Title: Joshua L. Johns Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1884-1942

Creator:

• Johns, Joshua L., 1881-1947

Call Number: Green Bay Mss 170; Disc 228A; PH Green Bay Mss 170; PH Green Bay Mss 170 (7)

Quantity: 2.4 c.f. (1 archives box, 5 flat boxes), 2 disc recordings, 6 photographs (1 folder), and 1 poster

Repository:

Housed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Archives and Area Research Center; owned by the Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

UW-Green Bay Cofrin Library / Green Bay Area Research Ctr. (Map)

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Papers of Johns, a Republican Congressman from Wisconsin (1939-1943) and president of Kiwanis International (1934), consisting of career scrapbooks and fragmentary papers. The scrapbooks trace his career from his early law practice in Tennessee to his service in Congress. Highlights include cases Johns litigated both in Tennessee and in Richland County, Wisconsin, his work as aide to Wisconsin Governor Fred Zimmerman, his leadership of the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan District of Kiwanis International, his two terms in Congress, and his renown as a public speaker. No scrapbooks are included, however, for his presidency of Kiwanis International. The discs are a 1940 recording of “I Am an American,” a program for which Johns authored the federal legislation, and a June 11, 1941 speech opposing U.S. participation in World War II. Two additional recorded speeches are part of the WHA recording collection at SHSW. The photographs consist of individual and group portraits; the vintage prints are in the Visual Materials Archive in Madison with photocopies in the collection. Because of its fragile condition, one 1940 campaign poster has been retained with the vintage prints.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-gb0170

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Joshua Leroy Johns was born on a farm in the Town of Eagle, Richland County, Wisconsin on February 27, 1881, the son of William and Cynthia Logue Johns. After graduation from Richland Center High School in 1901, Johns was employed by the State Bank of Richland Center, ultimately rising to the post of vice president of the First National Bank of Richland Center in four years. Johns left that position to attend the University of Chattanooga and Yale University Law School, where he graduated in 1907. Johns began his law career in Chattanooga as a partner in the firm Littleton and Johns. He also taught in the university's law school for three years.

After his marriage to Esther M. Newman of Algoma, Johns relocated to Richland Center, Wisconsin where he was a partner with Levi Bancroft. Although he continued to practice law during the remainder of his career Johns became active in a variety of other fields. He organized the Farmers 8 Merchants Bank and served as vice-president and director until his relocation to Algoma. Johns also went into business with his father-in-law, eventually becoming president of the Plumbers Woodwork Company of Algoma. In addition, Johns was also an active farmer.

Republican politics was an interest of Joshua L. Johns and his name was mentioned as a potential candidate for governor, United States senator, and Supreme Court justice. In 1928 he served as secretary to Governor Fred Zimmerman and was commissioned by the governor as an honorary colonel in the Wisconsin National Guard. In 1938 he was elected to Congress from the 8th District. Re-elected in 1940, Johns was defeated in his bid for a third term. In Congress his most publicized accomplishment was authoring the legislation that created “I Am an American Day” in 1940.

Joshua Johns was also a leader in Kiwanis International. He organized the club in Appleton and served as president. Later he was elected district governor of the Wisconsin-Upper Michigan district. On the national level, Johns was a member of the public affairs committee, and in 1928 he was selected as an international trustee and member of the board of Kiwanis International. In 1933 Kiwanis International elected him to a one-year term as president. In part because of his Kiwanis activity Johns was a well-known speaker on civic topics, and his pamphlet “Out of United States Citizenship” was widely circulated.

The Johns were parents of one son, Newell Hartwell Johns (1914- ). Mrs. Johns died in 1940. Later Johns married Marguerite Burdon. They became the parents of a son, Richard Rowland Johns, in 1944. Joshua Johns died on March 16, 1947 and was buried at Fort Howard Cemetery in Green Bay.

The Joshua Johns papers consist primarily of career scrapbooks containing clippings, congressional newsletters, speeches, and memorabilia. The scrapbooks cover his legal career from his first cases in Chattanooga, Tennessee, through his return to Wisconsin in 1910, his leadership in Kiwanis International, and his political career as aide to Governor Fred Zimmerman and congressman from the 8th Congressional District. Unfortunately, the Kiwanis coverage in the scrapbooks does not include the period of his national leadership. Incidental loose papers include samples of campaign literature, form letters sent to constituents, and election returns. Letters of appreciation of a somewhat routine nature (1934) are the sole documentation of Johns' year as national president of Kiwanis. Also included are several individual and group portraits and two disc recordings. One disc is a 1940 recording of “I Am an American,” featuring Johns, Mrs. Towner, and Ben Neal. The second recording is an address by Johns, June 11, 1941 opposing U.S. entry into the war in Europe. One group photograph of special interest is Johns with the Richland Center football team. Also part of the collection is a volume, 1884-1895, of Johns' father-in-law and business partner, Samuel H. Newman, of Ahnapee, Wisconsin. This collection ledger relates to Newman's involvement with horse raising and breeding.

Acquisition Information

Presented by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. Accession Number: M76-591, M77-517, M82-451, M89-406, M97-058

Processing Information

Processed by Carolyn Mattern, 2002.

Green Bay Mss 170 Box   1 Folder   1	Kiwanis International, 1934
Box   1 Folder   2	Memorabilia
Box   1 Folder   3	Newman, S.H., Collection ledger re: horses and obituary, 1884-1895, 1929
	Photographs
Box   1 Folder   4	Photocopy prints
PH Green Bay Mss 170	Vintage prints
Green Bay Mss 170 Box   1 Folder   5	Political memorabilia and correspondence, 1938-1940, n.d.
PH Green Bay Mss 170 (7)	Poster, 1940
Disc 228A	Recordings, 1940, 1941
Green Bay Mss 170 Box   1 Folder   6	Republican Party Research Division reference material re: Wisconsin, 1938
	Scrapbooks
Box   1 Folder   7	1906-1907
Box   1 Folder   8	1907-1910
Box   2	1910-1928
Box   3	, 1925-1928 (Kiwanis)
Box   4	1928-1932
Box   5	1938-1940
Box   6	1940-1942
Box   1 Folder   10	Additional clippings
Box   1 Folder   9	Speech notes and programs