THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
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 J. G. de Rori/HAO Hamilton V& r 
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 VOL. 15 
 
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 CONTENTS 
 
 PARTY POLITICS IN NORTH CAROLINA 
 1835-1860 
 
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THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA 
 
 The James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF 
 
 The North Carolina Historical Society 
 
 J. G. de Roulhac Hamilton ) „ ,. 
 Henry McGilbert Wagstaff j 
 
 VOL.' 1 5 DOUBLE NUMBER Nos. 1 and 2 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PARTY POLITICS IN NORTH CAROLINA 
 1835-1860 
 
 
dorham, n. c. 
 
 The Seeman Printhry 
 
 1916 
 
PARTY POLITICS IN NORTH CAROLINA 
 1835-1860 
 
 By J. G. DE ROULHAC HAMILTON 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2012 with funding from 
 
 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
 
 http://archive.org/details/partypoliticsinnOOhamil 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 The following studies in North Carolina political history- 
 appeared in the Sunday issues of the Charlotte Observer from 
 March 21 to August 22, 1915. In response to a considerable 
 number of requests that they be preserved in a more perma- 
 nent form they are now, through the kind permission of the 
 editor of the Observer, here reprinted, substantially in the 
 form in which they were first published. 
 
 In presenting these sketches of one phase of North Caro- 
 lina history during one of the most important periods of the 
 State's existence I wish to make it clear that the work is in 
 no sense exhaustive. There are undoubtedly many sources 
 of information to which I have not at this time access which 
 would throw additional light on the motives and spirit of the 
 various characters that appear. I have, however, striven to 
 make the accounts furnish a faithful portrayal of the outlines 
 of party movement and action, regarding the entire investiga- 
 tion simply as a preliminary to future work in the same field. 
 They are written in the hope that they may to some slight ex- 
 tent stimulate interest in the whole question of the party his- 
 tory of the State, in which is to be found the explanation for 
 many of the conditions and facts of the social and economic 
 history of North Carolina, not only in the period covered by 
 the investigation but in those extending to the present. 
 
 In the investigation I have placed my main reliance in 
 the newspapers of the period and in a large number of letters 
 to which I have access. I have, in addition, made very free 
 use of all the secondary material available bearing on the 
 subject. It is impossible in such a work as this to give credit 
 individually, and I therefore take this opportunity of ex- 
 pressing my indebtedness to all the writers who have worked 
 in this same period. I have made use of them all and am 
 under heavy obligations to a number of them. 
 
 J. G. de E. H. 
 
 Chapel Hill, Oct. 1, 1915. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. Political Significance of the Conven- 
 
 tion of 1835 9 
 
 II. Social, Economic, and Political Back- 
 
 ground IT 
 
 III. The Campaign of 1836 30 
 
 IV. The Campaign of 1838 43 
 
 V. The Campaign of 1840 53 
 
 VI. The Legislature of 1840 and the Cam- 
 
 paign of 1841 69 
 
 VII. The Campaign and Legislature of 1842 80 
 
 VIII. The Campaign of 1844 92 
 
 IX. The Campaign of 1846 . 104 
 
 X. The Campaign of 1848 114 
 
 XL The Legislature of 1848 126 
 
 XII. The Campaign of 1850 136 
 
 XIII. The Campaign of 1852 150 
 
 XIV. The Campaign of 1854 163 
 
 XV. The Campaign of 1856 175 
 
 XVI. The Campaign of 1858 183 
 
 XVII. The Campaign of 1860 194 
 
 XVIII. North Carolina in 1860 201 
 
PARTY POLITICS IN NORTH CAROLINA 
 1835-1860 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CONVENTION OF 1835 
 
 The convention of 1835 marks the end of an era in North 
 Carolina. In politics it closes one distinct period of history 
 and naturally at the same time ushers in another and, in this 
 case, a greatly different one. Called into existence by the 
 people after a period of discontent which had lasted for near- 
 ly half a century and after a bitter struggle lasting nearly 
 half as long which resulted even in a threat of revolution, the 
 convention of 1835 was the token of a sectional victory — the 
 triumph of the West over the East — but it was also much 
 more. It was a great democratic victory — the triumph of the 
 mass of the people of the State over a, reactionary minority 
 hitherto impregnably entrenched and apparently invincible. 
 
 The convention was not, however, a clear and complete 
 victory. Like practically every other body of its kind, it 
 could not carry out fully the ideas of either party to the 
 struggle. Compromise was inevitable since the conservative 
 forces were still in power and were thus able to dictate terms. 
 The West, too, elated with victory, was content with less than 
 the needs and aspirations of democracy demanded and in 
 addition, the western leaders, after all, could scarcely be 
 called progressive, even as the word was then recognized else- 
 where than in North Carolina, and so the work of the con- 
 vention was only a step, although a great one, in a democratic 
 direction. 
 
 It will be remembered that the Constitution of 1776 was 
 in its practical operation far from democratic. The Bill of 
 Eights contained indeed a significant statement of political 
 theory, the importance of which should not be under-esti- 
 mated, but which in practice was denied through the entire 
 period which followed. It was: "That all political power 
 
10 James Sprtjnt Historical Publications 
 
 is vested in and derived from the people only." In its real 
 sense this had never been even an ideal of North Carolina. 
 When the constitution made the county, along with certain 
 towns arbitrarily chosen, without reference to size or popula- 
 tion, the basis for representation for both Senate and House 
 of Commons, it followed inevitably that the government was 
 not administered by representatives of the people but by the 
 representatives of a section, for the county basis put controll- 
 ing power in the hands of the East which as the older settled 
 section had the larger number of counties and saw to it that 
 the predominance was retained. Nor was government in 
 time administered for the people. The West grew until it 
 had a majority of the white population of the State, but gov- 
 ernment continued to be administered for the benefit of the 
 East. And so it became true that a particular class, the land- 
 holders, of one section controlled the State. 
 
 How true these facts were may be seen from the following 
 figures: Of the 64 counties of the State, 36 were east of 
 Raleigh. While these 36 counties contained only 41 per cent 
 of the voting population of the State, they furnished 58 per 
 cent of the General Assembly. Their voting population was 
 only 8.7 per cent of the total white population of the State 
 but it chose a majority of the General Assembly and thus con- 
 trolled the state government. 
 
 When the various restrictions and qualifications of the 
 constitution are taken into account, the undemocratic nature 
 of the instrument is still more apparent. While any freeman 
 — and this included free persons of color — who paid his taxes 
 was qualified to vote for a member of the House of Commons, 
 the right to vote for a member of the Senate was restricted 
 to those who owned a freehold of 50 acres. Here was a check 
 upon any possible radical tendency of the lower house. There 
 was little need to fear radicalism there, for, in order to avert 
 any possible danger of such a thing, it was required that no 
 person might be a member of that body unless he possessed in 
 the county which he represented not less than one hundred 
 acres of land in fee or for the term of his life. In order that 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 11 
 
 the Senate might be the stronghold of the landed, and hence, 
 in the view of the framers of the constitution, the safe class, 
 no person could be a senator unless he possessed in the county 
 which he represented not less than 300 acres of land in fee. 
 The governor, endowed with no power, limited in practically 
 every official act by the Council of State, and entirely de- 
 pendent upon the legislature which chose him for a term of 
 one year, must nevertheless be a member of the landed class. 
 "No person under 30 years of age, and who has not been a 
 resident of this State above five years and having in the State 
 a freehold in lands and tenements above the value of one 
 thousand pounds, shall be eligible as Governor." 
 
 These are examples of the undemocratic provisions of the 
 constitution of 1776. Others worthy of note were the pro- 
 visions imposing a religious test for office-holders, designed 
 to exclude not only atheists, but also Jews and Roman Cath- 
 olics, and prohibiting any minister of the gospel from being 
 a member of the General Assembly while he continued in the 
 exercise of his ministerial functions. 
 
 Nowhere did the people exert any influence upon the gov- 
 ernment save in the election of the General Assembly. This 
 body chose the governor and other officers, the judges being 
 chosen for life. There were no state-wide campaigns and 
 really no state-wide issues. Men chosen by localities for local 
 reasons controlled the government and it is not to be wondered 
 at that they should have done so in an entirely local way. 
 Often the people in remote parts of the State had never heard 
 the name of the man selected by the legislature to be the 
 chief magistrate of the commonwealth, if commonwealth it 
 could be called. Under the constitution there was no way 
 provided for amendment and the reactionary party finally 
 in part denied that the constitution could be amended. It 
 was a sacred instrument, adopted by the fathers for all time ; 
 to change it was to lay hands upon the ark of the covenant, 
 and such action would be attended with every evil result as 
 a penalty. 
 
 The movement for reform which finally resulted in the 
 
12 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 convention of 1835 was not entirely a local one, although it 
 was dominated by local conditions. The West, because its 
 vital economic interests demanded it, desired a large exten- 
 sion of the activities of the State. It wanted highways and 
 railroads connecting it with the East to furnish an outlet for 
 its produce, an inlet for the outside products that it wanted, 
 and as a means of communication with the outside world. 
 One statement of fact will sufficiently sum up the economic 
 problem which confronted the West during this period. Salt 
 brought in the East from 40 to 50 cents a bushel. In Iredell 
 County, which used over five hundred bushels annually, it 
 brought $1.50. The same was true of every commodity in 
 every western county. The West wanted relief from com- 
 mercial dependence upon Virginia and South Carolina be- 
 cause of an intense state feeling, heightened by economic 
 pressure. It wanted a system of public education that its 
 children might be emancipated. In short it wanted North 
 Carolina to become a land of opportunity that the exodus 
 of its sons to other States might be checked. In spite of the 
 fact that the West was increasing in population faster than 
 the East, its loss of population was also much greater. The 
 loss of North Carolina was appalling. It was estimated in 
 1815 that in the preceding twenty-five years 200,000 North 
 Carolinians had gone to other States and in 1819 Archibald 
 D. Murphey expressed the belief that as many as 500,000 
 had gone "to people the Wilderness of the West." Judge 
 Gaston said in the convention that the case of North Carolina 
 was the reverse of that of the lion's den in the fable ; here all 
 the tracks led away and none came back. The needs of the 
 western part of North Carolina excited little interest or 
 sympathy in the East where conditions were very different. 
 Commercial dependence bothered that section little. Com- 
 munication was much easier for obvious reasons and the eco- 
 nomic system based upon slavery seemed at the time highly 
 desirable. Aristocratic in tendency and in tradition, it also 
 scorned the type of democracy which rapidly came to the 
 front in the West. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 13 
 
 For it was to democracy that the West came through eco- 
 nomic pressure and to a less degree through the natural 
 tendency of the frontier. And so this movement for reform 
 while local in its inception may properly be regarded as a 
 part of the rise of that new and militant democracy which we 
 best know by the name Jacksonian. But because its animus 
 and impetus were largely local the movement lagged behind 
 that which appeared in many of the other States, nor did it 
 go as far. Neither, be it said, did it affiliate with Jacksonian 
 Democracy politically. 
 
 The convention of 1835, while its work was really a com- 
 promise, took a number of genuinely progressive and demo- 
 cratic steps. It abolished the county unit of representation 
 and created a new system. The House of Commons hence- 
 forth was to consist of 120 members apportioned according to 
 population, but every county, regardless of population, was 
 entitled to one representative. As there were only 64 coun- 
 ties at that time, the retention of the county as the primary 
 unit did not greatly interfere with the representative char- 
 acter of the body. The East still retained its advantage and 
 as federal population included three-fifths of the slave pop- 
 ulation, the advantage was increased. The county basis was 
 entirely abolished for the Senate thenceforth to be composed 
 of 50 members, and a district basis substituted, the districts 
 being laid off according to the value of property listed for 
 taxes. Here again the advantage was potentially with the 
 East. 
 
 The most democratic steps taken by the convention were 
 the emancipation of the governorship from the legislature 
 by putting the election of the chief executive in the hands 
 of the people, and the adoption of a regular method of amend- 
 ment of the constitution. Significant, too, of the new spirit 
 was the submission of the changes made by the convention to 
 the people for ratification. Another step of somewhat the 
 same nature was the abolition of the restriction upon Roman 
 Catholics, but no relief was given to Jews or other non-Chris- 
 tians. The old practice of annual elections was abolished, in 
 
14 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 spite of the protests and even tears of Nathaniel Macon, who 
 thought he saw the foundations of the temple of liberty fall- 
 ing about him, and a biennial system was substituted, accom- 
 panied by biennial sessions of the legislature. As the ex- 
 penses at that time of the legislature ranged from a fourth to 
 more than a half of the total expenditure of the State, this 
 was an exceedingly important step. But the property quali- 
 fications of the members of the legislature and the governor 
 remained unchanged as did the freehold qualification for 
 voting for senators. The right to vote was taken away from 
 free persons of color. 
 
 Governor Swain submitted the amended constitution to 
 the people in November. Every eastern county but one, 
 Granville, voted to reject, and of course every western county 
 voted for ratification. The majority for ratification was 
 5,165. The election on the amendments, if one might judge 
 from the newspapers, excited but little general interest. The 
 truth is that the press and the people did not think in state- 
 wide terms. There was no party issue here and while doubt- 
 less there was much local discussion in every county, it did 
 not appear in the press. 
 
 Unquestionably the reforms of 1835 had many interest- 
 ing and important effects outside the field of politics. A vol- 
 ume might be written on the one subject of internal improve- 
 ments and another on education as affected by these reforms. 
 But as the general subject limits the discussion here to poli- 
 tics, it is well to look at the matter from that standpoint 
 alone. Nowhere were the effects more immediate, more 
 interesting and more revolutionary. 
 
 Up to this time North Carolina never had had an oppor- 
 tunity in state affairs for united party action and party ex- 
 pression. As a matter of fact prior to 1835 there was in North 
 Carolina no state party organization ; there was only a state 
 of mind. In presidential elections there had been more or 
 less spasmodic and rudimentary attempts at organization, but 
 state politics was entirely localized with in the counties. The 
 disastrous effects can readily be imagined. No real progress 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 15 
 
 was possible under such a system. The best approach to po- 
 litical union, therefore, that had hitherto been possible had 
 been a bitter sectionalism which still further paralyzed every 
 attempt at progress and which had driven thousands from the 
 State. A stamp was then placed upon North Carolina 
 politics, the effects of which survived for many years, if 
 indeed we may yet speak in the past tense. 
 
 This was now changed. The gubernatorial elections be- 
 gan united and state-wide party politics which more than any 
 other influence checked localism within North Carolina so 
 far as it was checked. It made necessary the party conven- 
 tion and the effective party organization, which while pos- 
 sibly outgrown and hence unpopular now, were, neverthe- 
 less, at that time the best instruments then devised for 
 expressing the collective will of the people, and they were 
 thus genuinely democratic. The convention and the party 
 organization also served as a check to localism. And finally 
 came the biennial campaign for the governorship, which with 
 all its faults was a great educational factor as well as an 
 enemy both to localism and to sectionalism. Out of it came 
 the party platform and party responsibility to the people, 
 with happy effects both on government and on the people. 
 All of this did not come at once. It was some years before 
 there was a frank recognition of the fact of party govern- 
 ment during which time it was still the custom to deplore 
 the rise of party spirit. Sectionalism still remained and still 
 remains; localism still remained and still remains; political 
 ignorance was still present and has never disappeared; but 
 North Carolina ceased to be a decadent community. Its 
 progress was slow as compared with many of the States, but it 
 moved forward and it has never retrograded. The era of 
 parties has been the era of progress. Much of this was due 
 to the fact that party division was close, for each acted not 
 only as a restraint upon the other but also as a spur. The 
 tracks still pointed away from the door but there were hardly 
 as many tracks. The penny-wise policy, characteristic of the 
 old regime, was not abandoned, but it was modified seriously 
 
16 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 as with genuine democratic spirit the people learned the 
 needs of the State and began to recognize the responsibilities 
 of a commonwealth. The hatred of taxation, however bene- 
 ficial the results might be, remained still to confound the 
 plans of those leaders who dreamed of a period of great ex- 
 pansion and great progress in which the people of the State 
 would enter upon the enjoyment of their noble heritage. 
 This fact must be constantly borne in mind in considering 
 the whole of the following period. 
 
OHAPTEE II 
 SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL BACKGROUND 
 
 The party history of the period cannot possibly be clearly 
 understood without a knowledge of the social and economic 
 conditions of the State at its beginning, and, in addition, a 
 view of the general political tendencies of the people will be 
 valuable. Because of the very nature of the conditions, we 
 unfortunately have all too small a record of them, but enough 
 material has come to us to indicate at least the general out- 
 lines. 
 
 In 1835 North Carolina was almost at a standstill com- 
 pared to the other States. The checked growth in population 
 was indicative of the arrested development in other respects. 
 Each census had of course shown a growth of total poulation, 
 but standing third in relative rank in this respect at the time 
 of the first census in 1790, in 1800 the State had dropped 
 to fourth place, had maintained that position in 1810, had 
 dropped to fifth in 1820, and in 1830 went to sixth and in 
 1840 stood seventh. The figures are as follows: 
 
 Census Population Increase 
 
 1790 393,751 
 
 1800 473,103 21.1 
 
 1810 555,500 16.2 
 
 1820 638,829 15. 
 
 1830 737,987 15.5 
 
 1840 753,419 2.1 
 
 In every census period certain counties showed a loss. In 
 the first period Bertie, Caswell, Craven, Halifax, Jones, 
 Martin, Mecklenburg, Nash, Pasquotank, Tyrrell, and 
 Wilkes, all lost, some of them heavily ; in the second, Bertie, 
 Bladen, Halifax, Hertford, Sampson, Tyrrell and Warren; 
 in the third, Bertie, Chatham, Franklin, Greene, Hyde, and 
 New Hanover; and in the fourth, Currituck and Rowan. 
 It remained for the census of 1840 to show the desperate 
 condition in which the State really was. In that period the 
 
18 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 following counties, 31 out of a total of 68 lost: Bertie, Bruns- 
 wick, Buncombe, Burke, Camden, Carteret, Caswell, Chow- 
 an, Columbus, Craven, Currituck, Duplin, Granville, Hali- 
 fax, Hertford, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Macon, Martin, 
 Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquo- 
 tank, -Person, Pitt, Richmond, Rowan, Tyrrell and Wash- 
 ington. Of course some of these losses in every period are to 
 be explained by division of the counties, but with that taken 
 into consideration, the situation was appalling. Another 
 disquieting fact in connection with the population was that 
 the negro increase was more rapid than the white, the total 
 growth of the negro population from 1790 to 1840 being an 
 increase of 154.4 per cent while the per cent of increase of 
 the white was only 64.4. The figures are as follows: 
 
 Per Gent 
 
 Census of 1790 : Increase 
 
 White 288,204 
 
 Free Black 4,975 
 
 Slave 100,572 
 
 Census of 1800 : 
 
 White 337,764 17.19 
 
 Free Black 7,043 41.56 
 
 Slave 133,296 32.53 
 
 Census of 1810 : 
 
 White 376,410 11.44 
 
 Free Black 10,266 45.75 
 
 Slave 168,824 26.65 
 
 Census of 1820 : 
 
 White 419,200 11.36 
 
 Free Black 14,612 42.33 
 
 Slave 205,017 21.43 
 
 Census of 1830 : 
 
 White 472,843 12.79 
 
 Free Black 19,543 33.74 
 
 Slave 245,601 19.79 
 
 Census of 1840 : 
 
 White 484,870 2.54 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 19 
 
 Free Black 22,732 16.31 
 
 Slave 245,817 .08 
 
 Tlie explanation of this slow growth did not lie in a low 
 birth rate. Although vital statistics are lacking, there is no 
 doubt of the fecundity of North Carolinians of that day; 
 large families were the rule throughout the State. Rather 
 the explanation is to be sought in the steady emigration from 
 the State to the West and South and in the absence of immi- 
 gration; the outside world offering many inducements to 
 North Carolinians, while the State itself offered few to na- 
 tives and none to outsiders. 
 
 That such was the case is not wonderful. Internal con- 
 ditions were such that opportunity was denied to all save a 
 favored few. Means of communication were lacking, as were 
 the means of education, and as a result, with every natural 
 resource and opportunity, the State was poor and steadily 
 growing poorer, and in relative rank as to wealth was lower 
 than in respect to population. Not only was it poor, however : 
 it was worse. It was ignorant. And its ignorance spread like 
 a pall over the whole State dwarfing for a time every promise 
 of growth, and retarding irresistibly every forward move- 
 ment. Joseph Caldwell, not a man given to rash speech, said 
 in 1829 that North Carolina was 300 years behind the rest 
 of the world in enlightenment, and while his estimate may 
 have been excessive, the general truth contained in it is un- 
 deniable. 
 
 The effects of the poor facilities for communication and 
 commerce generally have already been intimated. Transpor- 
 tation cost so much that for a large part of the State agri- 
 culture, necessarily the main resource of the State and 
 particularly so because of the presence of slavery, was pro- 
 fitless save to furnish one's own supplies. A barrel of flour 
 in 1829 in the town of Hillsboro just about paid for a barrel 
 of salt. Manifestly, there could be but small profit in grow- 
 ing grain. And so it was with everything else. In one way 
 grain was profitable, and so grain was grown and fruit was 
 
20 James Sprtjnt Historical, Publications 
 
 grown — to furnish food for the distilleries, hundreds and 
 thousands of which poured out their debauching flood 
 throughout the State. In 1811 there were 159 in Edgecombe 
 alone and more than 50 in Caswell. It is scarcely necessary 
 to add that drunkenness was common. 
 
 While the prevailing ignorance and the sectional strug- 
 gle already discussed made it very difficult for the enlighten- 
 ed to accomplish anything towards relieving the situation, 
 the State was nevertheless affected by the new spirit fol- 
 lowing upon the war of 1812, and in 1815 it entered upon 
 a policy of aiding internal improvements. This was 
 done under the inspiring leadership of that far-seeing dream- 
 er and statesman, Archibald D. Murphey. In consequence 
 the State in a short time became a stockholder in a large num- 
 ber of companies and it also created an internal improve- 
 ment fund. Thus in a sense the State became committed to a 
 policy of internal improvement, but the immediate results 
 were far from encouraging, since most of the enterprises 
 failed and the movement for a time received a set-back. But 
 the agitation was productive of good results in that the ma- 
 jority of the newspapers and a large number of influential 
 men were educated by it and became firmly committed to the 
 cause. 
 
 In other ways the State was little affected. Agriculture, 
 even in the East where the problem was not nearly so acute, 
 still remained of the most primitive sort and, under the 
 blighting curse of slave labor land deteriorated steadily and 
 rapidly. In spite of the fact that a million acres and more of 
 new land was taken up between 1815 and 1833, the total 
 value of the land was less at the later date by $106,048.80. 
 One reason for this will be discussed later in another con- 
 nection, but the main reason is to be found in the words of the 
 memorial drawn up by a committee of an internal improve- 
 ment convention in 1833 : "Her wasted fields, her deserted 
 farms, her ruined towns, her departing sons, all reproach us 
 with supine neglect." Wiley in 1852 described the situation 
 thus: 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 21 
 
 A purchaser of lands could easily find a seller in almost every 
 owner; indeed almost every house and plantation exhibited 
 in their decaying aspect the most unmistakable words, "For 
 Sale." This melancholy sentence was ploughed in deep black 
 characters upon the whole State and even the flag that waved 
 over the Capitol, indicating the sessions of the Assembly, 
 was regarded by our neighbors of Virginia and South Caro- 
 lina as an auctioneer's sign ! 
 
 The reward of labor had "ceased to be a stimulus to industry 
 and enterprise," and so a steady tide of emigration rolled 
 away from the State carrying enterprise, industry, youth, 
 and ambition, not to mention the actual wealth which went in 
 their wake to build new commonwealths on the frontier to 
 the lasting impoverishment of the old mother State. A gen- 
 tleman in Asheville wrote in 1827 that every day saw a stream 
 of emigrants moving by, sometimes as many as fifteen wagons 
 going together and the account might be duplicated many 
 times. 
 
 Educationally, the State in 1835 was scarcely moving, 
 if indeed there was any movement. That in part explains the 
 failure of internal improvements. As "Old Field" said in 
 the Raleigh Register in 1833, "The people will have to learn 
 to spell internal improvements before they can comprehend 
 the meaning of the term." The elaborate plans of Murphey 
 in 181 Y failed, but in 1825 the Literary Fund was estab- 
 lished, a step in the right direction it is true, but one not 
 highly productive at first except to the legislature which year 
 after year used its proceeds to pay its. own members. Year 
 after year through half a century the legislature had display- 
 ed utter apathy toward everything which meant the upbuild- 
 ing of the State and its people. Its time was consumed with 
 small things almost entirely and in the playing of what we 
 call at a later date "peanut politics." Its expenses mean- 
 while, were nearly always more than half the total expendi- 
 ture of the government. In his last message to the legisla- 
 ture in 1836, Governor Swain said: 
 
 "The history of our State legislation during the first half 
 
22 James Spktjnt Historical Publications 
 
 century of our political existence, will exhibit little more 
 to posterity than the annual imposition of taxes amounting 
 to less than $100,000, one-half of which constituted the re- 
 ward of the legislative bodies by which they were levied, 
 while the remainder was applied to sustain the train of 
 officers who superintend the machinery of government. The 
 establishment of schools for the convenient instruction of 
 youth, and the development of our internal resources by 
 means beyond the reach of individual enterprise, will seem 
 scarcely to have been regarded as proper objects of legislative 
 concern. 
 
 In the State in 1835, there was not one school house 
 for every 15 miles square, not a single high school, and only 
 a few good academies, the whole number of the latter being 
 certainly less than half and possibly less than a third of the 
 number of counties. In 1811 while two-thirds of the adult 
 white population of Edgecombe County could read, only 
 one-half the adult white males and less than one-third of the 
 women could write. In the whole State, according to Wiley, 
 nearly every tenth white man was totally illiterate and nearly 
 one-half the white people of every county were uneducated. 
 The people had no thirst for knowledge ; in many cases it was 
 dreaded, despised, and hated. We are again indebted to 
 Wiley for an expressive description. Said he : 
 
 The educated and uneducated grew up with a carefully in- 
 culcated dislike for home — the latter looking to other States 
 as opening wider fields for exertion in the race for improve- 
 ment; the former taught to believe that talents and require- 
 ments could not be appreciated in North Carolina. It is no 
 exaggeration to say that the State was a great encampment 
 while the inhabitants looked upon themselves as tented only 
 for a season and every year the highways were crowded with 
 hundreds of emigrants whose sacrifices and losses in selling 
 out and moving would have paid for 20 years their share of 
 public taxes sufficient to have given to their homes all the 
 fancied advantages of those regions where they went. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 23 
 
 The results were just those to be expected, and well might 
 Robert Potter say in the Legislature of 1836 in his strong 
 and statesmanlike speech advocating the passage of his bill 
 for the establishment of an agricultural college in the State: 
 
 I will not say North Carolina is a great State and I am 
 proud of her because she is not. ... If the genius of 
 North Carolina were now to present herself to you, who 
 are charged with the destinies of her people, instead of the 
 majesty of a guardian goddess — instead of a radiant brow, 
 and an eye flashing light and dignity on this assembly, you 
 would mark her with a pallid front, and "sad and shrouded 
 eye," and in the hollow accents of despair, she would demand 
 of you, "Why sit ye here all the while idle ?" Why assemble 
 here from session to session and expend your time upon 
 ephemeral objects while you neglect the very salvation of 
 the Republic ? Why meet you here from year to year to 
 scuffle over subjects unimportant to the public and trifling in 
 themselves, or to squabble about the disposition of a clerkship 
 or a judgeship whilst the people for whom all this is intended 
 — for whose benefit Government was established, laws erect- 
 ed, and judges appointed — whilst the people are left to rust 
 in primeval ignorance — "rotting from sire to son and from 
 age to age," deaf as the adder and dark as Erebus ? She 
 would tell you you were a degraded and despised community ; 
 but only so because you would be so. 
 
 Let us now look at some of the aspects of the case other 
 than those already mentioned. We have seen the general 
 character of the legislature during the period and we need no 
 further information to be certain that the system of taxation 
 was inequitable as well as inefficient. Its inefficiency made 
 it dear to the people for they wanted no other sort, but they 
 nevertheless complained bitterly of the system and made its 
 inequity an excuse for the most widespread and shamelessly 
 open evasion and fraud. Much of the land was not listed at 
 all and much more was greatly undervalued. The poll tax 
 — most inequitable of all taxes — played a large part in the 
 system, bringing in more than the land, but thousands of 
 slaves were not listed for it. It is doubtful if ever another 
 
24 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 community hated taxation as did the North Carolina of that 
 period, and so no legislature would have dared reform the 
 system even had they ever felt any inclination to do so, just 
 as no legislature dared to spend money. The attitude of the 
 small politicians of the period — and most of the politicians 
 were of the small variety — towards the spread of enlighten- 
 ment is interesting. No plain citizen from outside the po-. 
 litical group could ever call one of them to account or tell the 
 truth about one, without the likelihood of an impassioned 
 statement from the quasi-statesman concerned that his ac- 
 cuser was striking a blow at the liberties of the people through 
 the party which he himself represented; while no one was 
 able to speak the truth as to the condition of the State without 
 the probability of being accused of a lack of patriotism, of 
 falsehood, or of worse. 
 
 In the State in 1832 were twenty-five newspapers, distrib- 
 uted as follows : one each in Rutherf ordton, Charlotte, Salem, 
 Greensboro, Hillsboro, Milton, Wilmington, Washington, 
 Tarboro, Edenton, Halifax, Windsor, Oxford, and War- 
 renton; and two each in Salisbury, Eayetteville, New 
 Bern and Elizabeth City. Raleigh had three. Not nearly the 
 whole number, however, could be regarded as at all perma- 
 nent and all had very small subscription lists because in truth 
 North Carolina had no reading public, not even a public that 
 read newspapers. Another interesting indication along some- 
 what the same line is furnished by the postal receipts of the 
 State. In 1831 the total receipts from North Carolina were 
 $28,750, while in Virginia they were $84,078, in South 
 Carolina $47,993, in Tennessee $31,423, and in Georgia 
 $54,233. 
 
 There were, however, certain hopeful signs, some of which 
 have been mentioned already. In 1835 the religious condition 
 of the State was better than it had ever been and was improv- 
 ing rapidly. The Baptist State Convention had just been 
 founded, the Episcopal Church long in a seemingly hopeless 
 state of depression and apparently moribund, was reviving, 
 and the Methodist and Presbyterian communions were ex- 
 
Party Politics iist North Carolina 25 
 
 tending their influence widely. In many ways the moral and 
 humane sense of the people was beginning to manifest itself 
 as in the movement against maiming, corporal punishment 
 and imprisonment for debt ; for a penitentiary, for an insane 
 asylum, and a school for the deaf and dumb, and for 
 temperance. 
 
