Dewey William Johnson was an American lawyer

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 and politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 from Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. Johnson was born in Minneapolis and attended the local public schools, followed by the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 and William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law

William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....

 (then the YMCA Law School).

After graduation from law school, he began work in the insurance business. He was elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives

Minnesota House of Representatives

The Minnesota House of Representatives is the lower house in the Minnesota State Legislature. There are 134 members elected to two-year terms, twice the number of members in the Minnesota Senate. Each senate district is divided in half and given the suffix A or B...

 in 1929 and served until 1935. In 1934, he had been an unsuccessful candidate for election to the 74th congress

74th United States Congress

-House:Also 2 Delegates, 3 Resident Commissioners-Senate:*President of the Senate: John N. Garner *President pro tempore: Key Pittman -Majority leadership:*Majority leader: Joseph T. Robinson...

. After his six-year stint in the Minnesota House, Johnson served as Deputy Commissioner of Insurance and as the state Fire Marshal. A second Congressional run in 1936 was successful; Johnson served as a member of the Farmer-Labor Party

Farmer-Labor Party

The first modern Farmer–Labor Party in the United States emerged in Minnesota in 1918. Economic dislocation caused by American entry into World War I put agricultural prices and workers' wages into imbalance with rapidly escalating retail prices during the war years, and farmers and workers sought...

 in the 75th congress

75th United States Congress

The Seventy-fifth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 to January 3, 1939, during the first two years...

, (January 3, 1937–January 3, 1939). However, he could not achieve reelection in 1938 or election again in 1940.

Johnson resumed his insurance practice in Minneapolis and also operated a retail radio sales business. He died in Minneapolis in 1941.