Political History
Showing results: 1 to 15 out of 77
Affirmations Encyclopedia
Affirmations are statements made in lieu of oaths by people who have conscientious scruples against taking oaths. Under modern North Carolina law, this means saying “solemnly affirm” instead of “solemnly swear,” and avoiding any invocation of God in support of one’s statement (North Carolina General Statues 11-1 and 11-4). Starting its colonial history with a de facto freedom to affirm instead of swear, North Carolina returned to a more restrictive position based on English law, then extended affirmation privileges to certain Protestant groups, and ultimately made affirmations available to anyone with objections to oaths.American Revenue Act Encyclopedia
After the French and Indian War (also known as The Seven Years War) ended in 1763, Great Britain essentially stopped the period of salutary neglect by increasing regulation over the American colonies. The passage of the American Revenue Act demonstrates how the empire tightened its regulatory grip on the American economic activities.Bayard v. Singleton Encyclopedia
Bayard v. Singleton is one of the most important early cases involving the exercise of judicial review by an American court. The controversial decision served as a precedent for the later and commonplace practice of judicial review.Thomas W. Bickett (1869-1921) Encyclopedia
Thomas W. Bickett, a native of Monroe and graduate of Wake Forest College, studied law at the University of North Carolina. After a brief tenure in the state House of Representatives, he served as North Carolina attorney general from 1909 to 1917. In 1916 he was elected governor. Inaugurated on January 11, 1917, Bickett's gubernatorial administration included the beginning of a juvenile court system, the expansion of the state's roads and improvements in education, and the prison system.Timothy Bloodworth (1736-1814) Encyclopedia
Timothy Bloodworth was an influential Patriot, Anti-Federalist, and Democratic-Republican. Without the advantages of great wealth, a prominent family, or a prestigious education, Bloodworth typified a new generation of working-class politicians during and after the American Revolution, and his ambition, ability, and likable personality made him one of North Carolina’s most durable politicians.William Blount (1749-1800) Encyclopedia
As businessman, Revolutionary War veteran, signer of the Constitution, territorial governor, and United States Senator, William Blount spent his lifetime looking for opportunities. No place in the late-eighteenth century United States offered better opportunities for a person with Blount’s disposition and connections than did the trans-Appalachian frontier. Ultimately Blount’s grasp exceeded his resources, leading Blount to devise a desperate plan that failed—and led to his expulsion from the United States Senate.
David McClure Brinkley (1920-2003) Encyclopedia
Newscaster David McClure Brinkley helped pioneer the two-anchor format on NBC and revolutionize the format of the Sunday news interview programs with his ABC series, This Week With David Brinkley.Marion Butler (1863-1938) Encyclopedia
Most remembered as the architect of political Fusion in North Carolina during the 1890s and for gaining Populist support for the 1896 presidential candidacy of William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), Marion Butler was born in Sampson County, North Carolina.Tod Robinson Caldwell (1818-1874) Encyclopedia
Tod Robinson Caldwell is noteworthy in North Carolina history for at least three reasons: he was the first lieutenant governor of North Carolina; he was the second Republican governor of the state; and he assumed governor’s duties after William Woods Holden, the first North Carolina Republican governor, was impeached.Cape Fear Navigation Company Encyclopedia
During the early 1800s, the state of North Carolina purchased stock in a few companies. One such company was the Cape Fear Navigation Company. It became the first state-funded internal improvement project to reap dividends. However, critics still argued that the company's finances were mismanaged.Carolina Charter of 1663 Encyclopedia
The Carolina Charter of 1663 was the first organic law of what eventually became the state of North Carolina. It conferred territory that also included what is now South Carolina to eight “true and absolute Lords Proprietors.” They possessed broad feudal powers and bore the responsibility of managing Carolina in the interests of England.Henry Toole Clark Encyclopedia
Henry Toole Clark was governor of North Carolina during the Civil War from 1861-1862. He was a Democratic leader in the state senate in the critical decade of the 1850s and for a brief time during Reconstruction.William Richardson Davie (1756-1820) Encyclopedia
Soldier, lawmaker, governor, and diplomat, Davie is best remembered as the principal founder of the University of North Carolina. Despite his many accomplishments, Davie’s ardent Federalism fostered a growing voter disenchantment with him, and he spent his last years living in a self-imposed political exile.Arthur Dobbs (1689-1765) Encyclopedia
Arthur Dobbs, sheriff (1720), Surveyor General (1730), and member of Parliament (1727-1730) in his native Ireland, became one of the five royal colonial governors of North Carolina in 1754. He was born on April 2, 1689 in the fishing village of Girvan in Ayrshire, Scotland, to Richard and Mary Stewart Dobbs. Soon after his birth, Mary returned with Arthur to Ireland. He resided there until moving to North Carolina.John C. B. Ehringhaus (1882-1949) Encyclopedia
John C. B. Ehringhaus served as a Democratic governor in the most important era's in the state's history since Reconstruction—the Great Depression and New Deal. Ehringhaus intended to maintain the conservative, pro-business policies of his predecessor, O. Max. Gardner, yet like other conservative Democrats in the state, he supported President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was very popular, and favored some New Deal policies--ones that did not threaten the fiscal conservatism of state government. Overall, Ehringhaus limited the impact of the New Deal in the state.