 Coming finally to political conditions, we find that they 
 bore a normal relation to the social and economic conditions. 
 Hugh McQueen in his address before the literary societies of 
 the University in 1838 made this enlightening statement: 
 
 Every unfledged nestling in politics turns with an aye of 
 solicitation to a seat in the State Legislature. Every poli- 
 tician of mature age, whose character is not in a positive 
 degree insufferable is looking forward with tumultuous eager- 
 ness to a place in the Hall of National Representatives, to a 
 situation in one of the Cabinet departments, or in the diplo- 
 matic service of the country. Every decent citizen is panting 
 for some post of public preferment and profit, those who have 
 not been sufficiently fortunate to obtain any other post are 
 posting their way with a provident share of speed to the 
 Republic of Texas. Politics, indeed, appear to swallow every 
 other interest, and the whole surface of the earth seems cov- 
 ered with politicians as Egypt once swarmed with locusts. 
 
 In spite of all the interest which the people of North 
 Carolina felt in politics, there was no sense of responsibility 
 for the needs of the State; such was the indifference that 
 usually there was scarcely a pretense of interest in the sub- 
 ject. Patriotism may have been present in the people — in 
 view of the later history of the State undoubtedly was — 
 but it was the type of patriotism that makes a people ready 
 and even willing to die for the State, but not to live for it. 
 In war they could be heroic with a simplicity which is one of 
 the attributes of greatness ; in peace, they could not even be, 
 or rather were not, good citizens in the fullest sense of the 
 term. Civic responsibility, civic pride, and civic ambition 
 all were lacking. The question why this was so is fairly 
 
26 James Spetjnt Historical Publications 
 
 easily answered. Quoting Doctor Wiley again, "Down to the 
 period of the Revolution, the people of North Carolina were 
 united in nothing but in dislike of the reigning powers; 
 were bound together by no general sympathies except a com- 
 mon love of liberty." This had unquestionably formed a 
 state habit of mind. At the period of which we speak, the 
 State as a whole was ignorant, shockingly so, even for that 
 time, and ignorance bred a type of individualism that knew 
 nothing of community spirit and that apparently could not 
 develop it. The only community sense that the mass of the 
 people of the State possessed in this period was a universal 
 desire to be let alone and permitted to "gang their ain gait" 
 and a common hatred of any movement which might require 
 the raising of taxes. Herein lies the explanation of the po- 
 litical and social immobility of the State. It was this which 
 made exiles of thousands of her sons who were ambitious for 
 themselves and their community. It was this condition 
 which made North Carolina, in the words of Henry Clay, "a 
 good State to come from," and which gave South Carolinians, 
 and a little later Virginians, under their breath, the oppor- 
 tunity to call North Carolina "the Rip Van Winkle of the 
 States." It was this that made many forward-looking North 
 Carolinians bitter; that made Archibald D. Murphey write 
 in 1819 to Thomas Ruffin: 
 
 I am getting disgusted with North Carolina; and if things 
 do not change for the better, I shall quit the State as soon as 
 I get my debts paid off. I have just completed a paper for 
 the principal engineer on the ways and means for making 
 her a great State. But I see clearly that it is all idle labor, 
 at least for this generation. Those who labor now will meet 
 with nothing but vexation, chagrin and disgust. Another 
 generation will profit by their labors. The spirit of the 
 present is radically mean and grovelling. 
 
 Another example of the same feeling is contained in the 
 following quotation from a letter written by a North Caro- 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 27 
 
 linian living in the far South to a brother who was still in the 
 State : 
 
 I congratulate you upon your appointment. I hope it will 
 not turn your head, as I do not think that any honor North 
 Carolina can bestow should have that effect upon any one so 
 well poised as you, and who is so conscious of the perfect con- 
 tempt excited by her niggardly policy and dearth of high and 
 ennobling patriotism. I was almost in hopes that her wise 
 men would have abolished her Supreme Court, and by that 
 means have driven from the State the eminent men who yet 
 linger within her limits, thereby leaving her barren of talent 
 and a prey to the silly demagogues who rule her destinies. 
 
 This then was the condition that confronted the real lead- 
 ers of the period. Not all the great men produced by North 
 Carolina left the State. There were many among those who 
 remained who dreamed great dreams for the State, who saw 
 clearly and with a statesman's vision. As far as the people 
 themselves were concerned it is undoubtedly true that the 
 homely and individual virtues were possessed by them in a 
 high degree. They were honest to the core, save where taxes 
 were concerned, simple and unassuming, in the main in- 
 dustrious, and on the whole God-fearing. Their lack was a 
 community lack of breadth of view and community con- 
 sciousness. 
 
 In December, 1837, over the signature of "Mentor," a 
 prominent North Carolinian began a series of articles which 
 ran in the Standard during several months. In them was 
 displayed a remarkably clear understanding of the defects in 
 the attitude of the people. The first paper began : 
 
 It is discouraging to witness the apathy which prevails 
 in North Carolina about all State affairs. There is no sub- 
 ject connected with the operations of the General Govern- 
 ment which does not enlist the zeal of our politicians and 
 command the attention of those who have leisure to discuss 
 it ; whilst the more immediate concerns of the people of North 
 Carolina are wholly disregarded, or else noticed in a manner 
 
28 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 that is even stronger proof of indifference than absolute 
 silence. I do not complain that the politics of the Nation 
 attracts attention. Far from it. But my complaint is that 
 there is a general indifference to the policy of the State; 
 that the latter is wholly absorbed by the former interest. 
 
 If a sense of duty and feelings of patriotism ever move a 
 public man of this State to venture upon any plans for her 
 aggrandizement — to throw himself against a current of nar- 
 row prejudices, strengthened by long habit; what is the sup- 
 port our press gives him in the struggle ? That portion of it 
 which agrees with him in National politics perhaps may send 
 forth one or two plaudits, whilst the other is satisfied with 
 an exhibition of extraordinary liberalty in venturing to 
 believe that he is really more honest and patriotic than they 
 had believed was possible in any man of his politics. 
 
 A later number of the series contained the following : 
 
 I am unable to assign all the reasons for it, yet the fact is 
 undeniable that our State in general exhibits a lively sensi- 
 bility of late years to the question of who shall be our next 
 President whilst her own leading men manifest little anxiety 
 about what is to be the destiny of North Carolina. We are 
 all in theory advocates of State rights and yet we do not seem 
 to consider that State rights are secure only when there are 
 State interest to protect. We deprecate the patronage and 
 power of the national government, (I speak not of this or that 
 Administration) whilst there are few if any who do not 
 greatly enlarge that patronage and increase that power by 
 infusing into all our State elections the party politics of the 
 general government. We can reckon to a man the sentiments 
 of our State representatives in reference to those questions of 
 National policy that divide us into parties ; but I doubt if the 
 best informed men on such topics can tell the opinions of any 
 10 members of the next Assembly upon any great question 
 of our State affairs. We spend our time, talents, and money, 
 to denounce the encroachments of Federal power; to uphold 
 or oppose the policy that is recommended by our National 
 officers, and I do not complain of it ; popular vigilance is the 
 best security for public liberty ; but we leave little or no time, 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 29 
 
 we give no portion of our talents or money to advocate the 
 interests of North Carolina, and establish a policy for the 
 State. 
 
 These two paragraphs best describe the basis of politics 
 in North Carolina in 1835 and for some years thereafter. 
 
 With this view of the general situation in North Caro- 
 lina we can turn our attention to party development. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1836 
 
 The North Carolina legislature of 1835 was elected while 
 the convention was still in session and met before the result 
 of the ratification election was known. The Democrats, or 
 the friends of Jackson's administration, as it is proper to 
 call them, since that was the dividing line of parties, were in 
 a large majority in each house and elected their candidates 
 for speakers without difficulty, William D. Moseley of Le- 
 noir, being chosen in the Senate and William H. Haywood 
 of Wake, in the House of Commons. Richard Dobbs Spaight, 
 Jr., was chosen governor over William B. Meares. Many 
 of the party desired Moseley for governor, but he declined 
 even to consider being a candidate. Governor Spaight 
 came of a distinguished family, being the son of Richard 
 Dobbs Spaight, who besides being governor himself, had 
 played a very prominent part in the political life of the State 
 during the preceding generation. He had been killed some 
 years before in a duel with John Stanly. The son was edu- 
 cated at the University where he graduated in 1815. He 
 became a lawyer and almost at once entered politics, being 
 elected to the House of Commons in 1819. He then served 
 three years in the Senate. He had also been one term in Con- 
 gress from 1823 to 1825. From that time he served con- 
 tinuously in the state senate until his election as governor. 
 He had twice been defeated for speaker and he had also been 
 a receptive candidate for governor and for United States 
 senator in 1830. At first, like most eastern men, he had 
 strongly opposed a convention, but he became converted and 
 the bill was finally passed largely through his influence. He 
 was a member of the convention and was chairman of the 
 committee on rules which acted as a steering committee. He 
 was not a candidate for governor at the time of his election 
 and in fact did not know that his name was to be presented. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 31 
 
 He was an ardent supporter of Van Buren which was in 
 North Carolina the final test of good Democracy. 
 
 Strong as the Democrats were in the legislature, the con- 
 gressional elections of 1835 gave much encouragement to 
 their opponents. Of the delegation of thirteen, the Whigs 
 elected seven. William B. Shepherd of Pasquotank, Ebenezer 
 Pettigrew of Washington, Edmund Deberry of Montgomery, 
 Augustine H. Shepperd of Stokes, Abraham Bencher of 
 Chatham, James Graham of Rutherford, and Lewis Williams 
 of Surry. The Democratic members were Jesse A. Bynum 
 of Halifax, Jesse Speight of Greene, James J. McKay of 
 Bladen, M. T. Hawkins of Warren, William Montgomery of 
 Orange, and Henry W. Connor of Catawba. And in North 
 Carolina at this time, the complexion of the congressional 
 delegation was regarded as of tremendous importance, and 
 victory there was usually of far greater interest than carry- 
 ing a state election. 
 
 An explanation of the situation in the State as con- 
 cerns national affairs will not only make the reasons for 
 this attitude clear, but will also best serve to explain the 
 whole political situation. North Carolina had not accepted 
 Jackson unreservedly and many of his acts had alienated 
 whole sections of his followers. This was particularly 
 true of his action in the case of nullification in South 
 Carolina, and to a much greater degree, of his de- 
 struction of the United States Bank. As far as nullification 
 itself was concerned, there was really but little division of 
 sentiment, but opinion varied as to the President's method 
 of meeting it. In respect to the bank, North Carolina feeling 
 had changed greatly in the years which had intervened since 
 its creation. At first universally suspected and even hated, 
 in recent years it had been gaining ground steadily. Branches 
 had been established in the more important places and of 
 greater import, men like Mangum and Gaston favoring it 
 threw the weight of their influence in its behalf and senti- 
 ment for it spread. The matter now brought about an in- 
 teresting and important series of happenings. 
 
32 James Sprttnt Historical Publications 
 
 Willie P. Mangum was at this time one of the most im- 
 portant figures in the political life of North Carolina. Born 
 in Orange County, May 10, 1792, he was prepared for college 
 in Fayetteville and Raleigh, and graduated at the University 
 in 1815. Studying law with Judge Duncan Cameron he 
 was admitted to the bar in 1817 and was immediately suc- 
 cessful, but his inclinations were all towards politics and in 
 1818 and again in 1819 he was a member of the House of 
 Commons from Orange and took a prominent place. In 
 1819, two years after he received his license, he was elected a 
 judge of the Superior Court over George E. Badger and 
 William Norwood, but only remained on the bench for one 
 year. In 1823 he defeated Daniel L. Barringer for Con- 
 gress and was re-elected in 1825, defeating Rev. Josiah Cro- 
 dup, a Baptist minister and one of the most accomplished 
 politicians in the State. In 1824 Mangum was a strong sup- 
 porter of Crawford for the presidency and voted for him 
 when the election went to the House of Representatives. In 
 March, 1826, he resigned and in August was appointed by 
 Governor Burton to the Superior bench to succeed Judge 
 Paxton, but the legislature failed to confirm the election and 
 chose Robert Strange. In 1828 he was an elector on the 
 Jackson ticket, and was a strong Jackson supporter. In the 
 same year he was chosen without opposition to succeed 
 Thomas Puffin on the Superior bench and served until 1830 
 when he resigned to become a candidate for United States 
 senator. He withdrew in favor of Iredell as far as Macon's 
 vacant seat was concerned but in 1830 he was elected over 
 Governor John Owen, Judge John R. Donnell, Richard D. 
 Spaight, and Montford Stokes. He was at this time still a 
 Jackson man, but as time went on, he drifted away from 
 Jackson and the Democratic party. He was not a protection- 
 ist and so was not in full sympathy with Henry Clay, but 
 while not a nullifier, he opposed Jackson's South Carolina 
 policy and violently opposing his bank policy, voted for the 
 resolution of censure. As North Carolina Democrats made 
 support of Jackson and consequent hatred of the bank and of 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 33 
 
 nullification not only cardinal virtues, but required doctrine, 
 Mangum was soon entirely out of sympathy with the Jackson 
 wing of the old Republican party, and when the legislature of 
 1834, after a very long and most bitterly contested struggle 
 instructed him and his colleague, Bedford Brown, to vote for 
 Benton's resolution to expunge the resolution of censure, he 
 denied absolutely the right of the General Assembly to take 
 such action and announced on the floor of the Senate his in- 
 tention of ignoring the instructions as of no validity. Bed- 
 ford Brown, on the other hand, accepted the instructions, 
 which accorded with his inclinations, and endorsed the prin- 
 ciple involved. His term expired at this session and he was 
 triumphantly re-elected. 
 
 Bedford Brown was scarcely a less striking figure in 
 North Carolina politics than Mangum. Born in Caswell 
 County in 1792, he was a student at the University for one 
 year, and the next, 1815, he was elected to the House of 
 Commons from Caswell along with Romulus M. Saunders, 
 another prominent figure of the time, and served for three 
 terms. He was a member of the House again in 1823, and 
 in 1828 was elected to the state Senate to succeed Bartlett 
 Yancey. The following year he was re-elected and was 
 chosen speaker, and while filling that position, a deadlock 
 having occurred in the election of a United States senator 
 to succeed John Branch who had entered Jackson's cabinet 
 as secretary of the navy, he was elected to the position. He 
 was already a strong supporter of Jackson and while in the 
 Senate became his close personal friend. 
 
 The difference between the views of the two senators gives 
 a good idea of the opinions of the two factions in North 
 Carolina soon to become political parties. Brown was a strict 
 constructionist and a strong State's rights man of views very 
 similar to those of Nathaniel Macon. This type formed the 
 Democratic party. Mangum, on the other hand, represented 
 the latitudinarian, anti-Jackson, pro-bank group which soon 
 formed the Whig party. Brown's supporters were mainly in 
 the east and hence were those who had fairly consistently 
 
34 James Sprujstt Historical Publications 
 
 opposed constitutional reform in the State, while Mangum 
 found his chief support in the West which had supported 
 Jackson in 1824 but abandoned him after 1828, largely be- 
 cause the East had turned a somersault and accepted him. 
 The West, therefore, became Whig territory, and the organi- 
 zation formed for securing constitutional reform, became a 
 potent factor in state politics after reform was secured. In- 
 deed, it was this which made the State Whig for the long 
 period which followed. 
 
 But to return to the question of instructions, Mangum, 
 conscious of the support of the anti-Jackson men in the State, 
 and with constitutional reform in sight which would greatly 
 increase the political power of his followers, relied upon the 
 prospects of immediate victory. To the Jackson supporters 
 he at once became a hated object, the feeling being sharply 
 intensified by the fact that he had formerly been himself a 
 supporter of the President. Wherever possible, pressure was 
 brought to bear by his opponents. The grand jury of Edge- 
 combe County passed a vote of lack of confidence in him 
 and calling upon him to resign and the Democratic press 
 attacked him sharply, suggesting the same course. 
 
 Soon after the election of Governor Spaight and the ad- 
 journment of the legislature of 1835, the question of candi- 
 dates for the first popular election was raised. The two po- 
 litical influences in the State of greatest power were the 
 Standard, a paper established in Raleigh in 1834 by Philo 
 White, and now edited by Thomas Loring, its political po- 
 sition being best understood by its motto, which was : "The 
 Constitution and the Union of the States — they must be 
 preserved," and the Register, established in Raleigh in 1799 
 by Joseph Gales and continued under the editorial control 
 of Weston R. Gales. The latter had been at the time of its 
 establishment a Republican paper, but it was at this time 
 definitely aligned with the opposition to Jackson who called 
 themselves National Republicans, but were already being 
 generally called Whigs. In a sense it may be regarded as the 
 organ of the party. Both papers were very active in calling 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 35 
 
 attention to the names of suitable persons for the governor- 
 ship and the other papers of the State were not less enter- 
 prising. Almost without discussion the pro-Van Buren, or 
 rather pro-Jackson, forces settled upon Governor Spaight for 
 re-election. Indeed it was almost necessary that they should, 
 for in ability, in character, and in record they had no better 
 man and they could not afford to neglect him. The Demo- 
 crats of Macon County held a meeting in February, 1836, 
 and placed his name in nomination and their example was 
 followed by Lincoln and Warren almost immediately. Early 
 in March the Standard placed his name at the head of its 
 editorial columns as its candidate and thereafter none of the 
 party questioned the wisdom of the choice while Democratic 
 meetings in a majority of the counties definitely endorsed 
 him. 
 
 There was more difficulty in choosing a candidate for the 
 opposition. Mangum's name was mentioned in 1835, but 
 he did not desire the position, or care to leave the Senate. 
 In addition, he would have been a dangerous candidate 
 on account of the heat aroused by the instructions ques- 
 tion. He was, moreover, in a sense, already a candidate for 
 vindication and would not help the ticket. He was, however, 
 denounced by the Standard as a "blue light Federalist 
 speechifier during the war." In a short while the anti-ad- 
 ministration candidates narrowed down to Edward B. Dudley 
 of New Hanover, and Thomas Gr. Polk of Rowan, who had 
 been named by Fayetteville and Salisbury papers respective- 
 ly. Early in January Polk wrote a letter to the Western 
 Carolinian, which had nominated him and, declining to have 
 his name considered, endorsed Dudley for the nomination. 
 Two weeks later a Whig mass meeting in Wake County 
 formally nominated Dudley as a supporter of Hugh L. 
 White of Tennessee for the Presidency. This was really the 
 keynote of the campaign; local issues had no part in the 
 choice of candidate and the candidates appealed for support 
 on the ground of the strength of their loyalty to the presi- 
 dential candidates of their respective parties. When Dud- 
 
36 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 ley wrote accepting the Wake nomination, he said nothing 
 whatever about state issues or the needs of the State, but 
 devoted nearly all the space of his letter to denunciation of 
 Van Buren, saying among other things, "To say all in one 
 sentence : He is not one of us. He is a Northern man in 
 soul, in principle, and in action, with not one feeling of sym- 
 pathy or interest for the South." The Standard denounced 
 this view as narrow, unpatriotic and entirely characteristic 
 of a "nullification candidate." 
 
 Edward B. Dudley was a native of Onslow, which county 
 he represented in the House of Commons in 1811 and 1813, 
 and in the Senate in 1814. He then moved to Wilmington 
 where he at once became prominent. He represented New 
 Hanover in the House of Commons in 1816, 1817, 1834, and 
 1835. He also served one term in Congress from 1829 to 
 1831, but refused to return on the ground that Congress was 
 not a fit place for any person who wanted to be honest. 
 Dudley was a man of great wealth, of liberal and large views, 
 of genial disposition, but at the same time of a firmness and 
 courage that at times approximated very closely to obsti- 
 nacy. He was a man of large frame and imposing presence 
 and while he was possessed of no remarkable ability, he had 
 a great fund of practical common sense, a possession which 
 has rightly been called uncommon. As was to be expected he 
 was an earnest opponent of instructions to senators in theory 
 and had opposed it in practice. He was a staunch friend 
 of railroads and other internal improvements and at this 
 time was president of the Wilmington & Raleigh Railroad, 
 soon to become the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad. It was 
 his interest in internal improvements which made him especi- 
 ally acceptable to the West. 
 
 The campaign continued throughout the spring and sum- 
 mer and was of course an entirely new thing for North 
 Carolina. The candidates were not on the stump, but they 
 were constantly writing letters and conferring with interested 
 politicians. A feature of the campaign was the banquets 
 at various places where great enthusiasm was aroused. But 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 37 
 
 nowhere were state issues discussed if indeed it can truthfully 
 be said that there were any state issues. The national po- 
 litical situation swamped and overwhelmed that of the State. 
 It was indeed a far cry to that time when men resigned from 
 the Senate, the Cabinet, and even from the chief justiceship 
 of the Supreme Court of the United States to run for gov- 
 ernor or even lesser state offices. The change of attitude un- 
 doubtedly helped the national government, but it proved 
 highly disastrous for the States. 
 
 The campaign was accompanied by many charges and 
 counter charges, and the press was unsparing in its criticism 
 and denunciation of opponents. Both the Standard and the 
 Register were inclined to carry the matter rather far, but 
 each had much to say of the offenses of the other. The 
 Standard early in the year, under the heading, "Editorial 
 Courtesy," had the following to say on the subject : 
 
 It is our sincere desire to be on terms of at least editorial 
 courtesy with all our brethren of the type. But when an 
 editor of a paper loses all respect for himself and his voca- 
 tion, and so far violates the common decencies of society, as 
 to use the billingsgate of a fish market, or the ribaldry of a 
 tap-room, in combatting the arguments of a contemporary, 
 we have laid it down as a rul^ for guidance, during the whole 
 course of our editorial life, to decline a contest with such a 
 man. And whenever an editor has assailed us from behind 
 a mud-battery, with the weapons he may have grasped from 
 the ditch, it has been our practice to pass by on the other 
 side. For the odds would be against us, not being skilled in 
 such warfare, nor having the material with which to carry it 
 on. But even were it otherwise, we could acquire neither 
 reputation nor glory in obtaining a victory in such a contest 
 — for however well directed might be our discharges, the 
 enemy would be but revelling in his wonted element ! We 
 would always prefer putting up with the scurrility of a chim- 
 ney-sweep rather than soil our garments with chastizing him. 
 
 During the campaign the Democrats attempted to prove 
 that Dudley was inclined to abolitionist views because as a 
 .member of the legislature he had voted for a resolution which 
 
38 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 condemned any interference by Congress with slavery in the 
 District of Columbia, but which conceded the right of Con- 
 gress to interfere. Dudley, interestingly enough, made the 
 identical charge against Van Buren upon almost the same 
 ground. Leading Democrats in the State had already drawn 
 from Van Buren a statement of his views on the question 
 which were substantially the same as those held by Dudley 
 and the majority of North Carolinians. In other words it 
 was entirely a feigned issue. In the same way nullification 
 played a large part in the campaign. The Whigs charged 
 Spaight with having attempted to establish a newspaper in 
 the State in the interest of nullification. This was disproved, 
 and the Democrats were equally unfortunate in their attempts 
 to prove that the Whig leaders almost without exception had 
 nullification sympathies. They were, however, able to make 
 considerable capital of the fact that Calhoun and the other 
 South Carolina nullifiers were opposing Van Buren and act- 
 ing in other ways with the Whigs. Just at this time Calhoun 
 had an exceedingly small following in North Carolina. He 
 had been very strong in the State prior to the nullification 
 controversy and his break with Jackson, and he was destined 
 again to be accepted as a leader by those who now opposed 
 him most bitterly, but in 1836 both factions disclaimed him, 
 the administration followers with peculiar bitterness. The 
 Standard never lost an opportunity of abuse and criticism, 
 the following extract being characteristic : "There was a time 
 when Mr. Calhoun was suspected and when the patriots of 
 our country dreaded his criminal ambition. But that time 
 is past; he is now known; and is as much entitled to the 
 political confidence of the American people, as Judas Iscariot 
 was to that of the faithful eleven — and no more." 
 
 Other questions which entered the campaign were the 
 bank and senatorial instructions. The last-mentioned was 
 practically the only subject brought up which bore any re- 
 lation to a state issue. This was so because of the Mangum 
 incident. His term in the 'Senate was about to expire, and he 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 39 
 
 was a candidate for re-election. The Democrats, therefore, 
 sought to arouse as much feeling on the subject as possible. 
 
 Both sides had much to say of the evils of party spirit. 
 The Democrats being in office, naturally deprecated it more 
 than their opponents who were trying to get in. In 1835 the 
 Standard had condemned the opposition very harshly for 
 attempting to elect the speaker of the House of Commons and 
 it now had much to say in the same vein about the opposition 
 to Governor Spaight's re-election. 
 
 The North Carolina Whigs generally had accepted Judge 
 Hugh L. White as the most suitable opponent for Van Buren 
 and practically every leader was pledged to him and nearly 
 every Whig meeting endorsed his candidacy. But when 
 General Harrison's name was brought out, a strong dispo- 
 sition favorable to him was apparent, not that he was a first 
 choice ; it is doubtful if the Whigs really had any choice ; still 
 he was regarded as a good compromise candidate in the event 
 of the election's being thrown into the House of Representa- 
 tives. In other words, the Whigs wanted to defeat Van 
 Buren; if with White, well and good; if not, with someone 
 else, whoever he might be. Jackson, after all, was the na- 
 tional as well as state issue with the North Carolina Whigs, 
 as to a great extent he was the issue with the North Caro- 
 lina Democrats, for many of the latter were not wildly 
 enthusiastic over Van Buren except as Jackson's choice for 
 his successor. 
 
 The state election came in August, and its results were in 
 doubt' for some time. Finally it was clearly evident that 
 Dudley was elected though his majority — 4,043 — was not 
 known until the legislature canvassed the vote after the 
 national election. The complexion of the legislature remain- 
 ed in doubt until the session began, but both sides claimed 
 control. 
 
 The election returns are interesting. The following 
 western counties were carried by Spaight: Ashe, Caswell, 
 Haywood, Lincoln, Macon, Mecklenburg, Person, Rocking- 
 ham, Surry and Yancey. Person always voted with the East 
 
40 James Spkttnt Historical Publications 
 
 but not so the others, and the split shows interesting Demo- 
 cratic strength in the West. Dudley carried the following 
 eastern counties: Beaufort, Brunswick, Carteret, Camden, 
 Columbus, Granville, Halifax, Hertford, Hyde, Jones, 
 Northampton, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Richmond, Tyrrell 
 and Washington. He was an eastern man and was well and 
 favorably known in that section of the State, a fact which 
 of course counted for much in the election. But the general 
 result does indicate that sectionalism was decreasing and 
 . points to the existence of two political parties geographically 
 coincident. 
 
 The Democrats were greatly upset at the result. They 
 made many explanations of which the following, appearing 
 in the Standard in September, while not quite typical, is not 
 much more laughable than many others, and probably it had 
 much more truth. In any event it furnishes a shocking com- 
 mentary upon political conditions in the State: "They even 
 condescended in some distant parts of the State where the 
 people were not familiar with the names and policies of the 
 candidates to represent Governor Spaight as the candidate of 
 the opposition and General Dudley as the candidate of the 
 Administration party." The truth is that the day of the 
 Democrats in state affairs was over for many a year. The 
 tardiness of the emancipation of the West had permitted the 
 growth and development of a party there which in alliance 
 with certain elements of the East could easily control the 
 State, and under normal conditions it did so for 14 years. 
 
 The election was watched with great interest outside the 
 State as bearing upon the national campaign. There was 
 little comfort for the administration. Van Buren wrote 
 Bedford Brown that the administration could not deceive 
 itself as to what the result indicated for November so far 
 as North Carolina was concerned. But in the State the 
 Democrats did not lose heart. As national politics had 
 dominated the state campaign, at least so far as the leaders 
 were concerned, the chief interest of the year was still to 
 come in the presidential election. So they lost no spirit, but 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 41 
 
 rather redoubled their exertions. The Whigs, on the other 
 hand, being over-confident, grew slack. The Democrats were 
 fortunate in enlisting Nathaniel Macon in the cause, and he 
 finally consented to be a candidate for elector on the Van 
 Buren ticket. The old leader was heart and soul for Van 
 Buren just as in later years, he had been for Jackson, and 
 his presence on the ticket undoubtedly helped it. The Demo- 
 crats made much of it, and the last political effort of Macon 
 was crowned with success. He died the next year. 
 
 The election resulted in the selection of Democratic elec- 
 tors with a popular majority of 9,240. It was the expiring 
 flicker of Jacksonian Democracy in North Carolina national \/ 
 elections, the last triumph of the Democrats in a national' 
 election there for twenty years. Then, under the pressure 
 of new national problems, the State returned to the Demo- 
 cratic fold, but the Democracy of 1856 was not Jacksonian; 
 rather it was that of Calhoun. 
 
 The geographical division of the vote was somewhat the 
 same as in the state election. In the West the Democrats 
 gained Buncombe, Orange and Stokes, and in the East they 
 gained Columbus, and lost Pitt. Their majorities in many 
 cases were, however, considerably increased. The explana- 
 tion lies wholly in the hold of Jackson upon the State. 
 
 The legislature as elected turned out to be a tie between 
 the parties on joint ballot, but for some reason not known, 
 John B. Muse of Pasquotank, a Whig, resigned before the 
 meeting, and his successor was a Democrat. This gave that 
 party a majority of one before the successor was elected. 
 The Senate chose Hugh Waddell of Orange, a Whig, as 
 speaker over W. D. Moseley, and the House of Commons 
 elected William H. Haywood over William A. Graham. 
 Governor Spaight in his message endorsed public education 
 and internal improvements, both of which were to be the 
 main reliance of the Whigs in the period of their supremacy. 
 
 On November 26, Mangum, who received the electoral 
 vote of South Carolina for President, interpreting the elec- 
 
42 James Sprtjnt Historical Publications 
 
 tion as an endorsement of the doctrine of instructions, as 
 indeed in part it was, and realizing that he had no hope of 
 re-election, resigned from the United States senate. Judge 
 Robert Strange of Fayetteville, a strong Democrat and a 
 firm believer in the doctrine of instructions, was chosen for 
 the unexpired term and, a few days later, for the new term. 
 His majority was the party majority of one. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1838 
 
 The legislature of 1836 differed but little from its pre- 
 decessors. Much of its time was spent in the consideration 
 of small things, but a hopeful sign was the increasing interest 
 manifested in the development of railroads. Not yet was 
 the State prepared for a state system of internal improve- 
 ments or even for state aid on any extended scale, but the 
 interest manifested during the session in private ventures 
 argued well for the future. Among its acts worthy of men- 
 tion were those providing for the draining of the swamp 
 lands of the State, the receipts from the sale of drained 
 lands to be turned into the Literary Fund, and the appropria- 
 tion of $200,000 for the purpose; the acceptance by almost a 
 unanimous vote of the surplus revenue of the United States 
 Government; and the amendment of the Internal Improve- 
 ment Fund act. The Raleigh and Columbia, the Norfolk 
 and Edenton, and the North Carolina Central Railroad 
 Companies were incorporated, and the charters of six other 
 roads were amended to their advantage. Provision was 
 made for the laying out of a state road from Franklin across 
 the Nantahala Mountain to the Georgia line. The county 
 of Davie was erected. Five judges, Owen Holmes, who did 
 not accept, Richmond M. Pearson, Frederick Nash, John D. 
 Toomer, and John L. Bailey, were chosen and a number of 
 solicitors besides the regular state officers. In none of the 
 elections is it possible to trace partisanship. In fact a con- 
 siderable majority of the officers chosen were Whigs. Two 
 elaborate series of resolutions, both introduced by Kenneth 
 Rayner, failed to pass. One was a very strong pro-slavery 
 argument addressed to Congress, while the other called for 
 the distribution of the proceeds from the sale of public lands 
 among the States proportionately. The latter was at this 
 time the plan of Henry Clay and was very popular among 
 North Carolina Whigs. 
 
