorable mover of this bill, who slew Tecumseh with his own hands&nbsp;... he who came up here covered with wounds and glory, with his favorite war-horse and his more favorite servant—his attendant in the army, his nurse and necessary assistant" was "obliged to sell his war-horse or his servant"; salaries would prevent such things from coming to pass.<ref>Smith 2013, pp. 142–144.</ref> The bill passed the House and Senate quickly and was made law on March 19, 1816.<ref name=meyer171 /> But, the measure proved extremely unpopular with voters, in part because it gave Congress an immediate pay raise, rather than waiting until after the next election.<ref>Hatfield; Cleaves, p. 237</ref>{{efn|Today, this would violate the Twenty-seventh Amendment.}} Many members who supported the bill lost their seats as a result, including Johnson's colleague [[Solomon P. Sharp]] from Kentucky. Johnson's overall popularity helped him retain his seat against a challenge, one of only 15 of 81 who voted to pass the bill to keep their seats in the House. The old Congress met for a [[lame-duck session]] in December, repealed the new law effective when the new Congress was sworn in, but at Johnson's suggestion, did not revive the old ''per diem'', thus forcing the new legislators to act on the matter if they wanted to get paid.<ref>Meyer, pp. 171–176.</ref> Compensation for members of Congress remained on a ''per diem'' basis until an annual salary of $3,000 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=3000|start_year=1855}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) was prescribed in 1855.<ref>{{cite web|title=Salary Storm|publisher=[[United States Senate]]|url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Salary_Storm.htm|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref> According to Edward J. McManus, who wrote Johnson's entry in the ''[[American National Biography]]'', "Johnson, instead of defending the merits of the reform, avoided the backlash by pledging to work for the repeal of his own measure. He justified his reversal by arguing that representatives should reflect the popular will, but lack of political stamina may have been closer to the truth."<ref name = "ANB" />

Johnson disliked the idea of a national bank, and had voted in 1811 not to renew the charter of the [[First Bank of the United States]].<ref>Meyer, pp. 79–80.</ref> Calhoun's bill for a [[Second Bank of the United States]] passed Congress in early 1816. Johnson was opposed, but was absent for the vote, busy with other matters.<ref>Jones, pp. 61–62.</ref> A bonus was to be paid to the government by the Second Bank, and a bill was introduced early in 1817 to spend that money on internal improvements. Although Johnson was opposed to the national bank, he supported the bill, believing that the improvements to transportation would benefit his constituents, and the bill passed the House by two votes. Madison, then in his final days in office, vetoed the bill. Johnson joined the effort to override the veto, but it failed.<ref>Petriello, p. 61.</ref> The break from the administration was unusual for Johnson, but he believed the war had shown the need for better roads and canals.<ref>Meyer, p. 163.</ref>

When he took office in 1817, President [[James Monroe]]'s first choice for Secretary of War was Henry Clay, who declined the position. The post ultimately went to Calhoun.<ref name=hatfield /> The result was that Johnson became chair of the [[United States House Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments|Committee on Expenditures]] where he wielded considerable influence over defense policy in the [[United States Department of War|Department of War]] during the [[15th United States Congress|Fifteenth Congress]].<ref name=bioguide /> In 1817, Congress investigated General [[Andrew Jackson]]'s execution of [[Arbuthnot and Ambrister incident|two British subjects]] during the [[First Seminole War]]. Johnson chaired the inquiry committee. The majority of the committee favored a negative report and a [[censure]] for Jackson. Johnson, a Jackson supporter, drafted a minority report that was more favorable to Jackson and opposed the censure. The ensuing debate pitted Johnson against fellow Kentuckian Clay. Johnson's report prevailed, and Jackson was spared censure.<ref>Langworthy, pp. 35–36</ref> This disagreement between Johnson and Clay, however, marked the beginning of a political separation between the two that lasted for the duration of their careers.<ref name=meyer181>Meyer, p. 181.</ref>

In 1818, Calhoun approved an [[Yellowstone Expedition|expedition]] to build a military outpost near the present site of [[Bismarck, North Dakota]] on the [[Yellowstone River]]; Johnson awarded the contract to his brother James.<ref name=hatfield /> Although the [[Yellowstone Expedition]] was an ultimate failure and expensive to the U.S. Treasury, the Johnsons escaped political ill will in their home district because the venture was seen as a peacekeeping endeavor on the frontier.<ref name=hatfield /> However, the [[Panic of 1819]] caused Congress to investigate the Yellowstone matter, and in 1820, a report found that James Johnson had overcharged the government by $76,000.<ref>Petriello, pp. 65–66.</ref> Richard and James Johnson, as well as other family members, remained in debt until 1824, when arrangements were made with the largest creditor, the [[Second Bank of the United States]], to settle the liabilities.<ref>Jones, pp. 141–142</ref>