Answer:AS THE TITLE STATES, this essay will look closely at Johnson's role in the colonial development of America, and particularly the key concern over westward expansion. This became fundamentally linked with the differing views the British government and the colonial authorities held, over how this expansion should be managed, and in particular the financial cost of such a policy. This led, inexorably it seems, to the wider issues that then escalated into the Revolution and the fight for independence. Although Johnson died before the Revolution actually started, he was a key participant in the events that led up to this break with Britain, and as such the motives and actions of this man can give a picture of how the colonies and Britain viewed the future of America. This essay will look briefly at his early life in America, and then in more detail at the military and political career of Johnson, and particularly his involvement with the Indians, in his capacity as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, which was central to the British concerns over colonial expansion, and how that was to be managed. The military career of Johnson naturally evolved around his relationship with the Indians, especially the Six Nations, and earned him great success and wealth, after his victories at Lake George and Niagara. His political career progressed alongside his military one, and again was linked to his relationship with the Indians, through his appointment as Indian Superintendent. His relationship with the authorities in London, the colonial authorities, the settlers and traders, and with the Indians themselves, will be examined to form a portrait of Johnson, and how he saw the situation regarding westward expansion and all its implications for Britain and his adopted country, America. Finally some conclusions will be given based on Johnson'sSir William Johnson
circa 1751
AT THE AGE OF TWENTY-THREE Johnson left Ireland to seek his own way in America. He was aided by his uncle, Peter Warren, and went to the colonies with others who had decided to start afresh in the New World. Johnson's ability to get along with people and motivate them was rewarded soon after he arrived: in 1738 he had taken twelve families over to settle on his uncle's land in the Mohawk River valley; by 1742 there were twenty-six leases in operation. Johnson became a merchant, dealing and trading with the Indians, and building up, through trust and goodwill, the relationship that was to be the focal point of his life in America and also the main contributor to his subsequent fame and success. He bought his own land, across the river from his uncle's property, and continued to expand his business interests, which were mainly concerned with the fur trade and supplying the settlers in the Mohawk valley. This business gave Johnson the opportunity to understand the Indians: it was his special relationship with the Six Nations, and specifically with the Mohawks of the Iroquois Confederacy, that led him into the political and military arenas, and was to influence his subsequent ideas of how the colonies should manage the whole question of trade and expansion. This quality was early on recognised by the political leaders of the two colonies Johnson was primarily concerned with - Massachusetts and New York. In 1746 Governor Clinton of New York gave Johnson the task of supplying the vital garrison at Oswego. In the same year Johnson was appointed Commissary for Indian Affairs. Governor Shirley also saw Johnson's ability in dealing with the Indians; in 1754 he wrote to Johnson stating he would recommend him to be appointed in the capacity best suited to his talent. The result was that in 1755 Johnson received a warrant of appointment as Superintendent of Indian Affairs, with full powers to treat with the Confederate Nations in the British interest, from the Commander - in - Chief, Major General Braddock. AS WELL AS THIS POLITICAL ROLE Johnson had acquired a military handling of his difficult task, and how this affected subsequent events. One also.
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