44 James Sprttnt Historical Publications 
 
 Governor Dudley was inaugurated on the first of Janu- 
 ary, 1837, and in his inaugural address made a strong plea 
 for progress. The following is the highly significant part of 
 his message in that it was the keynote of the Whig party at 
 its best stage : 
 
 As a State, we stand fifth in population, first in climate, 
 equal in soil, minerals and ores, with superior advantages 
 for manufacturing and with a hardy, industrious and eco- 
 nomical people. Yet, with such unequalled natural facilities, 
 we are actually least in the scale of relative wealth and enter- 
 prise, and our condition daily becoming worse — lands de- 
 pressed in price, fallow and deserted — manufacturing advan- 
 tages unimproved — our store of mineral wealth undisturbed, 
 and our colleges and schools languishing from neglect. It is 
 a true but melancholy picture, and it is our business to pre- 
 scribe the remedy. In the want of capital and of that 
 generous confidence which should exist between Government 
 and the people, mutually, to assist and support each other, 
 I think I find the evil, and the corrective is palpable. In- 
 crease your circulating medium, give to industry and enter- 
 prise their proper incentives, and make interest the connect- 
 ing tie between ourselves and our constituents and we at 
 once seize hold of their confidence and affections and arrest 
 the torrent of emigration which is desolating our State. 
 
 The year 1837 had little of political interest outside of 
 the congressional campaign which, concerned, properly 
 enough it is true, only with national affairs, excited genuine 
 and widespread interest. It must not be supposed that the 
 interest in national affairs indicated any unusually strong 
 national feeling. States' Rights sentiment was powerful in 
 ISTorth Carolina throughout the entire period from 1776 to 
 1860. The reasons for the fact have already been discussed 
 and will cause further comment later. 
 
 The congressional elections were therefore hotly contested 
 in most cases. The Whigs gained one seat only to lose it 
 during the term of the next Congress through a change of 
 opinion on the part of the member. William B. Shepard 
 of Pasquotank, a Whig, was succeeded by Samuel T. Sawyer 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 45 
 
 of Chowan, and Jesse Speight of Greene, a Democrat, was 
 defeated by Charles Shepard of Craven, who was a moderate 
 Whig. These were the only changes made in the delegation. 
 
 With the congressional canvass completed, the politics- 
 ridden State turned its attention to a discussion of suitable 
 candidates for the presidency in 1840 and to incidental men- 
 tion of possible and gubernatorial candidates in 1838. In 
 the Whig camp there was little need for discussion, for the 
 party was committed heart and soul to Henry Clay. But 
 party lines were in a way very loosely drawn and so it 
 was felt to be necessary to sing his praises in and out of 
 season in order to draw the hesitant and the doubting to his 
 standard. Practically no one else was mentioned at this time. 
 All the Whig papers were enlisted in his behalf and they 
 considered no one else. In the same way the Whigs took 
 Governor Dudley's renomination for granted, and no other 
 candidate was suggested. 
 
 In the Democratic ranks there was the same unity as to 
 a presidential candidate. Van Buren's supremacy was un- 
 disputed and the only quarrel was with the opposition. So 
 Clay and Webster were consistently accused of yielding on 
 all points to the abolitionists, while Harrison was mentioned 
 only to belittle him. For the governorship the Democrats 
 had apparently no one to offer. In February, the Standard, 
 stating that a considerable number of leading Democrats 
 agreed with it, took the ground that the governorship ought 
 not to be contested, declaring that if the office was to be put 
 on a party basis, it would be "disturbing to the repose of the 
 State." "If the official conduct of the executive officer of a 
 State is unexceptionable, it certainly gives him claim to 
 election. In the case of Governor Dudley, so far, no dissatis- 
 faction has been given to the people of the State." Declaring 
 that the question of abolition was the only issue, that 
 therefore the State should be undivided, and that Dudley 
 had never been a party governor, it continued : "It may be 
 said that the opposition had no regard to the claims of Gov- 
 ernor Spaight who had done nothing to provoke hostility. 
 
46 James Sprtjnt Historical, Publications 
 
 True ! but the conduct of the opposition can furnish no plea 
 to Democratic Republicans for desertion of their principles. 
 The time was (though we fear it has gone by) when the 
 orthodox Democratic creed taught that in the selection of 
 State officers we should ask what were their opinions of 
 State matters; in choosing National officers, what do they 
 hold on National affairs. That this has not continued to be 
 the plan of selection may be attributed to the proscriptive 
 spirit of the Federal party." In view of the facts of the case, 
 this last assertion of the Standard is interesting, and yet, as 
 will be seen, it is true that the Whig party in North Carolina 
 first began to apply the spoils system to state affairs. 
 
 It is difficult now to understand just the reasons for the 
 Standard's position as to Dudley. It is true that he had al- 
 ways been exceedingly popular and that he had grown more 
 so during his term of office. In addition, the Standard had 
 no one to offer in opposition and it later appeared that the 
 editor at the time believed that Dudley would vote neither 
 for Clay, Webster, nor Harrison, and that he was opposed 
 to the re-establishment of the United States Bank. As Dud- 
 ley was on record in believing that a protective tariff was 
 unconstitutional, it can readily be seen that he was not an 
 unattractive candidate as Whig candidates went. Here is 
 probably the explanation of the Standard' s action. However, 
 that may be, the position taken was not popular with the rest 
 of the Democratic press and criticism was very sharp from 
 all quarters of the State. 
 
 In the meantime, Dudley had seriously considered re- 
 fusing to be a candidate for re-election. He told John 
 Branch, who Was a warm personal friend, of his intention. 
 Branch, who, although he had revolted against Jackson after 
 the break-up of the cabinet and his own consequent retire- 
 ment from the Navy Department, had now returned to his 
 full Democratic allegiance, warned him against undue haste 
 in making his decision; and Dudley later decided to be a 
 candidate. In July, a group of Wake County Democrats 
 met at the house of one of their number and nominated 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 47 
 
 Branch. He was informed of this action by a letter dated 
 July 4, in which he was asked to define his opinion on the 
 Independent Treasury and the Bank of the United States, 
 and three days later he replied accepting the nomination. 
 In his letter he declared that the immediate issue was that 
 of the establishment of the bank, but that behind it lay the 
 menace of a loose construction of the Constitution when the 
 South could only be safe under a system of strict construction. 
 "For Governor Dudley I entertain personally the highest 
 respect and esteem and nothing could induce me to oppose 
 his re-election, but the paramount consideration above alluded 
 to." The Democratic press and leaders accepted his candi- 
 dacy, but the Standard, in announcing its support of the 
 nominee, declined to retract any of its former statements as 
 to the campaign. 
 
 The Whigs immediately accused Branch of inducing 
 Dudley to run only to contest his election himself. They 
 also called attention to the fact that Branch had been recently 
 nominated in Leon County, Florida, for membership in a 
 constitutional convention which the people were trying to 
 secure, and said that this was proof positive that he was a 
 citizen of Florida and hence ineligible to office in North 
 Carolina. They also used against him with some effect his 
 famous speech in the legislature of 1834 which gave an inside 
 account of the break-up of the cabinet, and in which he had 
 expressed no flattering opinion of Van Buren. 
 
 John Branch was a native of Halifax County. Born in 
 1782, he graduated from the University in 1801 and studied 
 law under Judge John Haywood. He was, however, possess- 
 ed of great wealth by inheritance and never practiced his 
 profession. In 1811 and from 1813 to 1817 he represented 
 his county in the state Senate, being speaker in 1816 and 
 1817. In the latter year he has was elected governor and 
 served for the three terms, the maximum number under the 
 constitution. He returned to the state Senate in 1822 for one 
 term and in 1823 was elected United States senator to suc- 
 ceed Montford Stokes and was re-elected in 1829. In March, 
 
48 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 1829, lie resigned to become secretary of the navy under 
 Jackson. Parton says of him : "Mr. Branch was not one of 
 those who achieve greatness, nor one of those who have great- 
 ness thrust upon them. He was born to it. Inheriting an 
 ample estate, he lived for many years upon his plantations 
 and employed himself in superintending their culture. He 
 was a man of respectable talents, good presence, and high 
 social position." When the cabinet was broken up Jackson 
 offered him the governorship of the territory of Florida, a 
 position he was later to hold under President Tyler, but 
 while Branch owned much property in Florida and the po- 
 sition might not have been uncongenial, he was in no mood 
 to accept anything at the President's hand and peremp- 
 torily refused to consider any appointment. Returning to 
 North Carolina, he was at once elected to Congress. He 
 was in the legislature in 1834 and he was a member of the 
 convention of 1835 and quite prominent in its activities. 
 Such was the distinguished career of the Democratic candi- 
 date. 
 
 The campaign such as it was, for in the modern sense 
 there can scarcely be said to have been any, was very dull 
 with little to arouse interest. Also because Branch was not 
 nominated until July, it was very short. Immediately after 
 his nomination it was evident that a mistake had been made 
 in bringing him out so late and there was really never any 
 hope of his election. National discussion, as always, pre- 
 dominated and the United States Bank was the chief issue. 
 The Standard now had a sub-motto : "The people against the 
 Bank." Once more, too, nullification sentiments and sympa- 
 thies were charged against political opponents. But a change 
 was coming over some of the people. This is best indicated 
 by the fact of the Standard's reprinting Calhoun's speeches 
 in the Senate on various subjects and endorsing them. The 
 abolition movement was making considerable headway by 
 1838 and the effects were easily visible in North Carolina. 
 This question also entered into the campaign. 
 
 In spite of the dullness of the campaign, the press waxed 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 49 
 
 bitter. Parenthetically it may be said that there have been 
 but few if any campaigns since when at least a part if 
 not all of the press was not bitter. It has been a character- 
 istic of North Carolina political campaigns. Speaking of 
 the bitterness, the Standard said : "We have before us three 
 of the leading Whig papers of North Carolina, published 
 within a month in which collectively the terms loco foco, im- 
 posters, agrarians, senseless loafers, sluggish idlers, swag- 
 gering penniless braggarts are used as applicable to the Dem- 
 ocratic Republican party." The charge was true and is par- 
 ticularly interesting in that it shows the tendency of the 
 Whig party in North Carolina, in spite of the facts of its 
 foundation and its geographical strength to become a party 
 of the classes as distinguished from the masses. 
 
 The election came and Dudley carried forty-three coun- 
 ties with a majority of more than 14,000. The total Whig 
 vote increased only 336 votes while the Democratic vote de- 
 creased 9,797. A Whig legislature was chosen with control of 
 both houses and a majority on joint ballot of fourteen. Man- 
 gum — who had declined to be a candidate for Congress the 
 year before, probably because he was afraid that Doctor 
 Montgomery would defeat him, a fear not entirely unfound- 
 ed, — was a candidate for the Senate from Orange, but was 
 defeated, to the unholy joy of the Democrats who made 
 special efforts to that end. Mangum said during the cam- 
 paign with some truth : "The Van Buren party would rather 
 see the devil unchained and put in the Legislature than to see 
 me elected." 
 
 The Whigs, naturally were very jubilant, the Register 
 expressing their feeling in the following editorial : 
 
 The keynote North Carolina has struck 
 
 Of victory full and entire, 
 In the "slough of despond" Locofoco is stuck , 
 
 As deep in the mud as the mire. 
 
 It is with feelings such as we have rarely experienced 
 that we announce that North Carolina, too, has cast down her 
 idols, and joined in the loud chorus of triumph and joy, 
 
50 James Spbunt Historical Publications 
 
 which commencing in Maine, has been now reverberated from 
 almost every State in the Union. Yes, the Old North is 
 now emphatically "redeemed, regenerated, and disenthrall- 
 ed." After a fight of war to the knife and the knife to the 
 hilt, victory has perched upon the Whig banner, nnder the 
 glorious folds of which so many gallant States have taken 
 shelter. Make way then for us and proclaim to the utmost 
 verge of the Union that North Carolina has elected a Whig 
 Governor ! a Whig Senate ! ! and a Whig House of Com- 
 mons ! ! ! 
 
 The legislature met in November and the Whigs elected 
 the officers. Andrew Joyner of Halifax, was chosen speaker 
 of the Senate over Louis D. Wilson of Edgecombe, and Wil- 
 liam A. Graham of Orange, speaker of the House over Mich- 
 ael Hoke of Lincoln. Governor Dudley's message contained 
 bitter criticism of the protective tariff and also of the finan- 
 cial measures of Jackson's and Van Buren's administra- 
 tions. It also strongly endorsed the re-establishment of the 
 Bank of the United States and made a plea for the state 
 banks. A large part of the message, which was unusually 
 long for that day, was taken up with these matters. He sug- 
 gested an entailed homestead, urged continuance and elabo- 
 ration of the system of internal improvements, and urgently 
 recommended the creation of a system of public schools. 
 Struck with the lack of suitable and prepared teachers, he 
 suggested the plan since adopted of providing free tuition at 
 the University for those would agree to teach for a certain 
 term of years. 
 
 In his inaugural which came later in the session, the 
 Governor again urged public education and internal im- 
 provements. The address showed evidence of considerable 
 party heat and rancor. Declaring that the stability of the 
 State's institutions was threatened by the levelling spirit 
 prevalent, he called upon the people to hold it in check. This 
 part of the address excited considerable hostile comment, the 
 Standard saying that it was "a political firebrand wantonly 
 and gratuitously thrown into our councils at a time when 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 51 
 
 conciliatory language was of vast importance to the interests 
 of the State." 
 
 Towards the close of the campaign, the Democrats quite 
 frequently made the charge that the Whigs planned in the 
 event of their controlling the legislature, to instruct the two 
 Democratic senators, and thus force their resignation, ~No 
 sooner was the result certain than it became evident that they 
 had some such intention, and soon after the session opened, 
 Kenneth Rayner of Hertford, introduced a series of resolu- 
 tions designed to embarrass the senators. Declaring that a 
 great crisis had arrived in the political history of the coun- 
 try, in which it was the duty of the people's representatives 
 to express their opinions calmly and dispassionately, the reso- 
 lutions condemned the passage of the expunging resolution, 
 and called for a counter resolution by the Senate condemning 
 that action ; condemning the proposed sub-treasury scheme ; 
 and endorsing the distribution policy. The final resolution 
 was the important one. It was as follows : "Resolved, That 
 our Senators in Congress will represent the wishes of a large 
 majority of the people of this State by voting to carry out 
 the foregoing resolutions." 
 
 These resolutions had been the subject of prolonged Whig 
 caucuses and were finally decided upon after advice was 
 taken from practically every leading member of tne party 
 in the State. Their form was a matter of considerable im- 
 portance and much care was taken in regard to it. In the long 
 debate which followed upon their introduction, the whole 
 purpose of the Democrats was to amend the resolutions so as 
 at least to commit the Whigs to an endorsement of the prin- 
 ciple of instruction; but all attempts at this were futile. 
 The Whigs had the power and were determined to use it 
 and, if possible, to drive Brown and Strange from the Senate ; 
 but they were unwilling to accept the doctrine of instructions. 
 And so, by a strict party vote in each house, they defeated 
 every amendment and passed the resolution. David S. Reid 
 immediately moved a resolution endorsing the votes of the 
 
52 James Spkttnt Historical Publications 
 
 two senators against certain abolitionist measures, but this 
 was defeated by a party vote. 
 
 As soon as the senators received the resolutions, they 
 wrote expressing the belief that the General Assembly was 
 not exerting their undoubted right of instruction and ex- 
 pressing their readiness to obey or resign whenever instruc- 
 tions should be given, but asking for correction if their con- 
 struction of the resolutions was at fault. This action put the 
 Whigs in a difficult position, and they had no answer to give 
 that would not commit them in a way that they did not wish. 
 In the House the letter was laid on the table, but in the 
 Senate the following resolution was adopted by a party vote : 
 
 Resolved, That the resolutions passed by the General 
 Assembly, and transmitted to our Senators in Congress are 
 sufficiently plain and intelligble to be comprehended by any 
 one desirous of understanding them; that we believe this 
 communication anticipating the reception of said resolutions, 
 and making inquiry as to their meaning, is not in good faith ; 
 and that it would be incompatible with the self-respect of this 
 General Assembly to make any reply to it. 
 
 On January 14, 1839, Senator Brown presented the reso- 
 lutions to the Senate and defended his course and that of 
 his colleague who joined him in the defense. They then an- 
 nounced their intention of presenting their resignations at 
 the next legislature. Henry Clay took upon himself the 
 defense of the North Carolina Whigs and answered them 
 rather discourteously. Brown and Strange both replied to 
 him so effectively as to delight the heart of every North 
 Carolina Democrat and equally disgust that of every North 
 Carolina Whig. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1840 
 
 The legislature of 1838 did not spend its entire time 
 playing politics, though it must be confessed that the major 
 portion of it was devoted to that dear delight of North Caro- 
 linians of the period. Constructive legislation of great im- 
 portance was enacted, the most vital and significant act being 
 the passage of the law providing for the establishment of the 
 public school system. This went into effect at once and the 
 first school established under its provisions opened its doors 
 on January 20, 1840. Of great importance also were acts 
 authorizing a State subscription of $750,000 to the Fayette- 
 ville & Western Railroad Co., the endorsement by the State 
 of bonds of the Raleigh & Gaston Railroad Co. to the amount 
 of $500,000, and the incorporation of the Weldon Railroad 
 Company. Sectionalism was apparent among the Whigs in 
 regard to internal improvement and it was exceedingly diffi- 
 cult for western Whigs to persuade those from the East to 
 support all the projects contemplated, most of which were 
 thought to be chiefly of importance to the West. To interest 
 them, therefore, a resolution was passed directing the Board 
 of Internal Improvements to employ an engineer to ascertain 
 if an inlet could be opened at Nag's Head between Albemarle 
 Sound and the Atlantic Ocean. Another resolution requested 
 the State's delegation in Congress to use all efforts to secure 
 the aid of the federal government in opening the inlet. The 
 western members, be it said, speaking generally, did not care 
 at all whether an inlet was opened or not. In the internal 
 improvement legislation there was a clear line of demarca- 
 tion between the Whigs and Democrats, although in no case 
 was there absolute division along party lines. Generally 
 . speaking, however, Democrats were opposed and Whigs fa- 
 vorable to internal improvements. 
 
 Other acts of interest and importance were the erection 
 -of the counties of Cherokee and Henderson, the passage of 
 
54 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 resolutions instructing the governor to obtain all possible in- 
 formation as to the number of insane in the State and to 
 report plans for an asylum to the next legislature, and to se- 
 cure information in regard to penitentiaries, orphanages, and 
 reformatories. Among the private acts were those incorpor- 
 ating seven private schools, Davidson College and the Greens- 
 boro Female College. The name of the Literary and Manual 
 Labor Institution in Wake County was changed to Wake 
 Forest College. Four textile and two iron manufacturing 
 companies were chartered. These acts all show awakening 
 interest in matters that were vital to the highest degree and 
 they were hopeful signs. 
 
 Politics never grew quiet in North Carolina during 1839. 
 The Rayner resolutions and the failure of the two senators 
 to regard them furnished material for mutual recrimination 
 until the congressional campaign was well under way. The 
 Whigs, as soon as the legislature adjourned, declared that the 
 Democrats had refused to obey instructions! and thus in a sense 
 at last they endorsed the doctrine. The Democratic mem- 
 bers of the legislature held a meeting in January with Wel- 
 don 1ST. Edwards as chairman and issued an address to the 
 people defending the senators and attacking the Whigs for 
 their behavior. In the same address they condemned the 
 Rayner resolutions and the suggestion to establish a national 
 bank. A more important and significant part of the address 
 was the call for the appointment of a central committee of 
 the party to receive nominations for governor in 1840 and in 
 case a demand for a state convention was at all general to 
 call one. The demand was already strong and this section 
 made the call certain. 
 
 The congressional elections occupied the usual time and 
 attracted the usual interest. Nominations were made by both 
 parties in every district except the twelfth where James 
 Graham, the sitting Whig member, had no opposition. The 
 contests were very bitter in most instances and, somewhat to 
 the surprise of all the State, resulted in a substantial gain for 
 the Democrats, eight of their candidates being successful.. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 55 
 
 They were: J. A. Bynum, J. J. McKay, M. T. Hawkins, 
 William Montgomery, Henry W. Connor, all of whom were 
 old members, John Hill — who defeated for one term Au- 
 gustine H. Shepperd — Charles Fisher and Charles Shepard. 
 The last mentioned had left the Whig party the fall before 
 while in Congress and was now triumphantly endorsed by his 
 district in spite of the activity of the Whigs who spared no 
 efforts to defeat and thus rebuke him. S. T. Sawyer, who 
 had done the same thing, was defeated by Kenneth Rayner 
 who was now regarded as one of the most important of the 
 Whig leaders in the State. The other Whig members chosen 
 were Lewis Williams, who could not be defeated, James Gra- 
 ham, Edmund Deberry, all old members, and Edward Stanly 
 who now entered upon a brilliant but violent and erratic ca- 
 reer in Congress. Just before the election the Raleigh Reg- 
 ister published a forged letter from Doctor Montgomery to a 
 fellow Democrat. The letter was one calculated to injure 
 Montgomery greatly, but it attracted more attention after 
 the election than it did before, and it was comparatively easy 
 then to prove the spurious nature of the document to the satis- 
 faction of all except the Register. It need hardly be said that 
 it was the cause of much vituperative language. 
 
 In the campaign the Democrats began the selection of 
 "Committees of Vigilance," forerunners of the later local 
 organizations of both parties. Each party already had central 
 committees, and the way was now ready for the important 
 democratic step — the creation of the state conventions. All 
 summer the idea grew in favor not only with the Democrats 
 but with the Whigs, and, consequently in August the Whigs 
 and in October the Democrats issued calls for conventions, 
 the Whigs to meet on November 12, 1839, and the Democrats 
 on January 8, 1840. At once there followed for each party 
 a series of county meetings designed not only to elect dele- 
 gates but to arouse the people and secure some expression of 
 opinion as to gubernatorial candidates. 
 
 Little difference of opinion could be discovered among the 
 Whigs; the leaders had already seen to that. During the 
 
56 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 legislature of 1838-1839 the Whig members in secret caucus 
 had settled upon John M. Morehead, of Guilford, as the 
 proper person to run, and their quiet work in his 'behalf set- 
 tled the question. Nearly every county meeting that conde- 
 scended to a discussion of state affairs endorsed him, Guil- 
 ford leading the way in August. William J. Alexander of 
 Mecklenburg was the only other man mentioned. 
 
 Among the Democrats there was no such unanimity of 
 opinion and preference. William H. Haywood, Romulus 
 M. Saunders, Weldon 1ST. Edwards, Louis D. Henry, Bedford 
 Brown, Henry W. Connor, William D. Moseley, and William 
 A. Blount were all endorsed by one or more county meetings, 
 but it soon became evident that a large majority of the party 
 favored Haywood. About twenty counties endorsed him form- 
 ally, but in November he announced that under no circum- 
 stances could he be a candidate. There was still some hope 
 that he would reconsider, and the matter was not regarded 
 as settled and a number of counties endorsed him afterwards. 
 Saunders was a second choice and one far behind in popu- 
 larity. 
 
 The Whig convention, the first state political convention 
 in the history of North Carolina, met in Raleigh on Novem- 
 ber 12. Thirty-four counties were represented by 91 dele- 
 gates. James Mebane of Orange, called the meeting to 
 order and ex-Governor John Owen was chosen president. 
 A committee of thirteen, one from each congressional district, 
 was appointed to report the business of the body. Morehead 
 was nominated for governor and Clay and Talmadge were 
 endorsed as candidates for President and Vice President. 
 James Mebane and John Owen were selected as delegates at- 
 large to the national convention. The platform of the party 
 was in substance as follows : It favored : ( 1 ) economy in gov- 
 ernment; (2) reform in the revenue system; (3) reduction 
 in the number of government employees; (4) selection of 
 government employees "without discrimination of parties;" 
 (5) an amendment to the Federal Constitution to abolish the 
 electoral college; (6) One term of four years for the Presi- 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 57 
 
 dent; (7) A National bank; (8) A division of the proceeds of 
 the public lands among the States on a basis of Federal popu- 
 lation; (9) Public education; (10) Strict construction of the 
 Constitution. It opposed: (1) Jackson's spoils system; (2) 
 Appointments of members of Congress to Federal offices dur- 
 ing their terms in Congress; (3) Making judicial appoint- 
 ments for partisan reasons; (1) Interference of Federal offi- 
 cers in elections; (5) Protective tariff; (6) The Federal 
 Government's making internal improvements "except such 
 as may be stampt with a National character;" (7) The Sub- 
 Treasury scheme; (8) Federal interference with slavery. 
 
 John Motley Morehead, the Whig candidate for governor, 
 was born in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, July 4, 1796. 
 Two years later his parents moved to Rockingham County, 
 North Carolina, where he lived until his marriage in 1821. 
 His early* education was received at Doctor Caldwell's fam- 
 ous academy and in 1815 he entered the junior class of the 
 University of North Carolina where he graduated in 1817. 
 Upon leaving the University he began the study of law under 
 Judge Murphey. Here he received the inspiration of his 
 foremost later achievements, for Murphey's influence upon 
 him was very great and he not only received instruction in 
 law from his teacher but acquired the dominating idea of his 
 later career. Murphey, too, was fortunate. Himself an 
 idealist, he had powerfully proclaimed a theory as well as 
 outlined a plan of action in respect both to the education and 
 internal improvements. But practical men, political leaders 
 of a different sort and at the head of an organized party were 
 needed to bring about success in putting his ideas into actual 
 execution. Bartlett Yancey and later Calvin H. Wiley did 
 this work in education; it was Morehead's privilege to have 
 Murphey light his torch for leadership in internal improve- 
 ments. He was admitted to the bar in 1819 and began prac- 
 tice at Wentworth. In 1821 he was a member of the House 
 of Commons from Rockingham and, after his removal to 
 Guilford he represented that county in the House in 1826 
 and 1827. He also was a delegate to the convention of 1835. 
 
58 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 He had been a strong Jackson man and was a Jackson elector 
 in 1832. He was eminently progressive and had a consistent 
 record of interest and activity in behalf of education and 
 internal improvements. He was not only a most successful 
 lawyer, but was a man of affairs in the large meaning of the 
 term. 
 
 Physically, Morehead was a fine specimen of a man. 
 He was tall and broad-shouldered, well proportioned and 
 erect, with a clean shaven and massive, yet fine, and highly 
 intellectual face. He was possessed of an iron constitution 
 and was given to hard work. He had a most cordial and de- 
 lightful manner which carried with it an assurance of candor 
 and sincerity and which never left him whether on the stump 
 or in personal conversation. He was a rather jocular man, 
 but seems not to have possessed any great fund of real wit 
 or humor. Of sterling integrity, he made a strong candidate. 
 
 It was understood before the convention that Morehead 
 would canvass the State, and he at once agreed to do so. His 
 letter of acceptance was characteristic of the time and place. 
 All of it was devoted to national affairs in respect to which 
 he was entirely in accord with the Whig doctrines. 
 
 The Democratic convention met in Raleigh, January 8, 
 1840, and remained in session two days. Thirty-eight coun- 
 ties, eleven of which were from the West, had representatives 
 present. The most extreme western counties represented 
 were: Ashe, Stokes, Iredell, and Burke. Louis D. Wilson of 
 Edgecombe, presided. A committee of twenty-six, two from 
 each congressional district, was appointed to recommend 
 measures and candidates, and a committee of thirteen to 
 draw up an address to the people. The platform as finally 
 adopted endorsed Van Buren, the independent treasury plan, 
 and strict construction of the constitution; it denounced a 
 national bank and the abolition movement. Weldon N. Ed- 
 wards and Louis D. Henry were chosen delegates at-large to 
 the national Democratic convention, and the appointment of 
 district delegates was recommended. Judge Romulus M. 
 Saunders was unanimously nominated for governor. He 
 
Party Politics in JSToeth Carolina 59 
 
 was at the time on the Superior bench, but he at once re- 
 signed. He was called into the convention and addressed it. 
 His letter of acceptance, like Morehead's, was devoted to 
 national affairs, but he declared for public education and in- 
 ternal improvements if the two policies could be carried out 
 without the State's going into debt, the last being a very 
 safe qualification. 
 
 Romulus Mitchell Saunders was born in Caswell County 
 in 1791. He received his preparation for college in that 
 county and was a student at the University for two years, 
 but was dismissed for some infraction of the strict code of 
 rules then prevailing. He studied law in Tennessee under 
 Judge Hugh L. White and was admitted to the bar of that 
 State in 1812. The next year he came home and in 1815, in 
 company with Bedford Brown, was elected to the House 
 of Commons. The next year he was in the Senate, but re- 
 turned to the House in 1818, 1819 and 1820, being speaker 
 for the last two terms. In 1820 he was elected to Congress 
 and served there three terms. During this period he was 
 the intimate friend of Macon and Yancey. In 1824 he fa- 
 vored Calhoun for the presidency as long as the South Caro- 
 linian was a potential factor in the contest, after which he 
 leaned to Crawford for whom he finally voted in the House 
 of Representatives. Unlike the majority of North Carolina 
 politicians who favored Crawford and opposed Jackson — 
 and Saunders opposed him violently — he did not become a 
 Whig, but saw the light and in 1828 was a strong supporter 
 of the Old Hero over John Quincy Adams. In 1828 he was 
 chosen attorney-general of the State and held the office until 
 1833 when he resigned to accept from Jackson the appoint- 
 ment as commissioner on the French Spoliation Claims where 
 he served with Judge Campbell of Tennessee, and Judge 
 Kane of Pennsylvania, and made a considerable reputation 
 for ability. In 1835 he was chosen a judge of the Superior 
 Court. Saunders probably held more offices than any man 
 in the history of the State and there was never a more 
 assiduous office-seeker. His letters are full of his desire for 
 
60 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 this office or that; for even when he was in office, he would 
 devote much thought and anxiety to finding something better 
 to try for. It was this propensity of his which gave Judge 
 Badger the opportunity to say in 1853 when someone asked 
 him who would succeed Bishop Ives of the Episcopal Church 
 who had just joined the Roman Catholic Church, "I do not 
 know, but Judge Saunders will undoubtedly be a candidate 
 for the place." 
 
 Saunders was an experienced and able politician and 
 campaigner, in no sense a statesman, but a man of genuine 
 ability and of keen intellect, really of power far above the 
 average, of fine presence, and of strong common sense. He 
 was probably as strong a man as his party could have nomi- 
 nated with the one possible exception of William H. Hay- 
 wood, and it is doubtful if the latter would have done as well 
 on the stump as Saunders. 
 
 The campaign was formally opened in March when both 
 candidates spoke at Orange Court. Hillsboro was an import- 
 ant political center at that time and the entire State watched 
 with interest for reports of the debate. Each side claimed 
 that its candidate had utterly demolished the other, and it 
 is difficult at this distance to know the truth save that neither 
 was demolished. But the evidence seems to indicate that 
 Saunders had rather the best of it on account of his greater 
 dexterity and fuller information due to his larger experience 
 in such work. He held this advantage for some time, but 
 Morehead was learning the game and the majority of the 
 people were already with him, a fact of more importance 
 than ability in debate. But there was never a time when 
 he was able to put Saunders to rout. Joint debates were 
 held in a large number of places well distributed about the 
 State, and, in addition, each candidate carried out an extend- 
 ed program of speeches lasting from early March until the 
 election in August. As examples, Saunders, between April 
 25 and May 22, spoke at Stantonsburg, Plymouth, and in 
 Beaufort, Tyrrell, Pitt, Hertford, Bertie, Gates, Martin, 
 Northampton, Halifax, Granville, and Wake counties. In 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 61 
 
 some of these lie held several meetings. Morehead between 
 April 23 and May 22 spoke in New Bern, Washington, Hali- 
 fax, Jackson, Edenton, Hertford, Elizabeth City, Camden 
 court house, Currituck court house, Windsor, Williamston, 
 Louisburg, Oxford and Raleigh. Throughout the State, in 
 East and West, both traveled, meeting the people and discuss- 
 ing national issues. 
 
 The relations between the candidates were good through- 
 out, though each made charges against each other of abo- 
 lition sympathy, of federalism, of nullification sentiment, 
 and of other things too numerous and too absurd to chronicle. 
 Neither attempted oratory, but when arguments were at- 
 tempted, appealed to common sense. Unfortunately real 
 arguments were not common. Neither of them was a dema- 
 gogue, and ye,t each resorted to the tricks and manners of 
 one. The story is familiar of how Saunders challenged More- 
 head, saying, "Whar, sir, does the gentleman git his author- 
 ity for that thar statement ? I ask him whar ?" to be an- 
 swered by Morehead' s seizing two books and holding them 
 with the words, "In them thar dokiments, sir. That's whar." 
 Morehead devoted much of his time to denunciation of the 
 extravagance of the Democratic national administration, an 
 argument of greater weight nowhere than in North Carolina. 
 He rang the changes on this, condemning the administration 
 for furnishing the White House, for improving its grounds, 
 for furnishing soap and towels to the government employes, 
 and for using so much ice. He demanded of Saunders the 
 reason for the last mentioned "extravagance," and, when the 
 latter replied that Washington wells were bad, that cisterns 
 had to be used, making ice a necessity, said with emphasis 
 that the government might as well pay for the bread and 
 meat for the clerks as to furnish them with water. These 
 are characteristic examples of the methods of the candidates. 
 
 The campaign and campaign arguments were not con- 
 fined to the gubernatorial candidates. The press was actively 
 engaged. Every politician was hard at work and nearly 
 every voter was in this year at least a politician. Bitter 
 
62 James Spkl t is t t Historical Publications 
 
 charges of every sort were bandied back and forth. The 
 Democrats urged against Morehead his friendship for the 
 negroes and his opposition to the disfranchisement of the 
 free negroes by the convention of 1835 as evidence that he 
 favored abolition. The Whigs retorted that Saunders, while 
 in Congress, had presented memorials to Congress in 1824: 
 and 1825 from the North Carolina Manumission Society, a 
 clear proof, so they said, that he was a full-fledged abolition- 
 ist. Saunders at once declared that times had changed be- 
 cause of the rise of the abolition movement in the North. 
 He avowed himself not only an opponent of abolition but 
 even of emancipation unless the freedmen were compelled 
 without exception to leave the State. Saunders was right 
 when he said that times had changed. The abolition move- 
 ment was having a marked political effect as is shown by the 
 constant reference to the question by both partes. It was 
 probably the favorite argument against both Van Buren and 
 Harrison. The dismissal of Lieutenant Hooe from the navy 
 by a court martial on the evidence of two negroes produced a 
 storm of protest from North Carolina Whigs and put the 
 Democrats much on the defensive with no arguments that 
 the people generally would accept. 
 
 Naturally the panic exerted a strong influence and hard 
 times bred a discontent with the party in power which was 
 hard to allay. The Democrats had difficulty in meeting the 
 arguments of their opponents on this point. Many Democrats 
 were favorable to the Whig policy of distributing the proceeds 
 from the sale of the public lands among the States, and this 
 lessened Democratic strength. The Democrats, contrary to 
 the usual impression, manifested little apathy. It is true 
 that they did not deem a Whig victory in the nation within 
 the range of possibility, but they were on their mettle in spite 
 of the fact that from the beginning they fought a losing fight 
 and probably knew it. They attacked internal improve- 
 ments, or rather the method and manner in which they were 
 promoted, which they declared extravagant, wasteful, and 
 ineffective; but the majority of the people wanted internal 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 63 
 
 improvements. Again the Democrats accused Dudley of 
 bad faith and of lending the money of the State to Whigs to 
 the entire exclusion of the Democrats, but no one paid much 
 attention to the charges. One thing forced them to be some- 
 what broader than the Whigs, — they were under the necessity 
 of conciliating the West. 
 
 The Whig arguments, many of them absurd in the ex- 
 treme, were received with hearty approval and applause by 
 the party which was in a mood to care nothing for truth, con- 
 sistency, common sense, or logic, if only the Democracy was 
 sharply attacked. Charles Manly, in a joint debate with 
 Saunders, made three charges against Van Buren — in the 
 eyes of the Whigs final and damning: 1, With riding in a 
 splendid carriage drawn by four horses; 2, with sending to 
 the postoffice for his mail instead of walking to get it him- 
 self; and 3, with wearing silk stockings. ISTo words can ex- 
 press the sanctimonious horror with which the Whigs re- 
 ceived these conclusive proofs of Van Buren' s unfitness for 
 re-election. A new method had entered politics, controlling 
 it entirely, and the Democrats, to their honor be it said, 
 were not prepared for it. 
 
 Both parties had central committees answering to the 
 executive committees of later days. These were both very 
 active, biit that of the Whigs was more fertile in expedients 
 as well as more efficient in organization. The first work they 
 accomplished was to perfect a most elaborate county organi- 
 zation which included a committee in every precinct, all 
 working together. Hundreds of meetings were held by each 
 party, but the Whigs suddenly began a series of young men's 
 meetings which greatly disquieted and disgusted the Demo- 
 crats who found themselves seriously handicapped by the 
 charge that a young man had no chance in their organization. 
 Then, too, the use of emblems, of campaign songs and cries, 
 the perpetual series of processions, barbecues, and meetings, 
 the systematic appeal through noise and excitement to emo- 
 tion, to passion, and to prejudice, bewildered the Democrats 
 who regarded it all as sheer demagoguery of the worst type, 
 
64 James Spktjnt Histokical Publications 
 
 — as indeed most of it was, — and doubtless were chagrined 
 at their inability to meet like with like. There is much that 
 was bad about it all, but no student of the period can fail to 
 see that at its worst it was better than the apathy and local- 
 ism which had formerly prevailed. All of it is significant 
 in that it marked the growth of a new sort of democracy 
 which was at least interested. The student also is forced 
 to wonder if the men in North Carolina did much that sum- 
 mer and autumn besides attending political meetings. The 
 Whigs made much of the log cabin argument, and it was 
 a poor sort of community from the Whig standpoint that 
 did not have some sort of representation of a log cabin. 
 In Raleigh a huge log cabin was erected which was called 
 Harrison Hall. It served as an assembly hall for the semi- 
 weekly meetings of the Tippecanoe Club, all of which partook 
 of the nature of celebrations. The disgust of the Democrats 
 knew no bounds and they at once charged that the lumber 
 used was state property, a charge which, it is needless to say, 
 was false. 
 
 On June 30, Bedford Brown and Robert Strange carried 
 out their pledge and sent to Governor Dudley their resigna- 
 tions from the United States Senate, to take effect upon the 
 meeting of the next legislature. Both declared that they 
 could not regard the Rayner resolutions as instructions, but 
 said that they wanted the endorsement of the people. This 
 action spurred both sides to renewed efforts in the contest. 
 
 Both Whigs and Democrats had taken great interest in 
 the national conventions of their parties. John Owen was 
 quite a prominent member of the Harrisburg convention 
 though he was not, as is usually stated, president of that 
 body. He was urged to take the nomination for Vice Presi- 
 dent and could have had it ; but he declined and by this nar- 
 row margin lost the presidency. Mangum was a receptive 
 candidate for the nomination, but Tyler was regarded by the 
 convention as a better sop to the Clay Whigs and was chosen." 
 North Carolina Whigs were bitterly disappointed at Clay's 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 65 
 
 failure to receive the nomination for President, but they 
 accepted Harrison and soon warmed to him. 
 
 At the Democratic convention, which met in Baltimore 
 in 1840, Weldon ~N. Edwards was a prominent figure, being a 
 v T ice-president, on the committee to prepare the address to 
 the country, and on the nominating committee. The Demo- 
 cratic convention did not nominate a candidate for Vice Pres- 
 ident and the question was referred to the States. Therefore 
 in June the Democratic central committee called a state 
 convention to meet in Raleigh on July 9. Henry Pitts of 
 Warren, presided over the meeting at which twenty-nine 
 counties, mostly in the east, were represented. There was 
 much sentiment for James K. Polk of Tennessee, in the 
 State, but R. M. Johnson seemed for every reason a more 
 available candidate and received the endorsement of the con- 
 vention. The meeting was utilized to urge Democratic ac- 
 tivity. 
 
 Two meetings were important for the Whigs. In June 
 a great demonstration in Wilmington celebrated the putting 
 into operation of the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad. 
 Morehead and Dudley were prominent among the speakers 
 of the meeting and the Whigs generally used the occasion to 
 emphasize their devotion to the cause of internal improve- 
 ments. In the same month the railroad and the completion 
 of the new Capitol were magnificently celebrated in Raleigh, 
 and a second and like opportunity was thus given for the dis- 
 semination of Whig doctrines. 
 
 In July a great Whig meeting was held at Salisbury 
 for Rowan and fifteen neighboring counties. The presence 
 of two soldiers of the Revolution was a feature of the oc- 
 casion. Speeches, processions, banquets, log cabins, coon 
 skins and live coons, and hard cider all united to make the 
 day truly characteristic. 
 
 The election which came in August only intensified 
 party enthusiasm. The early returns indicated Democratic 
 success, but in a short time the completeness of the Whig 
 victory was apparent. Morehead carried forty-one counties 
 
66 James Spritnt Historical Publication's 
 
 out of the sixtj-six then existent and his popular majority 
 was 8,581. Twenty-two of the counties were in the East and 
 this is indicative of the fact that the Whig party was out- 
 growing the sectionalism which had been occasioned by the 
 peculiar conditions of its origin in North Carolina. Of the 
 western counties the Democrats carried only Ashe, Lincoln, 
 Mecklenburg, Rockingham, Stokes, and Yancey. A Whig 
 legislature was chosen at the same time. 
 
 Although defeated the Democrats did not slacken their 
 efforts. Saunders did not at all lessen his activity and re- 
 mained on the stump until November as did Bedford Brown, 
 Louis D. Henry, and others. The Democratic papers be- 
 came more active, addresses were issued urging interest and 
 hard work, and the charges against opponents were doubled 
 and redoubled. The Whigs felt that their cause was safe, 
 but they determined not to be deceived as they had been in 
 1836. So every effort was put forth. To revive all possible 
 drooping interest a Whig convention was summoned to meet 
 in Raleigh on October 5. It was a scene of wild enthusiasm. 
 Judge Gaston's "Carolina" was sung for the first time in 
 public and the words were then published for the first time. 
 A letter was read from Henry Clay in which he declared the 
 contest to be between the President and the people, between 
 arbitrary power and constitutional liberty. John Owen pre- 
 sided and ten of the most prominent Whigs of the State made 
 speeches, including George E. Badger, Edward Stanly, D. 
 M. Barringer, Kenneth Rayner, Lewis Williams, and Rev. 
 Josiah Crudup. The sensation of the meeting was Badger's 
 speech. He had been exceedingly active in the campaign and 
 was regarded as the greatest power of the party in the State. 
 His speech, which was printed in pamphlet form and given 
 wide circulation, was a powerful effort. Interestingly 
 enough, he dictated it, while walking up and down in his 
 office, and it was transcribed by Henry W. Miller. It had 
 great effect and did much to bring him the high honor he 
 presently received. 
 
 A word as to the previous career of Badger is in order 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 67 
 
 since with this campaign he assumed a leading position in 
 North Carolina politics. Born in New Bern in 1796 he was 
 there prepared for college. He was a student at Yale for 
 two years, but his means failed and he returned home and 
 commenced the study of law under John Stanly. At the age 
 of nineteen years he was admitted to the bar and almost im- 
 mediately he was appointed solicitor for his district. In 
 1816 he was a member of the House of Commons from New- 
 bern. While there he formed the acquaintance of Thomas 
 Buffin, then speaker of the House and a strong friendship 
 developing between the two, Buffin, who had just been ele- 
 vated to the bench, asked Badger to go to Hillsboro and take 
 his practice. Badger consenting, moved to Hillsboro and 
 lived there for several years, removing later to Warrenton, 
 the former home of his wife. In 1820 he was elected to the 
 Superior bench and served for five years, retiring at the end 
 of that time to Baleigh where he again began the practice of 
 law. In politics Badger was by inheritance and tempera- 
 ment a Federalist, and while in 1828 he was a strong sup- 
 porter of Jackson and was commonly supposed to be slated 
 for the position of attorney-general in the latter's cabinet, 
 he broke with him by 1832 and in 1836 was a Whig leader. 
 Badger was pre-eminently a lawyer and there he attained his 
 greatest reputation, but he was a logical and powerful speak- 
 er, and of great power in political campaigns. Personally 
 he was with his intimates a genial, humorous man, noted for 
 his charm in conversation and for his inexhaustible fund of 
 anecdotes. He was in strong contrast to Graham who was 
 always severely grave and formal and who possessed great 
 dignity and impressiveness of manner. Unlike as the two 
 were in manner, it is most likely that they differed little, if 
 at all, in their inner attitude towards the mass of the people. 
 Returning to the convention, it issued a declaration of 
 principles in which the following appeared: "We declare 
 the leaders of the Party in Power unworthy the confidence 
 of a free people because they have violated every pledge they 
 have given to the Nation." That party in power was attacked 
 
68 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 for extravagance, currency evils, the spoils system, oppo- 
 sition to the will of the people, the destruction of the bank 
 and the substitution of the sub-treasury scheme, the scarcity 
 of specie and the issue of treasury drafts, and the increase 
 of the officers of the army and navy. Harrison was endorsed 
 as a distinguished stateman who was the foe of all evil, cor- 
 ruption, and usurpation of power, and "because in his char- 
 acter and services he more nearly than any man now living 
 approaches to the Father of his Country, the illustrious 
 Washington." 
 
 A ripple of excitement was caused during the presidential 
 campaign when William Montgomery and M. T. Hawkins, 
 two Democratic members of Congress, issued from Washing- 
 ton a circular against Harrison. Immediately Stanly, Lewis 
 Williams, Rayner, and Deberry replied defending Harrison. 
 Stanly also wrote a reply addressed to the people of his 
 district as did James Graham. Harrison was spared no 
 charge that might injure him. If one might believe the 
 Democratic papers he was not only the climax of incapacity 
 and inefficiency, but also a man guilty of every possible 
 cruelty and wrong. 
 
 The election resulted in the choice of Harrison electors 
 by a popular majority of 13,141. He carried forty-five 
 counties. 
 
 Several interesting things became apparent in the cam- 
 paign, first and most important of which was the marked 
 effect which abolition agitation in the North was having 
 upon the minds of the people of North Carolina. The second 
 is the existence among the Whigs of a line of cleavage be- 
 tween what were known as "Federal" Whigs and "Repub- 
 lican" Whigs. The factions could unite perfectly against the 
 common enemy, but they had no undying love for each other. 
 The factions thus formed and thus apparent remained in 
 existence as long as the Whig party was alive in North Caro- 
 lina. 
 
OHAPTEK VI 
 THE LEGISLATURE OF 1840 AND THE CAMPAIGN OF 1841 
 
 The legislature of 1840 organized by electing Andrew 
 Joyner of Halifax, speaker of the Senate over Louis D. 
 Wilson of Edgecombe, and William A. Graham speaker of 
 the House of Commons without opposition. The Whigs had 
 a safe majority in the Senate and a very large one in the 
 House and thus felt able to carry through any program which 
 might be determined upon. 
 
 Governor Dudley's message was an elaborate review of 
 national political history for the past twelve years, particular 
 attention being paid, however, to the questions of the bank 
 and the sub-treasury. In closing this portion of his message, 
 he congratulated the State on the sweeping Whig victory. 
 He also congratulated the people on the completion of two 
 railroads, and made an elaborate plea for and defense of 
 railroads. In connection with works of improvement in 
 general he announced that the survey of the ISTag's Head 
 project had been successful. He expressed the belief that 
 the State was too poor to carry out at the time all the schemes 
 of internal improvement planned, but urged that work be 
 earried on consistently and not be stopped. He recommend- 
 ed that the legislature take some steps for the relief of the 
 unfortunate and the criminal, suggesting the establishment 
 of asylums and a penitentiary. Calling attention to the in- 
 fluence of sectionalism in the selection of judges, he recom- 
 mended the adoption of the district system. On the whole, 
 "the message was an exceedingly able document. 
 
 The message, however able, made small impression at the 
 time upon the Whigs in the legislature. Their minds were 
 set on politics, not on statecraft. The election of two United 
 States senators to them seemed to outweigh every other con- 
 sideration and their whole attention was directed to it to the 
 exclusion of everything else. It was the same story that has 
 .been a familiar one ever since. The majority of the mem- 
 
70 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 bers of the legislature have been selected in at least two out 
 of every three elections — with the feeling then excited con- 
 trolling the third — not on the basis of what they proposed to 
 do or were capable of doing for the State, but on account 
 of their preference for United States senator. Not the least 
 of the benefits of the popular election of senators is the re- 
 moval of this obstacle to the efficiency of state legislatures. 
 
 Nine names were before the legislature for choice. The 
 division already mentioned as existing among the Whigs now 
 became very prominent. The Federal Whigs had as favorites 
 for the two places Gaston, Badger, Williams, Caldwell, and 
 Graham, while the Republican Whigs supported Mangum, 
 William B. Shepard, John Owen and Governor Dudley. 
 Teeling was very strong between the two wings, but never 
 strong enough to threaten seriously any lack of united action. 
 The lines of division are not always entirely clear to us 
 to-day. In a sense the names indicate the prevailing views of 
 each faction. So far as definite action was demanded, the 
 Federal Whigs wished support of the United States Bank 
 made a test, while the Republican Whigs thought the senators 
 should be left free to act as occasion seemed to demand. 
 
 The method of securing party unity was a caucus. North 
 Carolina Whigs had been in the habit of denouncing the 
 caucus and the convention, but, as in 1840, they had adopted 
 a convention, they now definitely adopted the caucus as the 
 machine to secure party regularity. The legislature had 
 scarcely assembled before one was called. It was not easy 
 even for the caucus to concile all the differences in the party. 
 One name was immediately eliminated. William Gaston's 
 election had been suggested without his being consulted and 
 early in November he wrote to a friend declining the use of 
 his name. His chief reason was his disinclination to leave the 
 bench. He could have been elected without .difficulty so great 
 was his popularity and his deserved reputation for ability. 
 The Democrats were of course supporting Brown and 
 Strange, but of the Whigs it is likely that they preferred 
 Dudley and Shepard. After much discussion, a great deal 
 
Paety Politics in North Carolina 71 
 
 of it acrimonious, and many meetings, the caucus through a 
 compromise between the two factions settled on Mangum for 
 the long term and on Graham for the short one, and they 
 were elected, Mangum receiving 99 votes to Brown's 65, 
 Graham 98 to Strange's 64. Badger, who was thus passed 
 over, was recommended by the caucus to President Harrison 
 for the position of attorney-general in his cabinet. 
 
 The elections were generally accepted, but bitter criticism 
 was heard from the Whigs in a number of quarters, par- 
 ticularly in regard to the selection of Graham, who was not 
 at all well known and who was of comparatively limited ex- 
 perience. This feeling was particularly noticeable in the 
 East, where the choice of both senators from Orange was 
 very unpopular. They conceded Mangum' s claims for a place 
 though they had small love for him or confidence in his con- 
 sistency or in his motives, but they were unable to accept 
 with calmness or silence the election of Graham. Mangum 
 himself was not without enemies and opponents. The Reg- 
 ister was bitterly opposed to his selection and Badger, apart 
 from any personal interest, was also opposed. Mangum's 
 career had indeed been rather inconsistent. Its general out- 
 lines have already been indicated, but it is interesting to 
 note in addition his record on various public questions. He 
 voted against the recharter of the Bank in 1832 and against 
 the distribution of public land receipts. He was at this time 
 opposed to a protective tariff and to internal improvements 
 by the national government. He had been on both sides of 
 the bank question. The following authorized statement of 
 his political views in 1838, in fact one written at his own 
 request, is interesting: 
 
 Willie P. Mangum says he never voted for a bank in his 
 life, neither State nor Federal. He further says he never 
 voted to appropriate a cent in his life in favor of Internal 
 Improvements by the General Government without the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia. He further says that he never voted in 
 favor of a tariff of protection but did and said everything in 
 his power to defeat every measure of that description. He 
 
72 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 further says that he has uniformly voted in favor of econom- 
 ical appropriations and has strongly disapproved of the in- 
 crease of expenditures to upwards of $38,000,000, at one or 
 two years and the general increase at all times for the last 
 four or five years by the general Government. That he pro- 
 fesses and hopes that he has acted uniformly upon the prin- 
 ciples of strict construction of '98 and '99, and that he never 
 consented to be harnessed by any party so as to deviate from 
 the above principles. And he defies any documentary proof 
 in contradiction of any of the essential principles contained 
 in the above. Mr. Mangum further says that he is decided- 
 ly opposed to the present Administration, believing that the 
 head of the Government and many of his friends have vio- 
 lated the most if not all the essential principles contained in 
 the above. 
 
 The Democratic view was somewhat different. The 
 Standard in June, 1842, said: 
 
 Mr. Mangum has been Federal and anti-Federal ; Jackson 
 and anti- Jackson ; Calhoun and anti-Calhoun ; Clay and anti- 
 Clay; JSTullifier and anti-lSTullifier ; Bank and anti-Bank; 
 Land Distribution and anti-Land Distribution; Bankrupt 
 Law and anti-Bankrupt Law; Internal Improvements and 
 anti-Internal Improvements; Instructionist and anti-Instruc- 
 tionist. In a word there is hardly a respectable politician of 
 the State old enough to have been asssociated with him ten 
 years or more, who cannot remember the period when Mr. 
 Mangum has been upon his side and upon the other also. 
 
 Both Graham and Mangum were in the legislature, the 
 latter as senator. Both resigned at once. Graham's resigna- 
 tion made necessary the election of a new speaker and Robert 
 B. Gilliam of Granville, was chosen over ten Democrats, only 
 one of whom, Michael Hoke of Lincoln, received more than 
 five votes. 
 
 The election of senators effected, the majority turned to 
 the disposition of the other offices. The party was deeply 
 infected with the spoils doctrine though they had denounced 
 it unsparingly in national affairs and were still doing so. 
 The Democrats, while approving the system in the national 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 73 
 
 government, along with the rest of the Jackson administra- 
 tive policies, had never adopted it in the State. Upon the 
 Whigs, largely, rests the responsibility for its introduction. 
 In 1834 a Democratic House of Commons elected an opposi- 
 tion speaker and the legislature, Democratic on joint ballot, 
 re-elected Swain, a Whig governor, and Hill, a Whig secre- 
 tary of state. The treasurer resigned and a Whig was 
 chosen. In the case of the lesser offices no party distinction 
 was made. In 1835 the Whig secretary and comptroller were 
 re-elected by a Democratic legislature and Whigs were also 
 chosen to most of the lesser offices and positions. In 1836, 
 when the Whigs came into power in the Senate, they defeated 
 Moseley for speaker on account of party. With the rise of 
 party government this was entirely proper and it is only 
 mentioned to show the tendency of the Whigs to make party 
 affiliation the test of qualification. The Democrats at the 
 same session had a majority on joint ballot and re-elected 
 the Whig secretary, filled a vacancy in the comptroller's office 
 with a Whig, elected four Whig judges — all that were chosen 
 — and two Whig solicitors out of three elected. In 1838 the 
 Whigs elected both speakers and all the clerks but two. The 
 secretary of state, the comptroller, and all seven councillors 
 were Whigs. The treasurer resigned and a Whig was elected 
 to the vacancy. Of the seven Superior Court judges at the 
 time five were Whigs, and of the six solicitors five were 
 Whigs ; the attorney general was a Democrat. 
 
 At this session Hill was unanimously re-elected secretary 
 of state and W. F. Collins, the Whig comptroller, was also 
 re-elected. In the election of solicitors, David Outlaw, a 
 Whig, was chosen in the first district over Asa Biggs, a Demo- 
 crat; in the sixth, Hamilton C. Jones, a Whig, was chosen 
 over Bartlett Shipp and J. R. Dodge, the incumbent, both of 
 whom were Whigs; in the seventh, James W. Gruinn, the 
 Democratic incumbent, was replaced by John Gray Bynum, a 
 Whig. J. R. J. Daniel, the Democratic attorney general, was 
 defeated by Hugh McQueen, a Whig. Two judges were chos- 
 en, William H. Battle, a Whig, being elected over Romulus 
 
74 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 M. Saunders to succeed Judge Toomer, and M. E. Manly, an- 
 other Whig, was elected over Edward Hall to succeed Judge 
 Saunders. The Whigs in the summer campaign had declared 
 that Saunders ought not to be elected governor if for no other 
 reason than that he had been nominated while on the bench. 
 They were determined now to prevent his return. The Coun- 
 cil of State was divided between the parties. 
 
 The work of the legislature in connection with internal 
 improvements is particularly interesting. To assist the Wil- 
 mington and Raleigh Railroad, its bonds to the amount of 
 $300,000 were endorsed in return for a mortgage on the 
 road. It will be remembered that in 1836 the legislature 
 had authorized the Board of Internal Improvements to take 
 three-fifths of the stock of the road. The position of the 
 parties in these two legislatures on the questions alluded to 
 is of interest as an indication of the general situation. 
 
 1836 
 
 SENATE 
 
 Ayes Nays 
 
 Whigs 17 5 
 
 Democrats 9 8 
 
 HOUSE 
 
 Ayes Nays 
 
 Whigs 41 9 
 
 Democrats 20 23 
 
 1840 
 
 SENATE 
 
 Ayes Nays 
 
 Whigs 21 3 
 
 Democrats 2 16 
 
 HOUSE 
 
 Ayes Nays 
 
 Whigs 51 16 
 
 Democrats 4 34 
 
 Following out the precedent set in 1839 and to aid im- 
 mediately the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad, which in Janu- 
 ary, 1841, suspended operations, the legislature heeded a 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 75 
 
 special message of Governor Morehead recommending action 
 and endorsed its bonds to the amount of $300,000. For the 
 sake of securing the State against loss, it was provided that the 
 road should give a mortgage and that the stockholders per- 
 sonally should also give a bond of half a million dollars. It 
 was also provided that no dividends should be paid until the 
 road was out of debt. The road was authorized to charge 
 up to ten cents a mile. Even the Democratic press favored 
 the relief of the Raleigh and Gaston which was regarded as 
 highly important. State aid was extended to a turnpike 
 from Rutherford County to Buncombe County. The usual 
 resolution was passed asking federal aid in opening Roanoke 
 Inlet near Nag's Head. This was done amid the jeers of the 
 Democrats who professed — and rightly so — to see in it noth- 
 ing but buncombe of the purest ray. Sectional feeling was 
 very strong among the Whigs and particularly so after the 
 election of senators. William B. Shepard, who had de- 
 clined to return to Congress in order to go to the legislature 
 and work for the interests of the East, and particularly for 
 the reopening of the inlet, which was the pet scheme of the 
 northeastern section of the State, attacked the Whigs in a 
 sharp speech for considering the West alone. He declared 
 that when in power they were not to be distinguished from 
 Democrats and he intimated that their promises were not at 
 all to be relied on. His speech was not at all welcome to the 
 Whigs and those from the West resented it openly and bitter- 
 ly. Their champion was Thomas L. Clingman, now entering 
 upon a career of unusual interest and importance. He pro- 
 ceeded to read Shepard out of the party, declaring that the 
 latter was only piqued because he had failed of election to the 
 United States Senate and that his charges were false. True 
 to his cult, one which he shared with the other politicians, he 
 charged that Shepard was attacking the great Whig party for 
 selfish reasons. Shepard's reply was very able and exceed- 
 ingly caustic. In answer to the last charge, he said : "Artful 
 and cunning men always sound the tocsin of party, when 
 they wish, for a selfish purpose to impose upon others ; 'The 
 
76 James Sprttnt Historical Publications 
 
 party is in danger' has been the cry ever since the birth of 
 the Albany Regency, of hypocrisy and meanness." 
 
 Other interesting doings of the legislature were the ap- 
 propriation of $3,000 to repair and refurnish the governor's 
 mansion, notable only for the criticism it later excited, the 
 loan of $10,000 to help Wake Forest College, the incorpora- 
 tion of five academies, eight turnpikes and six manufactur- 
 ing plants. The effect of the anti-slavery propaganda was 
 to be seen in several laws lessening the rights of slaves and 
 free negroes. The State Library was re-established, a new 
 and improved school law was passed, and three new counties, 
 Cleveland, Caldwell and Stanley, were established. Elections 
 in the State for the first time were made uniform as to time. 
 A strong series of resolutions condemning any use of the pub- 
 lic lands save their sale and the distribution of the proceeds 
 among the States was passed after considerable debate. The 
 delegation in Congress was requested to urge this view and a 
 Democratic amendment substituting the word "instruct" 
 for "request" was defeated by a strict party vote. The Demo- 
 crats took much comfort in thus putting the Whigs on 
 record in opposition to the right of instruction — as if there 
 was need of putting them more on record than they already 
 were — saying that the Whigs were denying a right in which 
 all North Carolinians believed. This was of course far from 
 true, but it was so far true that the Whigs were afraid to 
 stand on such ground, and they replied that they had not 
 denied the right of instruction, but were only unanimously 
 voting down factious opposition. Many North Carolina 
 Whigs believed in instructions and the party dared not make 
 the issue. 
 
 As a matter of fact the Whigs could not afford to make 
 many clear cut tests of principle. The component elements 
 of the party were too heterogeneous and there were too many 
 shades of opinion included. This was of course the great 
 weakness of the party both in State and Nation. In the cam- 
 paign of 1840 they had called themselves Democratic Whigs, 
 Democratic Republican Whigs, and even Democrats. As 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 77 
 
 soon as the election was won they began to saj that they 
 were the Democrats because "the majority are necessarily 
 the Democrats." 
 
 The legislature ignored one proposal which was destined 
 to be heard from again. Green W. Caldwell of Mecklenburg 
 introduced a bill for a constitutional amendment which would 
 remove the freehold qualification for voting for members of 
 the Senate. The Whigs did not think the proposal required 
 any special attention, regarding it only as a manifestation 
 of the "levelling" character of the Democratic party. The 
 Whig party in North Carolina cannot be said to have been 
 aristocratic ; no party in North Carolina could ever be or ever 
 have been that with any possibility of success or even of con- 
 tinued existence as a party. But an aristocratic tendency 
 was easily perceptible and this increased as the party gained 
 strength in the East. It was its western strength which kept 
 the party in the straight path. But the leaders, many of 
 them, in private had small confidence in the people or in their 
 ability to rule, if indeed their attitude may not be properly 
 described as contemptuous. This was particularly true of 
 the so-called Federal Whigs. This point of view was not 
 unknown to some in the State; but the fact of continued 
 Whig success and supremacy during a period of fourteen 
 years is proof positive that it was never known generally. The 
 Democrats felt it and their speakers and their newspapers em- 
 phasized it at every opportunity but they could not mai,e the 
 people believe it. It is to be remembered that the Whig 
 leaders, regardless of their essential democracy or lack of 
 democracy, were in the main high-minded, patriotic men 
 who were, several of them, statesmen of high rank, who would 
 have attained even higher place in almost any other State 
 than North Carolina. They were in their prime in the early 
 forties and were backed by a united and highly organized 
 party. The Democrats, in contrast, had no leaders of even 
 local first rank. They had no leader who, commanding the 
 undivided support of the party, could perfect an organiza- 
 tion which might hope to challenge the superbly organized 
 
78 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 Whig machine. Bedford Brown lacked magnetism and was 
 inclined to abstractions. Robert Strange was a fine, high- 
 minded man, but he was fanciful and high-flown and was 
 utterly unable to reach the people effectively. Saunders was 
 primarily a politician. Louis D. Henry of Cumberland, had 
 many qualities of leadership, but was vulnerable at many 
 points. A number of young men gave promise, notable 
 among whom were Charles Shepard, whose career, however, 
 was to be cut short a year or two later. Not only in states- 
 manship, but in practical politics the Whigs were superior 
 and it was no wonder that they distanced their opponents with 
 considerable ease. 
 
 In another respect the Whigs had an advantage. In 1840 
 there were thirty-one newspapers in the State, twenty- 
 five of which were political. Of these seventeen were 
 Whig and eight Democratic. This would have been a 
 greater advantage than it was but for the presence in 
 North Carolina of 59,609 white adults who could neither 
 read nor write. Another thing which weakened the 
 Whig press was the fact that practically every editor was a 
 Northern man. Gales of the Register was by descent and in 
 point of view English and, in spite of the history of the news- 
 paper, was distinctly Federalists. The Democrats, there- 
 fore, had much to say of "Yankee editors" and "Northern 
 Influence." Until 1841 the Standard was edited by Thomas 
 Loring, who was a Northerner, but he left it in that year and 
 started a paper of his own which three years later was sup- 
 porting the Whig candidates and Whig doctrines, while the 
 Standard was advertised for sale. Out of this apparent loss 
 of Democratic strength was to arise a new and far more effi- 
 cient leader of the Democracy and a new power in North 
 Carolina. 
 
 The congressional elections in 1841 came in May and the 
 campaign thus followed close on the heels of the legislative 
 session. In March the North Carolina banks all suspended 
 specie payments and the unsettled financial conditions played 
 some part in the campaign, all to the advantage of the Whig 
 party. Most things were to Whig advantage at this time and 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 79 
 
 tlie remarkable tiling is that they were not able to accomplish 
 more in the election now described. As it was they succeeded 
 in winning three additional seats. 
 
 In the first district, Rayner was again returned, defeat- 
 ing R. H. Ballard. In the second, J. P. J. Daniel, who had 
 been ousted from the position of attorney-general, replaced 
 Jesse A. Bynum, who, after four terms, declined to be a 
 candidate. He defeated William W. Cherry. Edward Stan- 
 ly was unopposed in the third, Charles Shepard declined to 
 run in the fourth and William A. Washington of Craven, a 
 Whig, defeated Dr. Josiah O. Watson. In the fifth, James 
 J. McKay was as strong as ever and defeated Mr. Baker, a 
 Whig opponent. Three Democrats — M. T. Hawkins, the 
 sitting member, William Russell and Archibald H. Arring- 
 ton — contested the sixth, the last-mentioned being success- 
 ful. Edmund Deberry maintained his strength in the seventh 
 and defeated Edward McCollum. Romulus M. Saunders 
 defeated Dr. James S. Smith of Orange in the eighth. A. H. 
 Shepperd, after a term's absence, defeated David S. Reid in 
 the ninth. Two Whigs — Abraham Rencher and Jonathan 
 Worth — waged a heated contest in the tenth, the former win- 
 ning easily. Henry W. Connor, after twenty years of consecu- 
 tive and active service, declined to be a candidate again in the 
 eleventh and Green W. Caldwell succeeded him, defeating D. 
 M. Barringer. Two Whigs — James Graham, the sitting mem- 
 ber, and Thomas L. Clingman, the new and rising star of the 
 West, contested the twelfth, Graham winning but with some 
 difficulty. In the thirteenth, Lewis Williams, the "Father 
 of the House," then serving his thirteenth consecutive term, 
 was chosen for the fourteenth and last time. He died Febru- 
 ary 23, 1842. His opponent was R. Murchison. After his 
 death Anderson Mitchell was elected to succeed him. 
 
 The Whigs were naturally highly elated at their in- 
 creased majority, but the change in national affairs and 
 national politics caused by the death of President Harrison 
 and the accession of John Tyler was soon to dampen their 
 ardor considerably. The discussion of that, however, belongs 
 to another chapter. 
 
OHAPTEE VII 
 THE CAMPAIGN AND LEGISLATURE OF 1842 
 
 The break in the national Whig party resulted from 
 Tyler's vetoes of the two bank bills, beyond inflicting keen 
 disappointment, had but small effect in JSTorth Carolina. The 
 Whig party in the State was too strongly intrenched to be 
 seriously injured. It intensified their devotion to Clay and 
 they were entirely in sympathy with the quarrel with the 
 President. Badger resigned from the cabinet and Mangum 
 took a leading part in the activities of the Whigs in Congress, 
 offering the resolution in the caucus for a Whig address 
 against Tyler and in general directing the work of the caucus 
 in organizing against him. He gained such reputation and 
 influence in this way that on May 31, 1842, upon the resigna- 
 tion of Senator Southard, of New Jersey, he was chosen 
 president pro tern, of the Senate to succeed him and thus was 
 placed in direct succession to the presidency. He was elected 
 again at the succeeding session and the President's fortu- 
 nate departure from the deck of the Princeton a few mo- 
 ments before the explosion which killed two members of his 
 Cabinet alone probably prevented Mangum's accession to the 
 presidency. 
 
 The Democratic convention of 1842 met on January 10, 
 at Raleigh. Only twenty-four counties were represented and 
 about one hundred delegates were present. It was not a par- 
 ticularly enthusiastic gathering but its work is interesting. 
 Henry Fitts of Warren was the presiding officer and Louis 
 D. Henry of Cumberland, was unanimously nominated for 
 governor. The platform demanded the resumption of specie 
 payments by the JSTorth Carolina banks, but practically all 
 the rest of it was devoted to national affairs. The Whigs 
 were sharply attacked for spending three thousand dollars 
 on the funeral of President Harrison. This piece of petty 
 peanut politics excited the anger and contempt of William H. 
 Haywood who made a vehement but entirely fruitless pro- 
 
Paety Politics in Nokth Carolina 81 
 
 test to the convention against it. The convention was notable 
 for the appearance and prominence of four men who were 
 later to be party leaders of note and influence, namely, W. W. 
 Avery, David S. Reid, Thomas Bragg, and John W. Ellis, 
 the three last-named future governors of the State. All made 
 speeches which excited comment. Henry also appeared and 
 made a speech which was regarded as exceptional. Soon 
 after the convention he wrote a letter of acceptance which 
 was a document of alarming length containing not one word 
 in regard to state affairs. His platform as drawn from his 
 letter was as follows: "Free Trade — No Taxes for Protec- 
 tion — No Monopolies or Exclusive Privileges — Bank Re- 
 form." 
 
 Louis D. Henry was born in New Jersey in 1788 and 
 graduating from Princeton in 1809 came to North Carolina 
 to read law under his uncle, Edward Graham of New Bern. 
 Upon his admission to the bar he settled at Fayetteville and 
 soon gained distinction in his profession. He was a fiery 
 and aggressive speaker, but was noted for the charm and 
 courtesy of his manner. He was a man of extensive knowl- 
 edge gained from wide reading. His temper was high and 
 about 1812 he became involved in a quarrel with Thomas J. 
 Stanly over a trivial matter and a duel followed resulting 
 in the death of Stanly. In 1821 and 1822 he was a member 
 of the House of Commons from Cumberland County and in 
 1830, 1831 and 1832 he represented the borough of Fayette- 
 ville. Van Buren appointed him minister to Belgium, but 
 he declined to serve. He did, however, accept from Van 
 Buren an appointment as commissioner to settle claims 
 against Spain. Out of his services in this capacity the Whigs 
 obtained some amusing campaign material. 
 
 The Whigs had been somewhat of the opinion that the 
 opposition would not name a candidate for governor and they 
 now asked with apparent wonder why there should be any 
 opposition to Morehead, at the same time attributing it to 
 what they called the unappeasable appetite of the Democrats 
 for omce. There had been doubt as to the holding of a state 
 
82 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 convention but the action of the Democrats removed this, 
 and on April 4, 1842, the Whig convention met at Raleigh. 
 H. P. Poindexter was temporary chairman and Alfred Dock- 
 ery was president. Thirty-five counties were represented. 
 The platform repudiated Tyler and declared the Whigs for 
 the future absolved of all responsibility for his acts. More- 
 head was unanimously nominated for governor and Henry 
 (Clay was declared to be the first, last, and only choice of the 
 party in North Carolina for the presidency in 1844. This 
 started the movement in his favor and other States followed. 
 It had been thought that a candidate for the vice-presidency 
 would also be named, but no mention was made of one and 
 the opposition declared that the omission was due to a desire 
 and expectation that some other State would name Badger 
 for the position. How far this is true cannot at this date 
 be determinated. The platform also declared for distribu- 
 tion. The convention recommended the same thorough county 
 organization which had been so successful in 1840, but the 
 party had to some extent lost its head and, being entirely con- 
 fident, did nothing. 
 
 The campaign had many of the characteristics of those 
 which had preceded it. There was the same denunciation, 
 the same charges, and the same demagogical politics. Each 
 party interestingly enough still charged the other with feder- 
 alism. Needless to say, each party also studiously avoided the 
 discussion of state affairs. The central committees of each 
 issued long addresses without more than the mere mention 
 of the State. Each party tried to emphasize the extrava- 
 gance of the other and since the Whigs were in power in State 
 and Nation, the Democrats had the decided advantage here. 
 The funeral expenses of President Harrison continued to be 
 denounced as did the furnishing of the new Capitol and the 
 refurnishing of the governor's mansion. The Standard, 
 calling attention to Morehead's horror in 1840 at the ex- 
 travagant use of "soap and towels" in Washington, said, 
 "That a man who talked so much about 'soap and towels' 
 should have been cautious about bringing in such a bill for 
 
Paety Politics in North Carolina 83 
 
 'napkins'; that he who lauded gourds as proper vessels for 
 drinking should not have given $3.75 for sugar tongs, $3.50 
 •for butter knives, $45 for a set of dining table, $30 for tea 
 trays, $95 for a set of plated ware, $10.50 for one soup ladle, 
 50 cents a piece for tumblers, $4.50 for decanters, $2.50 
 for a punch bowl, nor anything for 'nut crackers.' We do 
 not say this is wrong; only so far as it is wrong to profess 
 one thing as a candidate and do another as Governor." 
 
 The Whigs as far as possible retaliated in kind. They 
 denounced Henry at every turn for having received a salary 
 as commissioner of $5,304.31 and the Register printed the 
 figures in heavy black type at the head of a column in every 
 issue. When Henry went to Washington in 1836 to take up 
 his duties as commissioner, he announced to the secretary 
 of state that he had convened and organized. The story was 
 now revived and the Whigs promptly dubbed him "The 
 Great Convener." The Register which made fun of him 
 during the whole campaign, said : 
 
 If Mr. Henry, when but a commissioner, was able to as- 
 semble by himself, then, he was, by himself, an Assembly. 
 Supposing him elected Governor of the State of North Caro- 
 lina, he will also by virtue of his office be a Captain General, 
 and therefore, it clearly follows that as soon as he shall 
 convene as Governor in the City of Raleigh,- he will be in his 
 own proper person a GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 
 
 The canvass was opened early in the spring at Hillsboro 
 where both candidates were present but only Henry spoke. 
 He was in very bad health, and fearing that he would be 
 unable to continue the campaign, he at once went to the West 
 and canvassed it from February to May when he gave up 
 and retired from the canvass. The Whigs now felt easy and 
 relaxed all their efforts. 
 
 On May 20, the Democrats had a great ratification con- 
 vention in Salisbury, called for the purpose of impressing the 
 West. It issued an address most of which as usual was in 
 regard to national affairs, but in which the state Whig 
 Administration was charged with the spoils system, pro- 
 
84 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 scription, and extravagance. The meeting was expected by 
 the Whigs at least, to take some action in the way of nomi- 
 nating a presidential candidate. There was much Calhoun 
 preference observable among the members of the convention 
 but no action was taken. Robert Strange, Michael Hoke, 
 Bedford Brown, and David S. Reid were the chief speakers 
 at the meeting and letters were read from Calhoun, Levi 
 Woodbury, and James Buchanan. 
 
 One fairly significant fact of the campaign was the hold- 
 ing of a meeting in Lenoir County to protest against the free- 
 hold qualification for voting for senators. Every mention of 
 the subject strengthened it for a future issue. 
 
 The election was held in August amidst the repeated 
 warnings of each party that fraud was to be expected from the 
 other. There is no indication that there was any. More- 
 head's majority was only 3,532, or 5,049 less than in 1840. 
 But the total vote in 1840 was 80,000, which was nearly 
 15,000 larger than in any previous election. At this election 
 the total vote was 72,000 and nearly all the loss fell on the 
 Whigs, the Democratic vote being less than two thousand 
 short of the figures of 1840. Whig overconfidence, increased 
 by Henry's leaving the active canvass, was responsible. But 
 the reduced majority was a small thing compared to the loss 
 of the legislature. The Democrats, who were well organized 
 for them and who had never relaxed their efforts, won both 
 houses and thus had not only the election of a United States 
 senator to succeed Graham, but also the redistricting of the 
 State under the census of 1840 for Congress, for the state 
 Senate, and for the House of Commons. 
 
 Democratic sentiment in the State was growing very 
 favorable to Calhoun during this period and there were 
 many of the party leaders, notable amotag whom was Saun- 
 ders, who were frankly advocates of his nomination for the 
 presidency in 1844. The State was not at all enthusiastic 
 for Van Buren although there were many of his friends to be 
 found. On September 2, a great dinner in Calhoun's honor 
 was given at Shocco Springs, then a seat of fashion and noted 
 
Party Politics ijst North Carolina 85 
 
 as a gathering place for politicians. John Branch presided 
 and made one of the speeches. Calhoun was of course the 
 chief speaker. Among the others were Saunders, J. R. J. 
 Daniel, and Charles Shepard. Letters were read from 
 Thomas H. Benton, Levi Woodbury, William R. King, James 
 Buchanan, Jacob Thompson, Silas Wright, Thomas W. Rit- 
 chie, T. W. Gilmer, and many others of less note in the Dem- 
 aeracy. 
 
 Before the legislature convened, the tariff of 1842 became 
 & law and went into effect. By this bill the North Carolina 
 Whigs were placed in a dilemma. Mangum by this time was 
 in effect a high tariff man, and while he voted against the 
 bill, he made no secret that had his vote been needed to pass 
 it, he would have voted affirmatively. Graham also voted 
 against it but he endorsed it in 1844 and would probably 
 have voted for it if necessary. In the House Stanly tried 
 to avoid voting on the question at all but was forced to do so 
 and voted for it. The rest of the Whigs and all the Demo- 
 crats voted against it. 
 
 The legislature met at the customary time. Louis D. 
 Wilson of Edgecombe was chosen speaker of the Senate over 
 Andrew Joyner, and Calvin Graves of Caswell, speaker of 
 the House over D. M. Barringer of Cabarrus. The State 
 watched with much interest to see what attitude the Demo- 
 crats would take in relation to the disposition of the offices 
 within the gift of the legislature. Many Democrats frankly 
 favored the spoils system and a series of able articles entitled, 
 "The General Assembly," which appeared in the Standard 
 in the autumn, had advocated a clean sweep of the Whigs. 
 When the legislature met, the Democrats to some extent had 
 abandoned the non-partisan attitude which had hitherto 
 characterized them. Charles Manly, for nineteen years clerk 
 of the House, was turned out in favor of Louis H. Marsteller 
 who had shortly before been ousted by the Whigs from his 
 position of collector of the port of Wilmington. John H. 
 Wheeler, a Democrat, was elected treasurer, defeating 
 Charles L. Hinton, the Whig incumbent, two Democratic 
 
86 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 solicitors were chosen and a Democratic attorney-general to 
 succeed Hugh McQueen who resigned, and seven Democrats- 
 were elected to the Council of State. The last mentioned 
 elections in particular aroused the wrath of the Whigs. But 
 the Whig secretary of state was unanimously re-elected and 
 the Whig comptroller was re-elected. 
 
 Governor Morehead's message was a statesmanlike utter- 
 ance devoted mainly to the question of internal improvements 
 and containing a large number of specific recommendations 
 on the subject. A proposition to print five copies for each 
 member was defeated as useless extravagance and one copy 
 for each was finally ordered to be printed. 
 
 The election of United States senator at first occupied 
 much of the attention and thought of the majority. Bedford 
 Brown, desiring endorsement after his resignation, was of 
 course a candidate, and R. M. Saunders, on the strength of his 
 campaign against Morehead in 1840 and the feeling against 
 Brown was also in the race. Others mentioned were Louis 
 D. Henry, Charles Shepard, William H. Haywood, Charles 
 Fisher, and Robert Strange. The contest was accompanied 
 by the most bitter hostility and as Moore says, "shameful con- 
 tention." Much outside pressure was brought to bear in 
 favor of Brown which probably injured as much as it helped 
 his cause. Jackson, Silas Wright, and Thomas H. Benton 
 all wrote letters urging his selection. The caucus met and 
 took four ballots in all of which Brown led, but Saunders and 
 his friends would not yield. Brown then suggested to Saun- 
 ders that both should withdraw in the interest of harmony, 
 but Saunders, relying on gaining some Whig votes, refused 
 to consider it. The Whigs, anxious to split the Democratic 
 party, were loudly supporting Saunders, but they did not 
 carry their support to the point of voting in a body for him. 
 Brown behaved very well in the whole matter, for in the be- 
 ginning he had instructed his supporters to withdraw his 
 name in the event that Saunders led in the caucus. The polit- 
 ical preferences of the two men probably had some influence 
 in the contest. Brown was a strong supporter of Van Buren 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 87 
 
 while Saunders, as has been already mentioned, was an avow- 
 ed supporter of Calhoun. When the election came, a dead- 
 lock resulted. After the first five ballots none were taken 
 for some days. In this period the Standard angered many 
 by a protest against the sacrifice of the interests of the party 
 for those of a faction. The Standard was supposed by 
 many to be controlled by William H. Haywood and on that 
 account many Democrats disliked it. Finally on the ninth 
 ballot, the Democrats abandoned both Brown and Saunders 
 who had been withdrawn, and elected Haywood. Brown and 
 Saunders were very bitter against each other and the breach 
 in the party did not heal easily. 
 
 The legislature with its Democratic majority was not 
 inclined to any liberal policy of internal improvements. The 
 report of the committee on the subject strongly condemned the 
 methods of state aid already adopted and declared that as 
 the State was in no financial condition to assist any general 
 scheme of internal improvement, the time and money spent 
 on investigations and surveys was sheer waste. The bonds 
 of the Wilmington and Kaleigh Railroad, which the State 
 had endorsed, had in the meantime gone to protest and an act 
 was passed authorizing the Literary Board to invest $50,000 
 in redeeming them, and at the same time a complete invest- 
 gation of the affairs of the road was ordered. The Democrats 
 doubtless hated to spend the money on such an object, but the 
 name of the State was dear to all and repudiation was ab- 
 horred. The whole matter of the loans made from the 
 Literary Fund now came up. The publication of the names 
 of the borrowers was ordered despite the protests of the 
 Whigs. The reason of their opposition appeared when the 
 report showed that of the fifty-five borrowers, forty-seven 
 were Whigs who held $97,469, of the total loans of $108,955. 
 Much Democratic criticism followed which was keenly re- 
 sented by the Whigs. How far politics had really entered 
 into the making of loans cannot be discovered, but the efforts 
 of the Whigs to stifle the investigation would lead to the 
 
88 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 belief that there was at least an element of truth in the Demo- 
 cratic charges. 
 
 The legislature devoted considerable time to the question 
 of the banks and to the financial situation generally. W. B. 
 Shepard introduced a relief bill which provided for the loan 
 to the people of the counties in proportion to their federal 
 population of treasury notes to the amount of a million dol- 
 lars. On January 2, 1843, the stockholders of the State Bank 
 offered to surrender their charter and it soon became known 
 that if the relief bill passed that the bank would wind up its 
 affairs. The relief bill failed, partly because of this pressure 
 and the Standard which was very friendly to the State Bank 
 at once charged it with attempting to control the legislature. 
 
 The movement for a penitentiary was much stronger at 
 this session and it was also proposed to work criminals on the 
 public roads. There was need of some reform of the system 
 of punishment. Twenty-five crimes were punishable by death 
 for the first offense and five more for the second offense. In- 
 numerable offenses were punished with the pillory or whip- 
 ping post or both. The State was awakening to the fact that 
 whipping, generally speaking, made bad citizens and much 
 opposition was manifest. 
 
 Catawba, McDowell and Union counties were established 
 and ten academies, two manufacturing companies and seven 
 military companies were incorporated. The State was re- 
 districted, the number of congressional districts under the 
 new appointment falling from thirteen to nine. The Whigs 
 of course opposed the districting, charging a gerrymander. 
 In all the three kinds of districts there was doubtless some 
 gerrymandering, but so has there always been in North Caro- 
 lina, and there were no striking instances of it. 
 
 Probably the most interesting political happening of the 
 session was the series of discussions of a set of resolutions in- 
 troduced by Cadwallader Jones, Jr., of Orange. They de- 
 clared the right of the legislature to instruct United States 
 senators and the duty of the latter to obey or resign. They 
 further declared that North Carolina would never consent 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 89 
 
 to an imposition of taxes for a particular interest or occupa- 
 tion and condemned the tariff of 1842 as such a tax and also 
 as a violation of the compromise of 1833. The bankrupt 
 law was also condemned. The refunding of the fine imposed 
 upon General Jackson by Judge Hall in 1812 was demanded 
 and the senators were instructed and the representatives 
 were requested to assist in carrying the resolutions into effect. 
 The Whigs resisted the resolutions at every step by offering 
 very skillfully prepared amendments to every section, all of 
 them designed to embarrass the Democrats and by demanding 
 a roll call on every possible question. The Democrats stood 
 solidly together on every point, voted down the amendments, 
 some of which they themselves offered later independently and 
 passed to keep their record clear, and carried the resolutions 
 through both houses without any substantial change. 
 
 On May 31, 1843, Loring announced his retirement as 
 editor of the Standard, and William W. Holden wrote his 
 salutatory. He declared himself ever to have been "a Demo- 
 cratic Republican of the school of '98 and '99," and stated 
 that he was now a Democrat because the members of that 
 party "have always approved themselves the friends and 
 supporters of equal rights ; because they have ever been, and 
 are now, the advocates of the many against the few ; because 
 whilst they yield to the Federal Government the exercise of 
 its acknowledged and undoubted constitutional power, they 
 at the same time guard with peculiar vigilance the freedom, 
 sovereignty, and independence of the respective States." 
 
 William Woods Holden, one of the most interesting of 
 the figures of North Carolina history and destined to become 
 one of the most dominant in the politics of the State, was born 
 in Orange County in 1818. Trained in the office of Dennis 
 Heartt, the editor of the Hillsboro Recorder, he was an en- 
 thusiastic Whig. Going to Raleigh in 1837, he studied law 
 and obtained his license. At the same time he became an 
 associate editor of the Star the Whig paper edited by Lemay 
 which was in a sense representative of the Republican Whigs 
 just as the Register was the organ of the Federal Whigs. He 
 
90 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 displayed unusual ability but there was small hope of bis 
 being able to become the editor of a Whig paper and be 
 faced the prospect of giving up journalism, to which his ta- 
 lents inclined him, or of remaining in a subordinate position. 
 It is extremely likely that he was beginning to feel himself 
 out of sympathy with the dominant forces in the Whig party 
 as they inclined more and more towards aristocratic opinions. 
 At this juncture James B. Shepherd offered to sell him the 
 Standard on very easy terms if he would conduct it as the 
 organ of the Democratic party. Holden accepted with less 
 than ten minutes deliberation and threw himself into the 
 work of advancing Democratic principles with an ability, 
 and an enthusiasm which indicated clearly that his heart was 
 indeed in his new cause. The Whigs sneered at him publicly, 
 cursed and reviled him in private, and laid up a store of 
 hatred for him which was to have momentous influence in 
 North Carolina during the next three decades. The Demo- 
 crats accepted him not only cheerfully and heartily, but as a 
 gift from Heaven, and his influence grew rapidly. With his 
 assumption of control the Standard gained new force and 
 strength and the Democratic party entered upon a new era. 
 Holden was a tremendous fighter and he was an intuitive, 
 adroit, and masterly politician. It is no exaggeration to say 
 that under his leadership and through it the Democrats de- 
 veloped an organization while the power of the Whigs steadily 
 waned. One of his first acts and one which showed his fore- 
 sight was the removal of Van Buren's name from the head of 
 the Standard's editorial column as the Democratic candidate 
 for 1844. He knew intuitively that its presence might be of 
 great embarrassment later. 
 
 The congressional elections attracted the usual attention. 
 The results showed that the Democrats had elected five, 
 Archibald H. Arrington, J. B. J. Daniel, James J. McKay, 
 David S. Beid, and B. M. Saunders. The Whigs elected 
 four, Thomas L. Clingman, who this time defeated James 
 Graham, D. M. Barringer, Edmund Deberry, and Kenneth 
 Bayner. Stanly was defeated by Arrington of Nash. It 
 
Paety Politics in North Carolina 91 
 
 "was during this campaign that Stanly coined a phrase which 
 is now world-wide. The news reached him that ISTash County, 
 which was almost solidly Democratic, would not allow him 
 to speak within its borders. Stanly had not intended going 
 to the county at all, but he throve on opposition of this kind 
 and at once announced a date on which he would speak in the 
 county. On the appointed day he faced a tremendous crowd, 
 practically all his political opponents, and began his speech. 
 Reciting the facts which had led to his coming he closed his 
 explanation as follows : "I realize that I am facing the unter- 
 rified Democracy of Nash County, but I want you to know 
 and to bear witness that I face you unterrified." "The unter- 
 rified Democracy" has been a political phrase ever since. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1844 
 
 The political pot of 1844 began to boil in North Carolina 
 by September, 1843, and by the middle of October, both par- 
 ties had issued calls for state conventions to meet in De- 
 cember. The Democrats were particularly active and con- 
 fident, probably because of their success in 1842 and in the 
 congressional elections of 1843. 
 
 The Whig convention met first, assembling in Raleigh on 
 December 8. It was an enthusiastic and united body of 200 
 delegates, representing 52 counties, and was the largest con- 
 vention that the State had had to this time. S. F. Patterson 
 was temporary chairman and George E. Spruill was presi- 
 dent. Edward Stanly and Charles Manly had both been men- 
 tioned for the nomination for governor, and Stanly went so 
 far as to write declining it. There was no need for his anxi- 
 ety on the subject. William A. Graham was an easy favorite 
 and was nominated unanimously. Clay was endorsed and the 
 platform declared for a national bank. It also declared for 
 tariff duties as opposed to direct taxes and favored incidental 
 protection from the duties. Distribution as usual was 
 endorsed. Morehead's administration was highly commend- 
 ed. George E. Badger and Edward B. Dudley were chosen 
 as delegates to the national convention. 
 
 William Alexander Graham was born near Vesuvius 
 Purnace in Lincoln County in 1804. Prepared for college 
 in Mecklenburg County, at Pleasant Retreat Academy in 
 Lincolnton, and at the Hillsboro Academy, he matriculated 
 at the University in 1820 and graduated in 1824 with high 
 honors in a very distinguished class. He studied law under 
 Judge Ruffin and was admitted to the bar in 1827. His 
 political life began in 1833 when he was elected as a borough 
 member from Hillsboro to the House of Commons. He was 
 re-elected twice in succession and was the Whig candidate for 
 speaker at the last session. In 1836 he was a member of the 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 93 
 
 House from Orange County and in 1837 was the Whig 
 candidate for Congress from that district but was defeated 
 by Dr. William Montgomery. The next year he returned 
 to the House and was elected speaker over Michael Hoke. 
 In 1840 he was re-elected both to the House and the speaker- 
 ship, and, as will be remembered, was soon after elected to 
 the United States Senate. After his defeat for re-election he 
 had again engaged in the practice of his profession. 
 
 Graham's letter of acceptance, which was quite an elab- 
 orate one, was devoted almost entirely to the discussion of 
 national finance. He expressed regret at his call to the 
 office, saying that it broke in upon his agricultural pursuits. 
 Holden took this phrase as the text for a very clever editorial 
 in which he said: 
 
 When and where did the delicate lawyer-like hands of Wil- 
 liam A. Graham become accustomed to the handles of the 
 plough ? Will nobody enlighten us ? The truth is, the idea 
 is perfectly ridiculous. This reluctant "breaking away" 
 from "agricultural pursuits" was put in for no other pur- 
 pose than that of conveying to the minds of the farmers of 
 the State the impression that he is a practical farmer. 
 We believe Mr. Graham does live in the center of a 10-acre 
 patch. This extensive farm is bounded on the south by the 
 waters of the Enoe — on the north by the Oxford road — on 
 the east by a magnificent branch at least two feet wide — and 
 on the west by the ancient village of Hillsboro, and over all 
 look proudly down the Ocanechee Mountains. We shall 
 therefore call him the Ocanechee Farmer, a pretty title and 
 romantic. And now imagine him out at work. Of course 
 his coat is off, his sleeves rolled up, and his whole soul set 
 against being broken off from his "agricultural pursuits." He 
 ploughs along ; and ever as he gets to the turning row he kicks 
 the mud from the ploughshare with his elegant slipper, and 
 swears, with all the sternness of a man bent on making corn 
 that he will farm it. Anon he denounces the late Federal 
 Convention for "breaking in" upon his "agricultural pur- 
 suits," casts a last melancholy look at his beloved grubbing 
 hoe; and then in a spirit of beautiful desperation, rushes to 
 
94 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 his office, seizes his pen, and signs the letter of acceptance. 
 The deed is done. Henceforth his corn will grow; but oh! 
 agony ! he will not see it. 
 
 The Democratic convention assembled just a week after 
 the Whig meeting. It was not so large a body, the delegates 
 numbering only 141, and only 31 counties, of which nine were 
 western, being represented. Louis D. Henry of Edgecombe, 
 presided and with Charles Fisher was chosen a delegate to the 
 national convention. Michael Hoke of Lincoln, who was an 
 open and expressed candidate for the nomination and the 
 first in the history of the State, was unanimously nominated 
 for governor. The platform which was rather elaborate, con- 
 demned a national bank, endorsed a tariff for revenue, ex- 
 pressing strong opposition to protection and the tariff of 
 1842. It also condemned direct taxes. It expressed approval 
 of the veto power which was then being sharply condemned 
 by the Whigs on account of their experience with Jackson 
 and more particularly with Tyler, favored the return of 
 Jackson's fine, and approving of "properly regulated State 
 banks based on specie capital," demanded regulation of the 
 North Carolina banks by the legislature. 
 
 The Democratic candidate for governor was like G-raham 
 a native of Lincoln County. Born in 1810, he was six years 
 younger than his opponent. He received most of his educa- 
 tion at Captain Partridge's famous school at Middletown, 
 Connecticut, and later studied law under Judge Tucker of 
 Virginia, and Robert H. Burton of North Carolina. He was 
 deeply interested in politics and had been a member of the 
 House of Commons for five terms from 1834 to 1842. 
 
 The chief event of 1844 in the minds of the Whigs was 
 Clay's visit to the State. He had been previously invited 
 repeatedly, but had never been in the State until April, 1844, 
 when he visited Raleigh and Wilmington at both of which 
 places he spoke. The writer recently talked with a North 
 Carolinian who heard him in Wilmington. His comment 
 was that the speech was very fine, but that it was "cast in the 
 shade" by one delivered by William W. Cherry of Bertie. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 95 
 
 At both places immense crowds attended, but the Raleigh 
 meeting was naturally the larger and more important. From 
 all over the State the Whigs poured out to greet their idol. 
 Men travelled hundreds of miles in wagons and on horseback, 
 camping on the way and in Raleigh to hear and see the 
 great Whig chieftain. He reached Raleigh in the evening 
 and was met outside the town by a large delegation and 
 carried to the governor's mansion. That night there was a 
 huge demonstration with speeches at the capitol from many 
 local and visiting Whigs, including: B. W. Leigh of Vir- 
 ginia, and "Parson" Brownlow of Tennessee. The next day 
 Clay was welcomed at the capitol by Badger and introduced 
 by Morehead, after which he delivered a long address which, 
 while he said it was not intended to be political, was of 
 course an appeal for the Whig policies. 
 
 Badger's enthusiasm for Clay at this time provoked the 
 Standard to publish the following sentiments concerning him, 
 which Badger, as a member of the Jackson committee, had 
 written in 1828 : 
 
 You have seen the Secretary of State challenging to mortal 
 combat a member of Congress for daring in his place on the 
 floor of the Senate to examine with freedom and expose with 
 boldness the conduct of the Secretary. You have seen the 
 same officer, forgetful of what belongs to his high station, 
 assume the character of a traveling speechmaker and har- 
 angue public gatherings in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and 
 Virginia, boasting of his intrepidity and his virtue, and dis- 
 charging his malignity towards Jackson, sometimes in gross 
 abuse, and sometimes in impious appeals to heaven. 
 
 By this time the question of the annexation of Texas was 
 the dominant issue in the minds of every one. All the pos- 
 sible candidates for presidential nomination had been asked 
 to define their views and Van Buren had at once given his 
 which were unequivocal in their opposition to annexation. 
 Clay had hitherto refrained from expressing his own views 
 but as Van Buren seemed certain of the Democratic nomina- 
 tion, it appeared to Clay that here was his opportunity to 
 
96 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 dismiss the Texas question from the presidential campaign 
 and thus be able to fight the Democrats on his chosen issues 
 of the bank and the tariff without the public attention being 
 diverted. Therefore, while he was in Raleigh, after consulta- 
 tion with Badger, Stanly, and Morehead, he wrote his famous 
 "Raleigh letter" in which he expressed in no uncertain terms 
 his opposition to such expansion. Sentiment in the State was 
 divided, but, generally speaking, the Whigs opposed and the 
 Democrats favored annexation. When the treaty finally 
 came before the Senate, Mangum voted against it and Hay- 
 wood for it. 
 
 Clay was duly nominated by the Whig convention which 
 met in Baltimore on May 1. North Carolina had a full dele- 
 gation present but took no especially prominent part in the 
 deliberations. Richard H. Hines was one of the vice-presi- 
 dents. 
 
 In the Democratic convention which also met in Balti- 
 more in the same month, quite the reverse was true. Romu- 
 lus M. Saunders was easily the most prominent figure in the 
 body. He called the convention to order and, as soon as it 
 was organized, moved to adopt the two-thirds rule which de- 
 feated Van Buren, to secure whose nomination for vice-presi- 
 dent in 1832, it had first been devised. The North Carolina 
 delegation had no particular candidate. Henry was for Van 
 Buren and Fisher was for Calhoun. Saunders was also for 
 Calhoun but did not think that he could be nominated. The 
 delegation was not even a unit on the question of the two- 
 thirds rule, dividing evenly on it. The vote of the State on 
 the various ballots is interesting. 
 
 First Ballot — Van Buren 2; Cass 4; Johnson 5. 
 
 Second Ballot — Cass 5 ; Johnson 5. 
 
 Third Ballot — Johnson 11. 
 
 Fourth Ballot — Cass 11. 
 
 Fifth Ballot — Cass 7; Johnson 4. 
 
 Sixth Ballot — Cass 7; Johnson 4. 
 
 Seventh Ballot — Van Buren 2 ; Cass 7 ; Johnson 2. 
 
 Eighth Ballot — Van Buren 2 ; Cass 8 ; Calhoun 1. 
 
 Ninth Ballot— Polk 11. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 97 
 
 Polk's nomination was welcomed by North Carolina Dem- 
 ocrats for he was popular in the State and they felt much 
 pride in his North Carolina birth and the fact of his having 
 been educated at the University. The Whigs at once said 
 that he was a small man whose unfitness for the presidency 
 was indicated by the fact that he was not voted for in the 
 early ballots of the convention and that the ability of the 
 convention to unite on him after the long contest showed that 
 he was a weak man. They also argued with much length 
 and gravity that his grandfather had been a Tory in the 
 Revolution. The Democrats retorted that he was a signer 
 of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence and the 
 Whigs argued that any copy of that sacred document which 
 bore the name of Ezekiel Polk was of necessity a forgery. 
 This characteristic argument lasted during the entire cam- 
 paign. 
 
 The state campaign got under way early. Plans were 
 made for a joint canvass, but Graham was taken desperately 
 ill and for a time his life was despaired of. After his re- 
 covery he entered upon the campaign and at several places 
 he and Hoke met. The chief subject of debate was annex- 
 ation which Hoke defended and Graham opposed. Graham 
 paid comparatively little attention to the East, but canvassed 
 the West rather thoroughly. His attention to the West caused 
 the Democrats to revive to some extent the talk of sectional 
 division. 
 
 The campaign was very spirited throughout. Graham 
 was somewhat stiff and formal and never under any circum- 
 stances lost his dignity. He was the most cultured of all 
 the governors of North Carolina, and was a man of majestic 
 presence who always attracted attention. Mr. Nash says of 
 him: "He was at this time the handsomest man in public 
 life in North Carolina. The tones of his voice were mellow 
 and harmonious, and, though not strong, well modulated. 
 His action was free, easy and graceful, on occasion warming 
 into energy. His matter was carefully arranged so as to 
 give his argument the effect of cumulation. He was fair and 
 
98 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 stately, and perfectly honest and sincere in the position he 
 took. His public addresses, though always orderly arranged, 
 are never closely reasoned. He knew the danger of a logical 
 short cut in dealing with public questions. Its beauty and 
 force could be appreciated only by the initiated, and such 
 were not his fellow citizens whom he was addressing. He 
 very seldom dealt in sophistry. Indeed so practical a mind 
 as his could rarely do so. In short the matter of his public 
 speeches was interesting and instructive, while his manner 
 was always attractive." Hoke was a man of great charm and 
 enthusiasm of manner. Magnetic, a good popular orator and 
 debater, and generally liked, he made a formidable opponent. 
 His character was above reproach in every relation of life and 
 his ability far above the average. In sharp contrast to Gra- 
 ham, he was possessed of much humor and readiness of wit. 
 The two in joint debate furnished an interesting contrast. 
 Quoting Mr. Nash again: "Graham, more learned, more 
 experienced, calmer, more dignified and impressive; Hoke 
 more nimble, quicker, brighter and more entertaining." 
 
 The campaign was devoid of any special interest. There 
 was, however, a good deal of journalistic activity. In June 
 Loring finally took the plunge he had apparently been medi- 
 tating for some time and announced his support of the Whigs. 
 The Standard was intensely active in the campaign and its 
 strength alarmed the Whigs who never lost an opportunity of 
 denouncing it and its editor. The Fayetteville Observer, 
 whose editor was particularly hostile to Holden on account 
 of his apostacy, said editorially during the campaign : "Of 
 all the vile, unscrupulous blackguard sheets published in the 
 United States, we doubt if there be one that will compare 
 in these particulars with the Raleigh Standard, acting noto- 
 riously upon the principle of never retracting one of its thou- 
 sand of falsehoods and never abandoning one, however often 
 refuted, it is perfectly callous to public opinion and occupies 
 itself wholly in devising and collecting foul slanders which 
 it dins into the public ear, until some of its readers, we have 
 reason to think, actually believe those fables to whose utter 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 99 
 
 falsehood not even constant reiteration can close the eyes of 
 their hired originator and propagator." 
 
 In July the Whigs held their great western meeting at 
 Statesville. Graham, D. M. Barringer, H. C. Jones, and 
 Waddy Thompson of South Carolina, were the speakers. 
 The assembled crowds were also entertained by a great barbe- 
 cue. 
 
 The election resulted in a Whig victory, Graham's ma- 
 jority being 3,153 in a total vote of 82,019. The legislature 
 was Whig in both houses, but by a majority of only two in 
 the Senate. In September Hoke died of malaria contracted 
 in his canvass of the East and a very promising career was 
 thus cut short. 
 
 The presidential campaign was conducted with much 
 enthusiasm for the rest of the time, the central committees 
 of both parties issuing various addresses to the people and 
 as far as possible perfecting their local organization. The 
 Democrats were entirely hopeful of the results in the Nation, 
 but they had small hope for carrying the State, it being still 
 very clearly manifest that the Whigs could maintain their 
 control. The returns of the election showed a majority for 
 Clay of 3,390 in a total of 62,488. The vote in the presi- 
 dential election was smaller than that in the state election by 
 nearly twenty thousand and each party lost practically the 
 same number. The only explanation seems to be that the 
 people at last were taking a greater interest in state than in 
 national elections. 
 
 When the legislature met four members of the Senate 
 had died and the new elections had caused a tie. The elec- 
 tion of a speaker came when the Democrats, on account of an 
 absent Whig, had a majority of one. A deadlock followed 
 since the Democratic candidate, Louis D. Wilson, would not 
 vote for himself. Later the Democrats sought to elect 
 Thomas 1ST. Cameron or Weldon "N. Edwards. The Whigs, 
 who supported in turn Joyner, Dockery, and Francis, finally 
 proposed to the Democrats to throw dice for the speaker. 
 The offer was contemptuously refused. They then offered to 
 
100 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 allow the Democrats to elect the speaker if they themselves 
 should be allowed to name all the clerks and doorkeepers 
 and upon the refusal of the Democrats to consider this offer, 
 they expressed their readiness to surrender all the lesser po- 
 sitions for the speakership. The Democrats, finally de- 
 spairing of ever electing one of their party, concentrated 
 on Burgess S. Gaither of Burke, a moderate Whig, and 
 elected him. In the House Edward Stanly was elected 
 speaker over Calvin Graves. 
 
 The session of the legislature so far as work accomplished 
 was not of more than average interest and importance. The 
 Whigs were very bitter over the election of Gaither and when 
 they found a little later that Ennet of Onslow, had pre- 
 sented a forged certificate of election which he, however, 
 at the time believed to be genuine, and although he had later 
 received and presented the correct one, they expelled him. 
 He was triumphantly re-elected immediately. The Texas 
 question was in the minds of everyone and the House of 
 Commons finally passed, by a majority of eleven, resolu- 
 tions condemning annexation, but they did not represent the 
 sentiment of the State. The Whigs had opposed annexation 
 because the Democrats wanted it and because Clay opposed 
 it. Upon reflection and after Clay's "Alabama letter" many 
 of them were now frank expansionists. 
 
 Among the more important legislation were acts giving 
 authority for the foreclosure of the mortgage which the State 
 held upon the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and instructing 
 the governor to bid as high as three hundred thousand dollars 
 for it; providing for the submission of the question of a 
 penitentiary to the people at the next election; authorizing 
 the Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad to issue $100,000 in 
 bonds to be endorsed by the State to redeem similar bonds 
 which had become due ; making provision for the education of 
 poor deaf mutes and blind persons; and providing for the 
 preservation of certain historical records of the State. As 
 evidence of the growth of humanitarian sentiment, two laws 
 may be mentioned which were designed to prevent impris- 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 101 
 
 onment for debt except in case of fraud and to set aside an 
 exemption from execution of tools for one laborer, one bed, 
 bedstead and covering for every two members of the family, 
 two months provisions for the family, four hogs, and all 
 necessary household and kitchen furniture up to the amount 
 of fifty dollars. 
 
 Some interest was excited by the election of officers. 
 John H. Wheeler was ousted from the treasurership in favor 
 of Charles L. Hinton. Wheeler and Governor Morehead 
 liad disputed on the question of the right of the governor to 
 receive compensation as a member of the Internal Improve- 
 ment Board, both Dudley and Morehead having drawn per 
 diem as members. The Whigs now retaliated by attempting 
 to cast discredit on Wheeler, making insinuations as to the 
 entire honesty of his administration of the treasurer's ofiice, 
 but they were unable to make a case. Judge Gaston had 
 died since the last legislature, and Governor Morehead had 
 nominated Badger to his Democratic Council of State to fill 
 the vacancy. The council refused to accept him, and Fred- 
 erick Nash was finally selected, and the legislature confirmed 
 the election. David F. Caldwell took his place on the Su- 
 perior bench. 
 
 Graham in his inaugural, which was a splendid address 
 of lofty patriotism and high tone, condemned the habit of the 
 people of North Carolina of devoting so much of their time, 
 attention, and interest to the discussion of national affairs, 
 and made a strong plea for internal improvements and edu- 
 cation. 
 
 When Congress assembled in December, 1844, for the 
 short session, the immediate annexation of Texas was determ- 
 ined upon. William H. Haywood introduced a bill for the 
 purpose, which erected a slave State out of part of the Re- 
 public and annexed the rest to Nebraska as non-slaveholding 
 white territory. In defending it he endorsed the view that 
 Congress could legislate on the subject of slavery in a terri- 
 tory with entire propriety and constitutionality. As a mat- 
 ter of fact, no one in North Carolina at this time would have 
 
102 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 taken any other position. Haywood's bill made no progress 
 in the Senate, and he was really the author and chief pro- 
 moter of the bills known as Benton's bills, one of which final- 
 ly passed as the joint resolution by which annexation was ac- 
 complished. Mangum voted against it. In the House all the 
 ISTorth Carolina Democrats voted for it and all the Whigs 
 against it. Rayner complained that he was in favor of an- 
 nexation as were many of the other Southern Whigs, but 
 that they were opposed to the particular method employed 
 and that the Democrats would not give them a chance to ex- 
 plain their position. 
 
 The congressional elections of 1845 were notable for the 
 fact that both parties held nominating conventions in prac- 
 tically every district. The canvass was prosecuted with great 
 vigor, the tariff and Texas being the chief subjects of discus- 
 sion. In the first district, the Democrats made no nomina- 
 tion, and Clingman, having won the Whig nomination, seem- 
 ed to have things all his own way. He had made a good many 
 enemies in his own party and his voting at the previous 
 session for the repeal of the rule against the reception of 
 abolition petitions had not increased his popularity. So 
 during the last few weeks of the campaign, James Graham, 
 who had contested with him for the nomination, offered 
 himself as an independent Whig and, receiving the solid 
 Democratic vote and dividing the Whig vote, was elected. 
 In the second district, D. M. Barringer was re-elected over 
 Charles Fisher. In the fourth, Jonathan Worth defeated 
 Alfred Dockery in the Whig convention, but the latter bolted, 
 and was elected. The Democrats had no candidate. These 
 three were the only districts which the Whigs carried. The 
 Democrats won six, thus gaining one. David S. Reid was 
 successful over A. B. McMillan in the third. J. C. Dobbin, 
 defeating J. H. Haughton, succeeded R. M. Saunders in the 
 fifth. Saunders declined to run and was at this time bitterly 
 disappointed at his failure to secure a cabinet position which 
 he and almost every one else had expected him to obtain. 
 A little later he was appointed minister to Spain. James, 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 103 
 
 J. McKay was re-elected in the sixth, defeating Thomas D. 
 Meares. J. R. J. Daniel defeated R. S. Bond in the sev- 
 enth. Henry S. Clark was successful over R. S. Donnell in 
 the eighth. Asa Biggs won in the ninth, defeating David 
 Outlaw who had entered the campaign, taking the place of 
 the brilliant W. W. Cherry, who died after receiving the 
 nomination. 
 
 The warfare between the Fayetteville Observer and the 
 Standard continued and the former in its venom exceeded 
 the bounds of decency. In May it contained the following 
 editorial notice: 
 
 People talk about a Mr. W. W. Holden in a very ugly 
 manner hereabouts. There are naughty folks that even accuse 
 him of this very crime of treason — treason to his friends, 
 his benefactors, his party. They charge him with having 
 bartered his conscience for filthy lucre; of suddenly crossing 
 over to the enemy in the broad day-light, and belying his 
 whole past life. 
 
 Even good Democrats in this vicinage quietly admit these 
 charges, and we must frankly tell our august accuser and 
 judge, that no man of any party here regards or respects 
 him. Those he acts with constantly fear him — they know not 
 how soon in the very thickest of the fight he might turn his 
 weapons ; while the uncharitable Whigs loathe him, as being 
 diseased with a vile leprosy that has not left a single virtue 
 unconsumed amid his thousand meannesses and vices. 
 
 Holden in a dignified reply said: 
 
 No notice can be taken of Mr. Hale according to the 
 usages of gentlemen, for he has long since proclaimed himself 
 by his own pen, as well as by his own deeds, without the pale 
 of honor. . . So we shall strike the Observer from our 
 exchange list, and, in so doing, call upon the press of the 
 State to sustain us in an effort to promote the just courtesies 
 and proprieties of life. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1846 
 
 The Democratic central committee in October, 1845, 
 announced that January 8, 1846, the anniversary of Jack- 
 son's victory at ISTew Orleans, would be fittingly celebrated 
 by the meeting of the Democratic convention in Raleigh. 
 The Whig convention was soon after summoned to meet on 
 January 12. 
 
 County meetings of both parties were held, the Whigs, 
 however, failing to display the same activity as their oppo- 
 nents because it was already a settled fact that Graham would 
 be renominated. The Democratic meetings for the most 
 part contented themselves with pledging support to the nomi- 
 nee of the convention, but some went further and endorsed 
 particular candidates. Calvin Graves, W. W. Avery, Charles 
 Fisher, Weldon ~N. Edwards, James J. McKay, D. W. 
 Courts, W. F. Leak, and Asa Biggs were among those thus 
 mentioned. Party sentiment seems to have been fairly 
 closely fixed upon Charles Fisher, but he declined a few days 
 before the convention met to allow the use of his name. 
 
 The convention met on the appointed day. Thirty-five 
 counties were represented by one hundred and fifty delegates. 
 George Bower of Ashe County, who in spite of advanced 
 age, had ridden over one hundred miles on horseback through 
 the most inclement weather to be present at the convention, 
 was temporary chairman, and Louis D. Henry was president. 
 The nomination of a candidate for governor was made by 
 ballot of the counties, the first time such a plan was tried 
 in the State. Only sixty-seven delegates voted in this and all 
 of them cast their ballots for Green W. Caldwell of Mecklen- 
 burg. The platform denounced a national bank, declared for 
 a low tariff, and endorsed the administration on all other mat- 
 ters as well. The Democratic state committee was created 
 to take the place of the central committee. Speeches were 
 made by Louis D. Henry, R. M. Saunders, Burton Craige, 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 105 
 
 Abraham W. Venable, Robert Strange, John W. Ellis, 
 Thomas Bragg, James S. Smith, R. P. Dick, John H. 
 Wheeler, John F. Hoke, J. L. Clemmons and a number of 
 others. 
 
 The Whig convention assembled on January 12. Dr. 
 F. J. Hill was the presiding officer throughout. Forty coun- 
 ties sent a total of one hundred and forty-one delegates. Gra- 
 ham was unanimously renominated and appeared and ad- 
 dressed the convention. The platform declared for a revenue 
 tariff with incidental protection, favored distribution, and 
 demanded Oregon without war. It declared the bitter op- 
 position of the party to the sub-treasury. Speeches were 
 made by Badger, Henry W. Miller, John Kerr, and Edward 
 Stanly. 
 
 On January 20, Caldwell, on account of ill health and 
 other personal reasons, not least of which probably was his 
 disinclination to make the contest against Graham, declined 
 the Democratic nomination. For some time it was seriously 
 questionable if any other nomination would be made. Walter 
 F. Leak of Richmond County, was then nominated by county 
 meetings and newspapers in Lincoln, Catawba, Mecklen- 
 burg, Union, Montgomery, and Anson, and declared himself 
 a candidate before the people. On March 17, the Democratic 
 state committee, or such members as could be gotten together 
 in Raleigh, ignoring Leak, nominated James B. Shepard of 
 Wake, who had declined to be a candidate before the conven- 
 tion. Leak at once announced his intention of remaining in 
 the field because of his being so deeply committed and be- 
 cause much of his support was still behind him. Another 
 ground for his action was the expressed belief that the con- 
 duct of Democratic affairs was in the hands of a clique of 
 Raleigh politicians. The term "Raleigh politicians," in 
 those days, carried much the same signification to the rest of 
 the State that "'New York politician" does today. Holden 
 was the particular person against whom the charge was di- 
 rected, and he was undoubtedly responsible for Shepard' s 
 nomination. 
 
106 James Sprttnt Historical Publications 
 
 Shepard, immediately after his acceptance, entered upon 
 an active campaign, going to the East at once and reserving 
 the West for his last work. He had most of the party behind 
 him, but enough strength remained with Leak to make suc- 
 cess impossible for either. Much influence was brought to 
 bear upon Leak to induce him to withdraw but apparently 
 without effect. But on April 18 he wrote to Shepard sug- 
 gesting the reference of their claims to a full meeting of the 
 state committee, and that in the meantime both should re- 
 tire from the canvass. Shepard agreed at once to the first 
 suggestion, declined to consider the second, and a meeting of 
 the committee was at once called. On May 18, the committee 
 decided in favor of Shepard, and Leak withdrew. 
 
 James Biddle Shepard was a native of Craven County; 
 a member of a distinguished family, and a man of great 
 wealth. He was educated at the University where he gradu- 
 ated in 1834 at the head of his class. He studied law in 
 Philadelphia, covering the entire course in a few months, and 
 was at once admitted to the bar. His talents were great, but 
 he was indolent and having no need to obtain practice he paid 
 little attention to his profession. He was appointed United 
 States district attorney in 1840 by Van Buren to succeed 
 William H. Haywood, but he resigned after a few months. 
 He was a member of the Senate from Wake in 1842 and a 
 member of the House of Commons in 1844. At both sessions 
 he displayed great activity and talent. He had much reputa- 
 tion as a speaker and was much in demand. He was the 
 author of an epic entitled "North Carolina," which was 
 greatly praised by his friends at the time of its publication, 
 but which is deservedly unknown today. 
 
 The campaign, if we may judge from the press of the 
 day, was devoid of any great interest. Shepard was a good 
 campaigner, for he was a good "mixer" and his ability as a 
 speaker won him attention wherever he appeared. Also he 
 was deeply interested in if not hopeful of success. He cov- 
 ered the State very thoroughly and met Governor Graham 
 a number of times in joint debate in which, if he did not 
 
Pakty Politics in North Carolina 107 
 
 cover himself with glory, he at least held his own fairly well. 
 Graham, however, had grown greatly in the affection and 
 esteem of the people, and Democratic factional disputes had 
 had their effect. In the midst of the campaign two things 
 happened which had a disastrous effect upon the Democratic 
 cause. The first was the outbreak of the war with Mexico. 
 The Whigs immediately took the stand that the war was 
 unjustifiable and that it was brought on entirely by President 
 Polk. They did not dare, however, to advocate what many of 
 them would have preferred, namely, a policy of non-support 
 of the war, bitterly as they attacked it. But they did little 
 to help the cause. Ten companies of volunteers were asked 
 for and by July, 1846, forty companies had answered the 
 call. But Democrats were the moving spirits behind all the 
 war preparations. A large majority of Whigs were opposed, 
 and they made their opposition count in the campaign. It 
 must not be supposed, however, that the war brought Whig 
 victory; that was already fated, but it did increase the party 
 majority. 
 
 The other happening was the sudden resignation of Wil- 
 liam H. Haywood from the United States Senate. Haywood 
 was not the sort of man to be bound very closely by any 
 party. He was a Democrat but an entirely independent one. 
 When he accepted the election to the Senate, he excited much 
 surprise by writing a letter to the legislature in which he 
 declared that he demanded the right of a certain independ- 
 ence in his political action. The occasion of his resignation 
 was the tariff bill of 1846, drafted largely by James J. 
 McKay, who was now chairman of the committee on ways 
 and means, but commonly known as the Walker tariff be- 
 cause of the part Robert J. Walker, the secretary of the treas- 
 ury, had in making it. When the bill was before the House, 
 all the North Carolina Democrats voted for it. Haywood 
 had favored the McKay tariff bill of 1844 which had pro- 
 vided for a somewhat higher scale of duties than the bill of 
 1846 ; but he had been steadily coming to believe in protec- 
 tion, and he now opposed the Walker tariff because its duties 
 
108 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 were too low to have any perceptible protective influence. 
 Haywood had been a close friend of President Polk at the 
 University of North Carolina, and the intimacy continued in 
 Washington. It was assumed that Haywood desired to be 
 the President's spokesman on the floor of the Senate and for 
 a time he was so regarded by some. But Polk was a strict 
 party man, and it was impossible for two such men to remain 
 in substantial agreement. It became known that Haywood 
 was opposed to the bill, and Polk used every possible argu- 
 ment to induce him to vote for it and not to resign. His 
 diary records very interestingly their interviews on the sub- 
 ject. Haywood, however, was obdurate and accordingly re- 
 signed in preference to voting for the bill. This made the 
 passage of the bill very doubtful, but it finally got through 
 by one vote. Haywood's action was in strict accordance with 
 the Democratic doctrine of senatorial responsibility, but few 
 Democrats were able then or thereafter to see it, and he was 
 bitterly denounced by Democratic press and Democratic 
 speakers, in and out of the State, as a traitor, apostate, and 
 renegade. His resignation hurt the Democratic party in 
 the campaign. 
 
 Haywood was not without defenders. Thomas H. Ben- 
 ton in a speech in the Senate commended highly his purity 
 of character and motive. Polk himself in his diary says : 
 
 After the Cabinet adjourned, and about 3 :30 o'clock, I was 
 astonished to learn that Senator Haywood had today ad- 
 dressed a letter to the Vice President resigning his seat in the 
 Senate of the United States. It was a great error, and I am 
 sure that he will greatly regret it. The fate of the tariff bill 
 will now depend on the vote of Senator Jarnegan. If he 
 votes as he declared he would today, the bill will still pass. 
 I sincerely regret Mr. Haywood's course. I was at college 
 with him and have ever been his friend. I believe him to be 
 an honest and pure man, but a man of great vanity and pos- 
 sessing a good deal of self esteem. He is, I think, ambitious, 
 and had probably a desire to have some participation or 
 authorship in effecting the contemplated tariff reform. From 
 some feeling of this sort, and without due reflection, I con- 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 109 
 
 jecture, lie took ground against the tariff bill, and, having 
 committed himself, was of too proud a spirit, when he found 
 himself separated from all his friends, and that none of them 
 would go with him, to recede. He is, moreover, nervous, 
 and in an excited state, no doubt, tendered his resignation. 
 I give not the slightest heed to the painful insinuations which 
 I learned this evening are made by illiberal persons as to the 
 motives and causes which have induced his course. I differ 
 with him in my opinion and think he has erred in his re- 
 signing, but that he has done so from good motives, and from 
 the causes stated above I have little doubt. 
 
 Haywood himself published an elaborate and able defense of 
 his course, addressed to the people of North Carolina. It 
 had little effect upon the public mind, and he was never again 
 in public life. The Whigs, it is needless to say, now ex- 
 pressed great admiration for him and used his treatment by 
 the Democrats as a party text. 
 
 The election resulted in Graham's selection by a largely 
 increased majority, 7,859 in a total vote of 78,113. The 
 legislature was Whig in both branches. A very small vote 
 was cast on the penitentiary proposition which was defeated. 
 
 The election was not well over before the Whigs revealed 
 what was to be the chief part of their program, namely, the 
 re-districting of the State. It was not popular with the peo- 
 ple, but the leaders were bent on it. Whig leaders in fact 
 were beginning to ignore the people's opinions to a con- 
 siderable extent, feeling so secure that they failed to realize 
 the danger of their course, and, in consequence, their day was 
 nearing its end. They had always felt the same superiority, 
 but they now were rather free in expressing it. They began 
 to have a sense of ownership of the government, a most dan- 
 gerous sign at all times, one usually boding ill for the people 
 in the beginning, but in a democratic community presaging 
 the inevitable doom of the party or at least of their leader- 
 ship. They were progressive in actual policy as evidenced 
 by their work of education and internal improvements, but 
 in attitude, in theory, and in political practice, they were re- 
 
110 James Spkttnt Historical Publications 
 
 actionary to a high degree. An example is to be found in 
 a political incident of 1846. Governor Graham appointed 
 Weston R. Gales, the editor of the Register, a member of the 
 Literary Board. The Standard commented adversely and 
 the Register at once rebuked Holden for presuming to in- 
 terfere in a private matter. This was highly characteristic 
 of the Whig attitude in general. 
 
 When the legislature met, Andrew Joyner was chosen 
 speaker of the Senate over Louis D. Wilson, and Edward 
 Stanly was elected in the House over D. W. Courts. A clean 
 sweep was then made of all Democratic officials who could 
 be ousted and Whigs replaced them. Whigs also at this time 
 composed the Literary Board and Board of Internal Im- 
 provements. There was naturally considerable competition 
 for the vacant senatorship. Badger, Morehead, Stanly, 
 Clingman, J. W. Osborne, and William B. Shepard were all 
 mentioned. Clingman was an open and avowed candidate 
 and was present in Raleigh to look after his interest. The 
 contest, however, was between Badger and Shepard and the 
 former was selected by the caucus. He was accordingly 
 elected over Asa Biggs. Mangum was re-elected over James 
 J. McKay to whom the Democrats gave the honorary support. 
 
 Graham's message was largely devoted to questions of 
 state finance. He urged an increase of the state revenue by 
 an adequate assessment of lands and polls in the State and 
 also recommended certain new taxes. He recommended as- 
 sistance to the construction of certain roads and canals and 
 reported his purchase for the State of the Raleigh and Gaston 
 Railroad. Through suggestion he recommended the redis- 
 ricting of the State. 
 
 The work of the legislature may be summed up briefly. 
 The State was re-divided up into new congressional districts 
 with careful gerrymandering calculated to give the Whigs 
 six certainly and possibly seven members. This was done 
 under the lead of Rayner, and the Democrats coined the ex- 
 pression, "a Raynermander." The North and South Carolina, 
 the Charlotte and South Carolina, the Roanoke, and the Wil- 
 
Pakty Politics in Nokth Carolina 111 
 
 mington and Manchester Railroads were chartered. Alex- 
 ander, Gaston, and Polk counties were erected. Authority 
 was given for the endorsement of the bonds of the Wilming- 
 ton and Raleigh Railroad to the amount of $100,000, to re- 
 deem similar bonds to the same amount which had come due. 
 Somewhat similar action was taken for the Raleigh and 
 Gaston Railroad. A session of the Supreme Court to be held 
 at Morganton once a year was provided for. 
 
 One action of the legislature excited particularly hostile 
 criticism from the Democrats as well as from some Whigs. 
 The troops that were being raised for the war lacked funds 
 to equip them and to transport them to Charlotte or Wil- 
 mington, the points where they were mustered into the United 
 States service. An appropriation of $10,000 was according- 
 ly moved. The Whigs would not let it pass until after long 
 debate and bitter opposition from the Democrats they had 
 inserted a preamble beginning with the words, "Whereas 
 by the action the Executive and the subsequent sanction of 
 Congress, this Republic is involved in a foreign war," which 
 they felt made their position clear. Green W. Caldwell was 
 captain of the company from Charlotte and when the news of 
 this clause came to him and his men, they declined to receive 
 any money under the resolution and finally disbanded. Cald- 
 well was later appointed a captain in the United States 
 army. Many of the troops as well as all the Democratic 
 politicians were deeply offended by Governor Graham's con- 
 duct in relation to the field officers of the regiment which was 
 sent. Passing over the volunteers who were mainly Demo- 
 crats and a number of them with military training, he se- 
 lected as colonel, Robert Paine, of Edenton, a bitter anti-war 
 Whig; as lieutenant colonel, John A. Fagg of Buncombe, 
 another of the same persuasion, neither of whom were vol- 
 unteers but both of whom accepted. Montford Stokes of 
 Surry, a Democrat trained at West Point and a volunteer, 
 was appointed major. The overwhelming preference of the 
 regiment itself for Louis D. Wilson, who was captain of one 
 of the Edgecombe companies and it was for this reason that 
 
112 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 the legislature, after placing the selection in the hands of 
 the regiment, repealed the act and vested the appointment in 
 the governor. Wilson was soon after appointed a colonel in 
 the United States army and died in Mexico of yellow fever. 
 
 The later history of the regiment has certain interesting 
 features. Paine proved himself to be a vain and petty tyrant 
 who knew nothing of military matters and less about handling 
 men. He won the hatred of the regiment immediately. In 
 Mexico the feeling became very intense and finally he shot 
 two of his men without justification, one of whom later died. 
 He was at once arrested by Generals Wool and Cushing, but 
 was later released probably in the interest of discipline. His 
 officers petitioned him to resign and he charged two lieuten- 
 ants, George E. P. Singletary and Joseph S. Pender, with 
 inciting mutiny. General Wool gave to each a dishonorable 
 dismissal, but they came to Washington and were both re- 
 instated by the President. There can be no doubt that petty 
 partisanship played a large part in the selection of officers 
 for the regiment and in its command. 
 
 The congressional elections of 1847, in consequence of 
 the gerrymander, resulted in the victory of the Whigs in six 
 of the nine districts. Thomas L. Clingman came back in the 
 first district, defeating John Gray Bynum, another Whig. In 
 the second Nathaniel Boyden defeated Joseph M. Bogle, also 
 a Whig. In the third D. M. Barringer was successful, the 
 Democrats making no nomination but voting largely for W. 
 F. Leak. A. H. Shepperd defeated J. L. Clemmons in the 
 fourth. R. S. Donnell defeated W. K. Lane in the eighth, and 
 in the ninth Asa Biggs, the incumbent, was retired in favor 
 of David Outlaw. In the fifth, Abraham W. Venable, a 
 Democrat, was elected over John Kerr, a Whig. In the sixth 
 which was made a solid Democratic district, there was a 
 many-sided contest. J. R. J. Daniel, the incumbent, received 
 the convention nomination, but Archibald H. Arrington, 
 also a member of Congress, M. T. Hawkins, a former mem- 
 ber, Henry I. Toole, who called himself a Taylor Demo- 
 crat, Dr. R. C. Pritchard, all Democrats, and Sidney Weller, 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 113 
 
 a Whig, were candidates. Hawkins and Weller withdrew in 
 May and Pritchard in July but the others remained in the 
 race. Daniel was elected. The new arrangement of the dis- 
 tricts put James C. Dobbin and James J. McKay both in the 
 seventh district and Dobbin declined to be a candidate against 
 McKay, whom he thought entitled to re-election. McKay 
 was opposed by Robert K. Bryan of New Hanover, an inde- 
 pendent Democrat, and by William R,. Hall of Brunswick, a 
 Whig, but was re-elected. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1848 
 
 The campaign of 1848 was formally opened by the Whig 
 convention which met February 22, but in reality the Demo- 
 crats, animated by some new spirit, had begun it in the 
 autumn of 1847. The convention representing twenty-eight 
 counties with about one hundred and twenty delegates pres- 
 ent was a different sort of body from what Whig conventions 
 had usually been. It cannot be said that the delegates lacked 
 confidence, but they were notably lacking in spirit. 
 
 Richard Hines was the president of the convention. The 
 platform condemned the Polk Administration for the war 
 which they pronounced "an unauthorized aggression upon the 
 rights of a neighboring Nation." The delegates were much 
 divided in their sympathies as to presidential candidates, 
 and while the majority were still loyal to Clay in their hearts, 
 some few favored Taylor and a smaller number still believed 
 Scott the proper candidate. All, however, wanted to win 
 regardless of platform or candidate. So after a series of 
 resolutions, embodying the leading features of Clay's then 
 recent Lexington speech, had been adopted, the convention 
 endorsed Clay, Taylor and Scott. John Kerr was the Taylor 
 leader in the convention and was chosen a delegate to the 
 national convention as was John M. Morehead, who strongly 
 favored the nomination of Clay. 
 
 The public and the convention itself was much in the 
 dark as to a choice of a candidate for governor. Not so the 
 group of Whig leaders in Raleigh. Many persons had been 
 mentioned including Richard Hines, Andrew Joyner, Dr. 
 F. J. Hill, John Kerr, Edward Stanly, James W. Bryan, 
 Lewis Thompson, Josiah Collins, William B. Shepard, Ken- 
 neth Rayner, and David L. Swain. Rayner and Kerr had 
 peremptorily refused to be considered. But none of these 
 suited the plans of the leaders and to the great surprise of 
 the State, Charles Manly, who was one of the well-known 
 
Paety Politics in Nokth Carolina 115 
 
 Whigs who had not been mentioned in connection with the 
 nomination, was chosen by the convention. This greatly dis- 
 pleased many Whigs, particularly in the East. They had felt 
 that the nomination was due that section and they could not 
 see why Manly should have been chosen. A number of the 
 Whig papers were outspoken in their displeasure, the North 
 State, published at Washington, going so far as to say that 
 it had been brought about by a "nefarious plot of political 
 jugglers." Others denied that Manly had any particular 
 qualifications for the office, saying as did the Democrats that 
 he was merely an office-holding lawyer. At the time of his 
 nomination he was secretary of the University trustees, 
 county attorney for Chatham, bank attorney, attorney for 
 the Literary Board, attorney for a life insurance company, 
 member of the Literary Board, and clerk of the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 Manly was a native of Chatham and was born in 1795. 
 Prepared for college by Mr. Bingham, he entered the Uni- 
 versity of North Carolina in 1811 and graduated in 1814. 
 Upon his graduation he went to Raleigh as a tutor and 
 studying law there was admitted to the bar. He served as 
 reading clerk of the House of Commons for a number of 
 years and in 1830 was elected chief clerk and, with one inter- 
 mission, held the position for ten terms. In 1823 he was ap- 
 pointed clerk to the commission to settle claims under the 
 Treaty of Ghent and served for one year. He had been for 
 many years secretary of the trustees of the University. He 
 was a presidential elector in 1840 and for a number of years 
 was a member of the Whig central committee, part of the 
 time being chairman. He was a man of great charm of man- 
 ner, probably the most cordial of all the governors of the 
 State, and was noted for his ability to entertain any group in 
 which he might be thrown. He was really a man of con- 
 siderable ability, but his propensity for rather slangy joking 
 at all times prevented the fact from being generally recog- 
 nized. He was in no sense progressive; in fact as compared 
 to Morehead or Graham he was a reactionary. 
 
116 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 The Democratic convention met on April 12. Weldon N". 
 Edwards was president. Twenty-five counties sent one hun- 
 dred and sixteen delegates. The platform prepared by the 
 ready pen of William W. Holden, contained a strong endorse- 
 ment of the administration's settlement with Mexico, of the 
 independent treasury, of the tariff of 1846, and, in fact, of 
 all the Democratic measures. Polk was also personally en- 
 dorsed. It denounced the Whigs for encouraging the enemy 
 in the late war and pronounced them guilty of moral treason, 
 condemned the preamble of the war appropriation bill passed 
 by the preceding legislature as well as the appointment of 
 the regimental officers as opposed to election by the regiment. 
 The increasing state debt called for more censure as did the 
 redistricting of the State and, turning to national matters, 
 the Wilmot Proviso. Weldon N. Edwards and Robert Strange 
 were elected delegates to the national convention, with A. 
 W. Venable and W. S. Ashe as alternates. 
 
 A number of men had been locally nominated for gover- 
 nor, most prominent of whom were Charles Fisher, D. W. 
 Courts, Robert Strange and Walter F. Leak. The last named 
 had published a long letter expressing his willingness to be 
 the nominee, but declaring himself unalterably opposed to 
 any personal canvass of the State. 
 
 The committee to choose a candidate had a very difficult 
 time. Their choice, whoever he might be, seemed doomed to 
 certain defeat and it was hard to select the best person to 
 lead the forlorn hope. In the committee, Holden, R. P. 
 Dick, W. K. Lane, and James B. Shepard urged the selec- 
 tion of David S. Reid of Rockingham. His name was finally 
 presented to the convention and unanimously ratified. 
 
 The Democratic nominee was a native of Rockingham 
 County and was born in 1813 and was thus only 35 years old, 
 Manly being 53. His lack of years was one of the Whig 
 charges against him in the campaign. He received only a 
 common school education prior to his study of law and was 
 never what might be called a learned lawyer. In fact his 
 reputation rests upon his public career. He began this as a 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 117 
 
 member of the state Senate where lie served from 1835 to 
 1841. In 1843 he was elected to Congress and served two 
 terms until he was gerrymandered out of office. He was 
 known as a hard campaigner, and as an exceedingly bold and 
 fearless leader whose ability was excellent, whose judgment 
 was almost unerring, and whose honesty and sincerity could 
 not be doubted. In him the Democrats found the wisest, 
 safest, and most resourceful political leader the party had 
 from the time of Nathaniel Macon's prime to 1860. 
 
 A committee of the convention notified him of his nomi- 
 nation and to their horror he declined it. Holden had the 
 letter in type and about to go to press, but, knowing it meant 
 certain defeat for the party if published, he determined to 
 hold it back. A consultation with several other Democrats re- 
 sulted in the sending of a messenger on horseback, riding day 
 and night, with a letter to Beid urging him to reconsider and, 
 accepting the nomination, to come to Baleigh prepared to 
 enter the campaign. Beid did accept and when he reached 
 Ealeigh had a long conference with his friends on the sub- 
 ject of the campaign. With Dr. Josiah Watson, James B. 
 Shepard, W. W. Holden, Perrin Busbee, Jerry Nixon, W. 
 T. Eogers and Mark Williams present he said : "Gentlemen, 
 this nomination was not sought by me, and it has been my 
 purpose for a long time if I should be a candidate for a State 
 office before the people, to broach one issue, which I deem 
 very important. What I mean is that the state constitution 
 shall be so amended by the mode prescribed by that instru- 
 ment itself, that all voters for the House of Commons shall 
 be allowed to vote for senators. What do you say to my 
 taking this ground in the canvass ? I mean, of course, no dis- 
 respect to the convention that nominated me, but I wish to 
 discuss this question before the people. I want your opinion. 
 I will consult our friend, Dr. S. A. Andrews at Goldsborough, 
 and friend Samuel E. Street at Newbern, and friends at 
 Beaufort, and then I will decide what I will do." 
 
 Holden's later accounts of his part in the selection of the 
 issue vary. In his memoirs he says that Watson, Shepard, 
 
118 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 and Busbee were inclined to decide against broaching it and 
 that he, Nixon, Rogers and Williams favored it. In the 
 campaign he declared that he favored the change but had 
 doubts of the wisdom of bringing it forward in this campaign 
 but had nevertheless pledged his support to it. This is prob- 
 ably the correct account. Some years later he declared 
 that he had urged its being made the issue. It has been 
 frequently suggested that Douglas while in the State had 
 proposed it to Reid as a good campaign proposition. But 
 Douglas denied it as did Reid and Holden and there is no 
 reason to believe that anyone but Reid was responsible. It 
 was no new suggestion as has already been seen. 
 
 The first joint debate of the candidates was held at 
 ISTew Bern on May 10. Manly devoted his entire time to 
 the late war and other national questions. Reid in his speech 
 replied briefly to Manly and then avowed his belief that a 
 change in the constitution was necessary. He called his pro- 
 position "free suffrage," a good campaign title which won 
 immediate favor. He discussed the question at length giving 
 his reasons for it and showing the absurdity of the existing 
 arrangement. Manly was called upon for reply, but saying 
 that the proposition was a complete surprise to him, he was 
 not prepared to express himself upon it then but would do so 
 the next day at Beaufort. When he replied then he con- 
 demned it as a new issue sprung upon him and upon the 
 people with no public demand behind it and declared his en- 
 tire opposition to it and pleaded that the principle engrafted 
 on the constitution by the fathers for the security and protec- 
 tion of the landed interest should be preserved. "As well," 
 said he, "abolish the Senate as extend the privilege of voting 
 for senators to those who have no land." He also expressed 
 his fear of a convention. Reid was prepared for this, for 
 he recognized the timidity of the people as to any changes 
 in the established system, and so he endorsed the legislative 
 method of amendment. 
 
 Most of the Whig papers at first opposed free suffrage 
 and then many tried to ignore it. A few from the beginning 
 
Pakty Politics in North Carolina 119 
 
 admitted that it would do little harm if adopted. The Regis- 
 ter naturally attacked it, pronouncing it demagoguery of the 
 worst type. The usual term with which the Whigs attempted 
 to damn it was "agrarianism." A characteristic opposition 
 editorial appeared in the Wilmington Commercial, part of 
 which follows: 
 
 Among the measures which follow in the train of free 
 suffrage, or rather among those which are advocated by the 
 movers of this scheme, is the desecration of the Bible and 
 the abolition of matrimony. This is the consummation so 
 ardently desired, by Jacobins in politics and levellers in so- 
 ciology; they go hand in hand in the work; whatever re- 
 strains the passions, or curbs the ardor of political proscrip- 
 tion, is hostile to the feelings and designs of both. 
 
 -It is a distinguished feature in those monstrosities, that 
 while they assume the largest liberty for themselves, they 
 have the very smallest regard for the rights of others. The 
 command "Thou shalt not steal," comes in the way of the 
 taxing the property of the landholder without his consent. 
 "Thou shalt not covet," is adverse to the equal division of 
 property. "Thou shalt not commit adultery," is against the 
 abolition of matrimony, and the cherished licentiousness of 
 the levellers; and "As ye would that men should do unto 
 you, do ye even so to them," scatters all the doctrines of the 
 whole tribe, to the winds. So that before this "progression" 
 can be brought to its grand climacteric, the Bible must be 
 put away, as behind the "spirit of the age," in its doctrines 
 and admonitions. 
 
 We believe the Democratic leaders are at fault in this 
 pursuit. They never can induce the sober, thinking people 
 of North Carolina to hazard the violation of the principles 
 of republican government, and take a step which may lead to 
 the removal from the Ark of the great Charter of temporal 
 and eternal blessedness and hope ; and to trample beneath the 
 feet of deriding licentiousness the banner of the Cross, under 
 the influence of which we have so long and so gloriously pros- 
 pered, and through the counsels of which our institutions 
 were reared. 
 
 This has a familiar ring even today. 
 
120 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 Towards the end of the campaign many Whigs weakened 
 and a large number openly favored the amendment, particu- 
 larly in the Whig stronghold of the West. This was so ap- 
 parent that some Whig papers condemned the Democrats 
 for introducing it into the realm of party politics, saying 
 that it was not and, from its very nature, ought not to be a 
 party question. This was a not uncharacteristic point of 
 view. In the view of many of the Whigs, nothing which 
 touched deeply the whole people of the State should be 
 brought forward by a party — if that party was the Demo- 
 cratic. As a matter of fact the Democratic party deserves 
 eternal praise for finally centering the attention of the 
 State upon a real state issue, unconnected with any national 
 matter and touching only North Carolina. In many ways 
 it transformed the State. 
 
 The Democratic rank and file accepted free suffrage glad- 
 ly. It was good Democratic doctrine, it "took" with the 
 people regardless of politics, it alarmed the Whigs, and it 
 promised victory. And like the Whigs, the Democrats want- 
 ed victory. Holden threw himself into the fight, ably sup- 
 plementing Eeid's really magnificent campaigning, and the 
 Standard was full of strong arguments for the change. It 
 was easy to find arguments. North Carolina was the only 
 State in the Union which had such a distinction between the 
 voters for the two houses and, in addition, it had not any real 
 reason for existence. On the stump Manly with his slangy 
 humorous speeches vainly attempted to force the fighting to 
 the war issue, and, failing in that, to some other national 
 question. Eeid made no attempt to imitate Manly's charac- 
 teristic methods but in a mood of stern seriousness, remem- 
 bering the mental and political habits of the people, fostered 
 and encouraged for many years by leaders who did not want 
 them to be too much interested in state affairs, he answered 
 briefly and spiritedly the national arguments of his opponent 
 and devoted the major part of his time to the issue which 
 touched the State. 
 
 The Democrats were finding themselves. The Standard 
 
Paety Politics in Worth Carolina 121 
 
 carried the following at the head of its editorial page which 
 is indicative of the new progressive spirit which was mani- 
 festing itself in the party : 
 
 OUR FLAG IS THERE 
 
 The Independent Treasury, and no National hank. 
 
 The tariff of 1846. 
 
 The United States against Mexico — No "aid and com- 
 fort" to the enemy. 
 
 Indemnity in Territory from Mexico, and no Wilmot 
 Proviso. 
 
 Sound, specie-paying State banks, with the individual 
 liability clause, and honestly and impartially conducted. 
 
 A safe, prudent, and judicious system of Internal Im- 
 provements, with justice to all parts of the State. 
 
 Our Common School System, improved and amended, 
 and the right of every boy and girl in the State to an edu- 
 cation. 
 
 A thorough Reform in the Administration of the Govern- 
 ment of North Carolina. 
 
 Free Suffrage — or the right of every freeman in the 
 State, who pays his taxes, to vote for members of both 
 branches of the General Assembly. 
 
 We have thrown our flag to the winds, with our principles 
 clearly and boldly inscribed upon it; and we now call upon 
 the Whig presses to come forward and inform the people of 
 North Carolina what they are for and what they are against. 
 Let them speak out at once, if they intend to speak at all 
 for the August elections are near at hand. 
 
 It must not be supposed that because a state question 
 was uppermost in the minds of everyone that national affairs 
 played no part in the campaign. They played a large part 
 and to the advantage of the Democrats. Just at this time 
 the Federal Whigs were distinctly in the ascendant and 
 while no one in the State quarreled with their Union pro- 
 clivities, the Democrats and many Whigs were deeply dis- 
 satisfied with their views and conduct in relation to the 
 slavery question. The Whig press had bitterly attacked the 
 Wilmot Proviso, partly, it must be confessed, because it was 
 
122 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 introduced by a Democrat. The Register, for example, had 
 said: 
 
 The unanimity with which the members of both parties from 
 the non-slaveholding States have supported this slavery re- 
 striction proviso convinces us that we have no right to ex- 
 pect justice at the hands of either. It behooves the whole 
 South, then, to cast about, and decidedly and unflinchingly 
 resist any and every project which must inevitably tend to 
 advance the unholy and mischievous purposes of those who 
 have openly and willingly violated the Missouri Compromise. 
 . . . It is time for party distinctions to sleep, and for the 
 South to present a united front. 
 
 As the Register was the party organ this might be 
 supposed to be an authoritative statement of party opin- 
 ion. But the party did not live up to the doctrines here 
 expressed and the Whig platform ignored the whole 
 matter. The Democrats were not slow to say what was 
 really the truth that this omission was due to the fact that the 
 party was led by the anti-slavery Northern element, com- 
 mitted to hostility to slavery, and that the North Carolina 
 Whigs were attempting to keep on good terms with them so as 
 to win a party victory even at the price of surrendering some- 
 what of their opinions. A rift was apparent among the 
 Whigs, foreshadowing the large secession from the party 
 which was to take place in the early years of the following 
 decade. Badger admitted the right of Congress to legislate 
 for the territories concerning slavery. This was the view 
 which North Carolinians generally had previously held. But 
 Mangum denied emphatically the correctness of the doctrine. 
 Badger also in order to prevent the rise of vexing questions, 
 was opposed to the acquisition of any territory from Mexico 
 and voted against the treaty of peace although he considered 
 the war iniquitous. Mangum voted for it. Boyden favored 
 the surrender of all claims against Mexico and wanted to 
 surrender a part of Texas. Barringer in 1846 had voted 
 that the war was brought on by the act of Mexico, but in 
 1848 he voted that the war was brought on unconstitutionally 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 123 
 
 and unnecessarily by President Polk. In the Summer of 
 1848 Mangum, Barringer, Shepperd, Clingman, and Outlaw 
 with the three Democratic members of Congress, voted for 
 the Clayton Compromise: Badger, Boyden, and Donnell vot- 
 ed against it. Clingman was waking to a knowledge and com- 
 prehension of the strength of the anti-slavery movement in 
 the North and was beginning to attempt to secure a union of 
 Northern and Southern Whigs on some common ground which 
 would stop the agitation and save the party. He favored the 
 extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific. 
 
 John M. Morehead was president of the Whig National 
 convention. The delegation was much divided in sentiment 
 as appears from their vote. 
 
 First Ballot — Taylor, 6 ; Clay, 5. 
 Second Ballot — Taylor, 6 ; Clay 5. 
 Third Ballot — Taylor, 7 ; Clay, 3 ; Scott, 1. 
 Fourth Ballot — Taylor, 10 ; Clay, 1. 
 
 North Carolina Whigs, as has been said, really wanted 
 Clay, but they wanted above everything else to win, and Tay- 
 lor was accepted with sincerity and enthusiasm. His being a 
 Southerner and a slaveholder seemed to them, too, to guaran- 
 tee a cessation of the anti-slavery agitation. It is said on 
 apparently good authority that Kenneth Rayner was offered 
 the second place on the ticket and declined. But there is no 
 contemporary evidence of this offer. 
 
 In the Democratic national convention the North Carolina 
 delegation agreed informally to support James Buchanan and 
 James J. McKay. When the balloting began they cast the 
 first and second ten votes for Buchanan and one for Levi 
 Woodbury, after which they voted for Cass. McKay's candi- 
 dacy for the vice-presidency aroused no interest and he re- 
 ceived only two votes from other delegations. 
 
 The state and national campaigns were pushed by both 
 parties. Each side had naturally much condemnation for the 
 other's candidates. The Whigs were loud in their assertions 
 that Cass was not entirely sound in his views on slavery and 
 
124 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 in their hearts many Democrats agreed with them that such 
 a thing was only too possible. The Democrats were equally 
 loud in their pronouncements as to Taylor's unfitness and of 
 Fillmore's abolitionist views. Both sides were affected. Cass 
 was looked upon with suspicion by Democrats and Whigs 
 began to fear that Northern influence in the party boded ill 
 for the South and slavery. The Southern Whigs were badly 
 out of touch with the other wing of the party and only the 
 reassuring facts in connection with Taylor already alluded 
 to kept them line. They began to feel that it might be 
 well for the individual State to look to united action at 
 home and this combined with the popularity of Reid's pro- 
 gram greatly weakened the party in the state election. Only 
 the power of the strong organization prevented their defeat 
 in the Summer elections. 
 
 Manly was elected by the slender majority of 854 in a 
 total of 84,218. The Democrats had made a net gain of ten 
 counties. The legislature was tied in both houses. From the 
 standpoint of Democratic prospects at the beginning of the 
 campaign it was really a victory, and they so regarded it. 
 Free suffrage of course was chiefly responsible. 
 
 The presidential campaign waxed as the gubernatorial 
 contest waned. An interesting and really highly significant 
 fact of the campaign was the holding of free soil meetings 
 in several places in the State and the selection of a Van 
 Buren electoral ticket which received in the election forty- 
 seven votes in Guilford, sixteen in Orange and thirteen in 
 Chatham. It was the last public expression of anti-slavery 
 sentiment in the State for some time. Public feeling was 
 strongly favorable to slavery, and the growing minority which 
 hated it with increasing hatred was a silent element in the 
 population of the State. 
 
 Taylor carried the November election by 8,154 in a total 
 vote of 81,280. North Carolina Democrats in common with 
 many other Southern Democrats had failed to do their part, 
 and Taylor's vote in the South is significant because of the 
 proof it furnishes of the growing sectional feeling. A 
 
Party Politcis in North Carolina 125 
 
 Southerner and a slaveholder, albeit a Whig, he was more 
 acceptable to a certain class of Southern Democrats than a 
 man of their own party who had even won the title later so 
 opprobrious in the North of "a Northern man with South- 
 ern principles." 
 
 The campaign of 1848, the last accompanied by complete 
 Whig victory, saw the Democratic party alert and progres- 
 sive, ready to take control of the State. It was committed to 
 public education and largely committed to internal improve- 
 ments. The Standard, the very best indicator of Democratic 
 sentiment, took a strong favorable position at the close of the 
 campaign for both and the last obstacle to Democratic success 
 before the people was thus removed. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE LEGISLATURE OF 1848 
 
 The session of the General Assembly which met in No- 
 vember, 1848, will always stand out in North Carolina as one 
 of the most important in the history of the State, if indeed 
 it may not be regarded as the one of chief importance. In 
 its accomplishment for the State and in its debates were visi- 
 ble the changes which were steadily being wrought in the very 
 fabric of the commonwealth. It is hard to associate it with 
 those predecessors of which Swain was so justly critical; in 
 fact there was little similarity in spirit, since in this later 
 period the State and its people were steadily and rapidly 
 being re-made. 
 
 As has already been noted, the legislature in both houses 
 was evenly divided between the two parties after the election. 
 Several vacancies occurred before the meeting, but the special 
 elections made no change in the relative standing of the two 
 parties. At the opening, the Democrats offered to yield the 
 speakership of the House of Commons, if the Whigs would 
 yield in the Senate. The Whigs contemptuously refused, ar- 
 guing that since they had elected the governor the Democrats 
 ought to concede both positions to them. In the Senate they 
 nominated Andrew Joyner and the Democrats selected Cal- 
 vin Graves. In the House Robert B. Gilliam and James C. 
 Dobbin were respectively the Whig and Democratic nominees. 
 Organization was deferred in both houses until the third day 
 when the Democrats withdrew Dobbin's name, allowing the 
 Whigs to elect Gilliam. The Whigs still refused to yield, 
 but on the sixth day they offered to compromise and let 
 Graves be elected if the Democrats would agree to make no 
 changes in the clerks. This was agreed to, and of the eight 
 lesser positions the Whigs retained five. 
 
 After organization, the election of a United States senator 
 claimed all the attention of the members who spent most of 
 their time caucusing and scheming. Badger was the regular 
 
Pakty Politics in Nokth Carolina 127 
 
 Whig candidate, but many Whigs did not like him, and his 
 attitude on the slavery question and the war had alienated the 
 strongly pro-slavery Whigs. Nothing was needed to alienate 
 the Democrats who as a rule detested him. They had small 
 hope of electing a Senator by a regular nomination so they 
 made none and hoped for some stroke of good fortune which 
 might enable them to defeat the will of their opponents. As 
 to Badger, they yielded not at all. 
 
 The Whigs claimed that since the State had voted for 
 Taylor that the Democrats had no moral or even legal right 
 to oppose the Whig choice for senator, and, fearing the cer- 
 tain deadlock might be prolonged until the end of the session, 
 they finally introduced into the Senate the following resolu- 
 tion which was defeated by a party vote, one member being 
 absent : 
 
 Whereas, this is a Government in which all political 
 power is vested in and derived from the people ; 
 
 Whereas, it is the manifest duty of Representatives to 
 carry out strictly the known wishes of their constituents in 
 the discharge of all their elective duties; 
 
 Whereas, the free people of this State have recently, at 
 the ballot box, declared their political preference in a voice 
 which their representative agents ought not to slight or dis- 
 regard ; 
 
 Whereas, respectful deference on the part of the minority 
 for the will of the majority, when legally and constitutionally 
 expressed, is true republicanism ; 
 
 And, whereas, all delay and management, under pre- 
 tense, however fair and imposing, the object of which is to 
 defeat the will of the people thus expressed, are contrary to 
 the spirit and genius of the Government; 
 
 Resolved, That a message be sent to the House of Com- 
 mons, proposing that the two houses, on Tuesday next, at 12 
 o'clock, proceed to the election of a United States Senator. 
 
 As the balloting proceeded, the Democrats began to throw 
 a good deal of their strength to Clingman, who was most 
 anxious for the election. He was deeply dissatisfied with 
 Badger's views ; he was growing to have the same feeling of 
 
128 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 hopelessness about the Whig party. A committee of Demo- 
 crats asked him for an expression of his political views and 
 in December he replied that he was opposed to the establish- 
 ment of a national bank, opposed to the repeal of the Walker 
 tariff, although he favored certain modifications of it, and 
 that he was opposed to the Wilmot Proviso as wrong in prin- 
 ciple and, in addition, unconstitutional. This satisfied the 
 Democrats. The deadlock continued for some time but final- 
 ly Badger won enough votes to receive the necessary majority 
 and was elected. 
 
 There was a long contest over the election of a Supreme 
 Court judge to succeed Judge Daniel who had died during 
 the year. The governor and council had appointed William 
 H. Battle and had filled his place on the Superior bench by 
 the appointment of Augustus Moore. B. F. Moore had been 
 appointed attorney-general to succeed Edward Stanly who 
 had resigned to become a member of the legislature, service 
 in the hurly-burly of some sort of legislative chamber having 
 become almost a necessity to his fiery soul. The legislature 
 at once confirmed the appointment of the two Mo'ores, but 
 after a long contest Battle was defeated by Richmond M. 
 Pearson, the Democrats supporting Strange. Battle was 
 then voted for to succeed Pearson on the Superior bench, but 
 John W. Ellis of Rowan, a member of the House, was 
 chosen. The retirement of Ellis from the legislature had an 
 important bearing upon the later action of the legislature. 
 These two elections were brought about by an agreement be- 
 tween several Whigs and Democrats to end the contests by 
 exchanging votes, the latter voting for Pearson and the 
 former for Ellis. 
 
 The free suffrage issue of the preceding campaign found 
 its echo in a resolution for a constitutional amendment intro- 
 duced into the House by James Sheek of Surry. This, after 
 a hard filibuster by the Whigs and the rejection of a substi- 
 tute proposed by Rayner, providing for a convention, passed 
 its second reading by a vote of 75 to 26, 28 Whigs voting 
 for the measure and five Democrats against it. It passed its 
 
Pakty Politics in North Carolina 129 
 
 third reading by a vote of 75 to 21. The Whigs thus ap- 
 parently gave np the fight, and Democratic success in 1850 
 was practically assured. The resolution went to the Senate 
 and was discussed at length there. It received a majority, 
 25 to 19, but did not get the three-fifths vote necessary for a 
 constitutional amendment on its passage through its first 
 legislature. 
 
 Very early in the session, Walter L. Steele of Richmond, 
 a Whig, introduced a series of resolutions on the subject of 
 slavery, which declared the territories the common property 
 of the States, denied to Congress any power to prohibit any 
 citizen from carrying into them his property in slaves, a prop- 
 erty guaranteed by the Constitution, and asserted that the 
 only conditions which the Constitution imposed upon a State 
 for admission into the Union was that its own Constitu- 
 tion should be republican in form. They denied the principle 
 of the Missouri Compromise, but offered to accept its exten- 
 sion as a compromise. The resolutions expressed devotion 
 to the Union. Many of the Whigs were opposed to these, 
 regarding them as a thrust at Badger, the Register saying 
 that they were "tomfoolery" and the work of "political 
 mountebanks," but almost as many considered them as en- 
 tirely proper, eminently timely, if indeed not rendered abso- 
 lutely necessary by the national situation. After many 
 Whig amendments, designed to weaken or discredit the reso- 
 lutions, had been voted down by a combination of both parties 
 the resolutions were referred to a committee of which James 
 C. Dobbin was chairman and a substitute was reported by it 
 which differed very little from the original. These passed 
 their second and third readings practically without opposi- 
 tion. In the Senate they were introduced by William B. 
 Shepard, the best representative of the strongly pro-South- 
 ern, pro-slavery Whigs of the East who were not at all be- 
 hind the Democrats in their suspicion and dislike of the 
 North and in their insistence upon proper guarantees of 
 Southern rights. The resolutions were scarcely opposed at 
 all in the Senate. But while there was little open opposition 
 
130 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 it was only because no Whig wanted thus to go on record. 
 They sought in many ways to discredit the resolutions and 
 spread the report that if they were passed Badger would re- 
 sign. It is needless to say that their adoption led to no 
 such result. 
 
 These purely political questions having been settled, let 
 us now look at the constructive work by which this legisla- 
 ture is lest known. A significant fact was the governor's 
 devoting his entire message to state affairs. He again recom- 
 mended improvements in the system of assessment and tax- 
 ation, showing conclusively that both were bad. His argu- 
 ment for internal improvements was a powerful one. In it 
 he said : 
 
 In surveying our Territory, with an eye to the present in- 
 terests and wants of the people, I am more than ever im- 
 pressed with our destitution of facilities for cheap and speedy 
 transportation. In this regard, however unpleasant may be 
 the admission, I am forced to the conviction, that we labor 
 under greater disadvantages than any State in the Union. 
 And we never can be equal competitors with their citizens 
 in our agriculture, the predominant pursuit among us, until 
 these disadvantages are in a great degree overcome. The 
 man who is obliged to transport in wagons over no better 
 roads than ours, a distance varying from 60 to 250 miles, at 
 the speed of 25 miles per day, can no more contend for profits 
 with him who has the advantage of railroads or good naviga- 
 tion, than can the spinning wheel with the cotton mill. Had 
 we ever been in a more favorable situation in this respect, and 
 had the impediments which now beset us been imposed by 
 human powers, no sacrifice would be esteemed too great to 
 effect our deliverance and restore our prosperity. 
 
 His general argument contained a recommendation for a 
 road from Raleigh to Charlotte by way of Salisbury, the bene- 
 fits of which he stated as follows : 
 
 It is commended to us as a great North Carolina improve- 
 ment, appealing to our interest and State pride, by argu- 
 ments which it were almost criminal to overlook. First, it 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 131 
 
 would open to the market of the world an extensive region 
 of the State, reaching from the Capitol almost to the Blue 
 Ridge, of great fertility and capacity for indefinite improve- 
 ment, by reason of its agricultural, mineral, and manufac- 
 turing resources; containing in the counties within 25 miles 
 of the most direct route, more than 230,000 souls; and within 
 50 miles, more than one-half of our whole population, who 
 are far removed from places of trade, and dependent entirely 
 on the common wagon and common road for all their trans- 
 portation. The occasion will not permit me to dwell on its 
 numberless benefits in this regard, which will readily occur 
 to any one who looks on the map of the State, with the eye 
 of a statesman and patriot. Second, it would add incalcula- 
 bly to the business and value of one at least, (and ultimately 
 of both) of our present railroads in which the State has so 
 deep an interest, and make them productive stocks. Third, 
 it would unite the middle and eastern with the western sec- 
 tion' of the State, in a domestic trade and exchange of pro- 
 ductions too cumbersome for the present mode of conveyance 
 beside facilitating travel for health and social intercourse. 
 Fourth, by running over the most practicable routes from 
 Raleigh to Salisbury, and thence turning southwestward to 
 Charlotte, it would bisect the State for more than a hundred 
 miles, bringing the most remote on either side within 50 
 miles of the railroad, and would be in a favorable location for 
 being extended still further west, from the former places, 
 and to connect advantageously by means of turnpike roads 
 with the northwestern part of our territory. 
 
 He also thought that later branches might be built to Golds- 
 boro and Fayetteville and that the road might buy the Ral- 
 eigh and Gaston road. Concerning the crying shame of the 
 State's lack of care for the insane he urged reform. Miss 
 Dix was at this time in the State and had lately been travel- 
 ling over it. Of her he said : 
 
 A distinguished person of the gentler sex, who has devoted 
 much of her life to the pious duty of pleading the cause of the 
 lunatic, before States and communities, has recently travers- 
 ed a considerable part of this State in search of information 
 respecting these unfortunates among us, and will probably 
 
132 James Spbunt Historical Publications 
 
 ask leave to present their case to you at an early date. I 
 cannot too earnestly commend the cause itself, or the disinter- 
 ested benevolence of its advocate. 
 
 Before taking up the railroad legislation it is well to 
 mention that the first bill passed by the legislature was the 
 one creating the State Hospital for the Insane. Miss Dix, 
 accompanied by Governor Swain, was heard by the legisla- 
 ture, a fact rather remarkable in North Carolina of that day, 
 but the bill failed to pass its second reading. It was later 
 reconsidered upon motion of James C. Dobbin, fresh from the 
 death-bed of his wife and fulfilling her dying request, who 
 made the great speech of the session and won the day, the bill 
 passing by a vote of 101 to 10. Provision was made for the 
 erection of a first rate building and a special tax was levied 
 on land and poll for the space of four years to pay for it. 
 
 With the passage of this bill the friends of progress 
 drew a breath of relief. There was reason; its passage was 
 really epochal in the State's history. It had no real connec- 
 tion with the railroad measures, but it had a very important 
 effect upon them. Up to this time the proposition for a cen- 
 tral railroad had gained little ground, the chief reason being 
 that the Charlotte and South Carolina Railroad had offered 
 to run their line from Charlotte to Danville with only a 
 "naked" charter without state aid of any sort. Quite natu- 
 rally the members of the legislature from Mecklenburg to 
 Rockingham were all in favor of the project which was in 
 the immediate charge of John W. Ellis, who introduced the 
 bill. The chief opposition came from Edward Stanly, who 
 occupied a very strong position in the entire discussion, since 
 his section was not directly affected by any of the measures 
 proposed, but who strongly favored any system which would 
 build up North Carolina. He announced his intention of 
 fighting the "Danville Connection" which he called the "Dan- 
 ville Sale." "But," said he, "the friends of this South 
 Carolina and Virginia bondage were not to blame so long as 
 the North Carolina Assembly failed to give her people a real 
 
Pakty Politics in North Carolina 133 
 
 North Carolina system. This failing, I, too, go for Dan- 
 ville." 
 
 A bill embodying Governor Graham's plan had been in- 
 troduced but had apparently no possible chance of passing. 
 As soon as the hospital bill was passed the calendar was 
 crowded with bills for canals, plank roads, turnpikes, short 
 line railroads, law reforms, rights of married women, and 
 every conceivable thing, but no one dared to champion a com- 
 plete central system until W. S. Ashe undertook to formulate 
 a bill. Ignoring their Raleigh and Gaston project and paying 
 as little attention to Beaufort Harbor and Ducktown copper, 
 the bill provided for the subscription by the State for $2,000,- 
 000 of the total $3,000,000 stock in the North Carolina Rail- 
 road to run from Goldsboro to Charlotte. The bill was in- 
 troduced but it made no progress until the friends of the 
 Danville Connection renewed the fight. But Ellis had been 
 elected a judge and his leadership was missed. Finally 
 Stanly, who had been taunting the advocates of the bill, said 
 that they had sold out to Virginia and South Carolina, refer- 
 ring to Richmond as only a "Great Slave Mart," and to 
 Charleston as "surviving solely on pretensions." Rufus Bar- 
 ringer then offered to throw the strength of the Danville Con- 
 nection to any bill which provided for a general North Caro- 
 lina system. The offer was accepted, the Danville Connec- 
 tion bill was tabled and the bill embodying Graham's sug- 
 gestions and which had a favorable place on the calendar, 
 was amended by substituting after the enacting clause the 
 Ashe bill. It was rejected by a vote of 49 to 56, but re- 
 considered, and, on January 18, 1849, passed by a vote of 
 60 to 52. Barringer tells the rest of the story better than 
 anyone of this generation could. Said he : 
 
 The chances in the Senate were all in doubt. That body 
 was Democratic ; and up to this time, no special effort had 
 been made to draw the old ship from its Jefferson ian moor- 
 ings. And such men as Henry W. Conner, John H. Drake, 
 A. B. Hawkins, John Berry, George Bower, W. D. Bethel, 
 George W. Thompson, and John Walker were hard to lead 
 
134 James Spruit Historical Publications 
 
 and could not be driven. And above them all sat Speaker 
 Calvin Graves, a recognized force from a county just under 
 the nose of Danville, and devoted to Richmond. The speaker 
 was tall, angular, and singularly ugly in feature; but his 
 character was high; he was strictly impartial, and with all 
 courtesy in bearing. From first to last no one could divine a 
 leaning either way. But now a mighty effort was made to 
 teach these born men of the plow and of the people a new 
 tenet of republican faith, an awakening to what the State 
 owed the public. Judge Romulus M. Saunders and W. W. 
 Holden both stepped forward and made strong appeals for 
 the new departure. But all to no purpose. And then some 
 of the Whigs, left out by the Ashe bill, stood aloof. From 
 these and other causes, it was seen from day to day, in all the 
 preliminary skirmishes, as also in the final struggle, the re- 
 sult would be very close, and that all might hang on the "Bap- 
 tist Enigma," Calvin Graves. 
 
 By consent, the first and second readings were chiefly 
 formal, to get the measure in shape, and to secure all sides 
 and parties a just showing. This was after the old style, 
 quiet North Carolina way, when, as a hundred years before, 
 Dissenters and Churchmen were alike honoring King, Queen 
 and Royal Governor by naming towns, counties and moun- 
 tain peaks after them, but at the same time, solemnly re- 
 solved to hurl them instantly from power "if they did not do 
 exactly the fair thing." So here, every courtesy was shown 
 opposing parties and interests until January 25, when the 
 bill came regularly up, after full debate, and was put on 
 its third and final reading. The Senate chamber was packed 
 with visitors and strangers from all quarters to see the fate 
 of the momentous struggle, now so full of weal or woe to the 
 dear "Old North State," and which might settle here once 
 for all the mighty effort to awake North Carolina from the 
 long sleep of her death-like "Rip-Van-Winkleism." 
 
 Speaker Graves calmly announced : "The bill to charter 
 the North Carolina Railroad Company and for other pur- 
 poses is now upon its third reading. Is the Senate ready 
 for the question ?" Feeble responses said, "Question." The 
 roll call began ; and as feared nearly every Democrat voted 
 "No." The tally was kept by hundreds, and when the clerk 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 135 
 
 announced 22 yeas and 22 nays, there was an awful silence. 
 The slender form of Speaker Graves stood up, and leaning 
 slightly forward, with gavel in hand, he said: "The vote on 
 the bill being equal, 22 yeas and 22 nays, the chair votes 
 'Yea.' The bill has passed its third and last reading." 
 
 The railroad and hospital bills were not the only progres- 
 sive measures passed. The deaf and dumb institution was 
 reorganized, the Fayetteville and Western Plank Road Com- 
 pany chartered to build a road from Fayetteville to Salisbury, 
 the State taking three-fifths of the stock; the Raleigh and 
 Gaston re-incorporated with a provision in the charter that 
 when half a million dollars should have been spent on the 
 road by the stockholders it should be released from all liability 
 to the State, and state aid was given for an extension to 
 Weldon ; bonds of the Wilmington and Raleigh to the amount 
 of a quarter of a million dollars were endorsed ; and provision 
 was made for the improvement of the Cape Fear and Deep 
 Rivers above Fayetteville, the State taking stock to the 
 amount of $40,000. Other legislation worthy of note were 
 acts protecting the property rights of married women, revis- 
 ing the revenue system, laying off the counties of Alamance, 
 Watauga and Forsyth, and one repealing the act creating the 
 county of Polk. The growing activity of the abolitionists 
 resulted in the passage of an act making the stealing of a 
 slave or the enticement of one to leave the master a capital 
 offense. The governor was instructed to issue an annual 
 Thanksgiving proclamation. This act met with much con- 
 demnation from many of the Baptists of the State, who de- 
 clared it the beginning of a union of Church and State. 
 
 Surely nothing need be said to prove that the State had 
 entered upon a new era. Much of the credit for the awaken- 
 ing must be given to Reid and his free suffrage issue. A 
 state issue had been needed for years, and now when it came, 
 it had the same effect that the reform issue of the thirties had. 
 The State was shaken from Murphy to Manteo, and "Rip 
 Van Winkle" was at last awake. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1850 
 
 The year 1849 in North Carolina, as elsewhere in the 
 United States, was one of shifting political opinion, angry 
 discission, and doubtful and uneasy watching. Slavery was 
 suddenly the theme of every agitator, North and South, and 
 to many thoughtful patriots it seemed as if the sad day was 
 really approaching when the Union would be severed. The 
 congressional elections were heatedly contested, but the 
 Whigs retained their majority of the delegation. Clingman 
 won in the first without Democratic opposition; in fact he 
 was so rapidly coming to the Democratic position that the 
 Whigs were his most likely opponents. Joseph P. Caldwell 
 was elected in the second over Mr. Hill, a Democrat, who 
 ran without party nomination. There was a sharp contest 
 in the third where Green W. Caldwell, the Democratic candi- 
 date, faced Alfred Dockery, Alexander Little, and S. P. 
 Ingram. His chances seemed excellent when Edmund De- 
 berry came out and was triumphantly re-elected. In the 
 fourth A. H. Shepperd was again returned, defeating Doctor 
 Keen. In the eighth James W. Bryan was nominated by the 
 Whigs, but soon withdrew; and Edward Stanly took his place 
 and defeated W. K. Lane. In the ninth David Outlaw de- 
 feated Thomas J. Person. The three Democratic districts 
 all had contests. Henry K. Nash tried conclusions with A. 
 W. Venable and was defeated. W. J. Clarke, a Democrat, 
 unsuccessfully opposed J. P. J. Daniel in the sixth, and 
 McKay, declining to run again after fourteen years' con- 
 secutive service, was succeeded by W. S. Ashe who defeated 
 David Reid, another New Hanover Democrat. 
 
 When Congress met, the attention of the whole State was 
 riveted on Washington. But while Congress was discussing 
 Clay's proposed compromise there was considerable interest 
 in political quarters in the various Southern proposals that 
 were made to force just action. In the press the line was 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 137 
 
 fairly clear, the Democratic papers, headed by the Standard, 
 taking the position that there should be official action by the 
 Southern States in unison to oppose anything less than the 
 full demands of the section, while the Whig press, led by the 
 Register, opposed such action and favored compromise in 
 Congress. Individual Whigs in large numbers took the full 
 Southern position and accepted Democratic leadership. The 
 proposed Nashville Convention aroused the ire of the Federal 
 Whigs, but the Democrats almost unanimously endorsed it. 
 The Democratic papers urged Governor Manly to call a 
 special session of the legislature to approve the plan and 
 elect delegates, or, in default of that, to call the council 
 together to take official action or to issue a proclamation on 
 the subject. He would not consider the suggestions and the 
 State was not officially represented in the convention. Al- 
 most all the Whig papers denounced it as a disunion gather- 
 ing, the Star alone insisting that it had a most worthy pur- 
 pose, and thus bringing down upon itself the denunciation 
 of the Register and the Federal Whigs. Stanly and John 
 Kerr were fiercely denouncing it in public addresses, while in 
 the southeastern part of the State so-called Southern Rights 
 conventions were being held at which fiery resolutions were 
 adopted with great enthusiasm. The Whig attitude was 
 caused by a genuine fear of anything which might endanger 
 the Union. "Certainly not," wrote Badger to Crittenden, 
 "for the privilege of carrying slaves to California, or of keep- 
 ing up private gaols by slave dealers in this district [District 
 of Columbia]". And Badger was never more right. He and 
 Mangum exerted an important influence upon the passage 
 of the Compromise by keeping Webster in the notion of his 
 famous Seventh of March Speech which he delivered only 
 because of their urging and after he had changed his mind 
 several times. They also kept him in line in the later voting. 
 Mangum was not on particularly good terms with the ad- 
 ministration and took a much more pronounced Southern 
 position than did Badger. But the latter's speech in March 
 on the slavery question satisfied even the Standard which 
 was ever critical of his opinions and actions. 
 
138 James Sprtjnt Historical Publications 
 
 The votes of the North Carolina delegation in Congress 
 on the compromise measure were somewhat indicative of the 
 lines of division of opinion. No vote was recorded in the 
 Senate on the Utah or Fugitive Slave bills. Neither Man- 
 gum nor Badger voted on the California Bill. Both voted 
 against the abolition of the slave trade in the District of 
 Columbia and both voted for the New Mexico Bill. On 
 the Texas Bill Mangum was paired with no indication of his 
 preference and Badger voted affirmatively. In the House, 
 Ashe, Caldwell, Deberry, Outlaw, Shepperd, and Stanly 
 voted for the Utah Bill and none opposed it. Caldwell and 
 Stanly voted for the admission of California and Ashe, 
 Clingman, Daniel, Deberry, Outlaw, Shepperd, and Venable 
 voted against it. Caldwell, Deberry, Outlaw, Shepperd, and 
 Stanly voted for the New Mexico Bill and Ashe, Clingman, 
 Daniel and Venable, against it. Every member of the dele- 
 gation voted for the Fugitive Slave Law. Ashe, Deberry, 
 Caldwell, Clingman, Outlaw, and Venable voted against 
 the abolition of the slave trade in the District and none of 
 the delegation voted for it. 
 
 The address to the Southern people issued by the South- 
 ern members of Congress was signed by Mangum, Clingman, 
 Venable, and Ashe. Clingman had now completely lost the 
 support of the Register and all the Federal Whigs, but Demo- 
 cratic sentiment had changed in the same ratio as that of 
 their opponents and the Standard and other Democratic pa- 
 pers were already expressing full approval of his views of 
 slavery and the tariff. His relations with his fellow Whigs 
 in Congress were strained, and he and Stanly, after a long 
 period of ill-feeling, finally in March came to blows in the 
 House. Stanly and Inge of Alabama, fought a duel in 
 February. 
 
 Secession sentiment was strong in certain parts of the 
 South and the question began to be discussed in the North 
 Carolina papers. The Standard rather featured these dis- 
 cussions, taking strong ground on the subject in defense of 
 the abstract right, and urging the possible necessity. This 
 
Paety Politics in Nobth Caeolina 139 
 
 view was combatted by the Whig press, and in August Bad- 
 ger attacked the theory in the Senate in one of his strongest 
 speeches. The North Carolina Democrats in the main dis- 
 liked the compromise, and their feeling on the subject di- 
 rected their thoughts to the secession question though there 
 was little or no inclination on the part of any responsible 
 person in the State to resort at the time to any such remedy. 
 
 In July, William A. Graham was appointed secretary 
 of the navy by President Fillmore. This position and that 
 of minister to Spain were all that the North Carolina Whigs 
 received from the administration, except inside the State. 
 Barringer and Stanly were aspirants for the Spanish post 
 and the former received it. It was hinted at the time that 
 Mangum was also casting his eye in the same direction, but 
 there is no evidence that this was the case and it was probably 
 untrue. In the State there was a clean sweep of the Demo- 
 crats from federal office. The Whigs had claimed in the 
 campaign that there would be no recourse to the spoils sys- 
 tem, and that the office holders would remain undisturbed 
 unless there was more against them than their politics ; but 
 no such thing was possible at that time any more than it is 
 to-day. 
 
 The state campaign had been eagerly looked forward to 
 by the Democrats since the election of 1848. In 1849 
 Holden wrote to Reid asking him to be a candidate asiain. 
 Reid consented on the condition that he should not be requir- 
 ed to approve the Nashville Convention and the chartering of 
 the North Carolina Railroad. Holden told him that he need 
 not commit himself on either question, and that they were 
 both outside and above party. In 1850 a Democratic caucus 
 was held in Raleigh at which Reid was nominated. John S. 
 Eaton presided. Asa Biggs offered a resolution to amend the 
 constitution so as to forbid any appropriation for internal 
 improvements unless it was approved by the people at the 
 polls. Intense excitement followed with threats from the 
 friends of internal improvements of breaking up the party, 
 and Biggs withdrew his motion. After this there was scat- 
 
140 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 tered Democratic opposition to internal improvements but 
 never again was there party opposition. 
 
 Reid's name recurred in the resolutions adopted by county 
 meetings, but others were mentioned, notably James C. 
 Dobbin in the East. W. F. Leak was again a candidate and 
 was now willing to canvass the State. There was really quite 
 a good deal of opposition to Reid and in May he wrote a 
 public letter declining to run again because the party was 
 not united on him. In the letter he urged free suffrage as 
 the issue on which the party would win. No Whig candidate 
 other than Manly was mentioned, but there was much quiet 
 opposition to him in the party. It was nevertheless clear 
 that he would be the nominee. 
 
 The Whig convention met on June 10. James T. More- 
 head presided. The convention was addressed by John Kerr, 
 then making quite a reputation in the party as an orator 
 because of his fiery denunciation of the Democrats in general 
 and Reid in particular Henry W. Miller, W. H. Rhodes, 
 and, after his nomination, by Manly, who paid high tribute 
 to the so-called "Raleigh Clique" of Whigs, saying among 
 other things that "if the locofoco city of Sodom had had such 
 a group it would have been saved." This expression excited 
 so much anger among the Democrats that in the printed 
 speech it was changed. The platform endorsed the princi- 
 ples of the party, expressed devotion for the Union, and de- 
 manded an adjustment of the slavery question. It also 
 expressed full approval of the compromise measures and 
 gave Taylor a hearty endorsement. On the question of free 
 suffrage it "straddled" as it did on a new Democratic doc- 
 trine which some of the Whigs were trying to seize, namely, 
 the election of judges by the people for" a term of years. On 
 these two questions, the platform said the sense of the peo- 
 ple should be taken since they had a right to alter the funda- 
 mental law if they wished. Manly had already announced 
 his continued opposition to the change of system. By this 
 plank of their platform the Whigs deprived themselves of 
 any possibility of united action. Their adoption of it was 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 141 
 
 entirely characteristic of the party which found it difficult 
 if not impossible to take a position and be ready to fail rather 
 than abandon it. 
 
 The Democratic convention assembled on June 13. 
 Thirty-eight counties had delegates present. Asa Biggs was 
 temporary chairman and Robert Strange president. Speeches 
 were made by R. M. Saunders, W. J. Clarke, Duncan K. 
 McRae, and James G-. Shepherd. Reid was unanimously 
 nominated. The platform condemned Taylor's administra- 
 tion, expressed devotion to the Union, the existence of which 
 it declared threatened by the situation in national affairs. 
 Declining to concede the right of Congress to legislate on 
 slavery in the territories, it expressed the willingness of the 
 party to abide by the terms and spirit of the Missouri Com- 
 promise. It closed with a strong declaration for free suf- 
 frage and the popular election of judges for a term of years. 
 This last change had first been urged in the State by Holden 
 in the Standard and had met with considerable favor with 
 both parties. Reid accepted the nomination and immediately 
 issued an address to the people of the State in which he dis- 
 cussed the issues in a bold, straightforward way. He and 
 Manly opened the campaign at Wentworth on June 29 and 
 continued it actively until just before the election. 
 
 A considerable number of Whig papers declined to sup- 
 port Manly because of his opposition to free suffrage, some of 
 them going so far as to raise Reid's name as their candidate. 
 The tide was so clearly and so strongly setting in favor of the 
 amendment that Manly, seeing that his continued opposition 
 would certainly defeat him, wavered. Canvassing the West 
 he practically yielded the point and attempted to restore 
 the failing fortunes of his party by bringing forward as a 
 necessary accompaniment of free suffrage the change of the 
 basis of representation from federal to free white. This was 
 exceedingly popular with the western Whigs, but in the East 
 it produced a storm. It also aroused the fears of the strong 
 pro-slavery advocates who saw, or pretended to see, in it a 
 great menace to the South. They declared that the passage 
 
 10 
 
142 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 of such an amendment by a Southern State would not only 
 encourage the anti-slavery forces but would actually seal the 
 doom of the South. Reid on the stump made it clear that the 
 two propositions had no connection. 
 
 Every possible charge was brought against Reid, most 
 of them false and known to be so. An amusing incident was 
 the attempt of Manly who was a staunch Episcopalian, to 
 arouse the hostility of the Baptists against Reid, who was 
 himself a devoted Baptist, because in the legislature he had 
 voted against the State's making a loan to Wake Forest Col- 
 lege. Manly also accused him repeatedly of having voted 
 for the Wilmot Proviso although Reid was not a member of 
 Congress when it was brought up. When forced to the wall 
 he would answer that Reid had voted for the Oregon Bill 
 which was the same thing, and at the next opportunity he 
 would make his original statement. This was also a favorite 
 ground of attack by the Register. 
 
 The presence and activity of two Wesleyan Methodist ab- 
 olitionist ministers in Guilford County during the campaign 
 aroused the anger of the pro-slavery element, and the failure 
 of the grand jury of Guilford to find a true bill against them 
 served to increase the feeling. 
 
 Manly never had a chance during the whole campaign 
 and the election was only a confirmation of the expectation 
 of every one. Reid's majority in a vote of 88,019 was 3,345. 
 In the legislature the Democrats had a majority of four in 
 the Senate and ten in the House of Commons. In state 
 affairs the day of the Whig party was done. How gracefully 
 the result was received by an element in the party, by no 
 means small, can be seen from the following editorial of the 
 Register. It serves also to explain in part why the party 
 had fallen upon evil days : 
 
 There can be but little, or no doubt, therefore, that 
 David S. Reid is elected governor of North Carolina. How 
 does that sound to Whig ears — to the ears of those Whigs 
 who have fixed upon our good old State for the first time 
 since the amendment of the Constitution, the burning re- 
 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 143 
 
 proach of having a locofoco Governor, and the indelible 
 disgrace of having chosen such a Chief Executive officer. 
 
 Some Whig papers, notably the Greensboro Patriot, how- 
 ever, were more generous, as well as more sensible, and 
 showed a better feeling. 
 
 The legislature organized by the election of Weldon 1ST. 
 Edwards as speaker of the Senate over Andrew Joyner and 
 James C. Dobbin as speaker of the House over Kenneth 
 Rayner. An unusual thing about the membership was the 
 presence of seven ex-congressmen, R. M. Saunders, Kenneth 
 Rayner, William H. Washington, William B. Shepard, W. 
 K Edwards, Green W. Caldwell, and J. C. Dobbin. The 
 Democrats were determined to have a party organization of 
 both houses and so followed the example set by the Whigs in 
 1846 and gave their opponents only a doorkeeper. When 
 the election of state officers came they were more liberal and 
 re-elected Mr. Hill secretary of state. But C. L. Hinton was 
 replaced as treasurer by D. W. Courts, and W. E. Collins as 
 comptroller by W. J. Clarke. The desire of many Demo- 
 crats for a districting of the State for members of Congress 
 was not gratified since the party leaders deemed it unwise, 
 in view of the important matters before the legislature, such 
 as the free suffrage amendment, for which Whig votes were 
 necessary to stir up any more party feeling than was neces- 
 sary. In addition, a new apportionment was almost due un- 
 der the census of 1850, and they thought it best to wait. 
 
 The legislature spent a large part of its time in discussing 
 the slavery question, and mingled with this came inevitably 
 renewed discussion of secession. Evidence of the new feel- 
 ing present in the State was the appointment of a new joint 
 committee on federal relations. 
 
 Early in the session, William B. Shepard introduced a 
 series of resolutions in which after declaring the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States a compromise of conflicting inter- 
 ests and that whenever its provisions were so perverted or 
 enlarged as to cause it to fail to secure its objects to even the 
 weakest member, it ceased to be the Constitution to become 
 
144 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 the creature of a dominant majority, alien in interest to the 
 oppressed, there occurred the following statement: 
 
 Resolved, That although we love the Union of the States 
 and view its destruction as a great calamity, we nevertheless 
 regard the right to secede from it as a right of self-defense 
 and protection, which the people of North Carolina have 
 never surrendered, and never can surrender with due regard 
 to their own safety and welfare, and that whenever a majority 
 of the people of North Carolina shall solemnly resolve that 
 they cannot safely remain in the Union, it is not only their 
 right, but it is their duty to secede, and to punish such of her 
 citizens as refuse submission to her will as rebels and traitors. 
 
 Resolved, That whilst we claim the right of secession as a 
 right reserved to the people, and not surrendered by the Con- 
 stitution, we believe it to be an extreme remedy, and one 
 which should not be resorted to unless all means to preserve 
 the Union and to protect the property and insure the welfare 
 of the people, have manifestly failed. 
 
 Resolved, That the fugitive slave bill lately passed by 
 Congress is in conformity with the provisions of the Consti- 
 tution, and that its repeal or any alteration tending to im- 
 pede an owner of a slave from retaking his property, will be 
 regarded as undoubted and sufficient evidence that a majority 
 of Congress was unrestrained by the express provisions of the 
 Constitution, and that the time has arrived when it becomes 
 the duty of the people of North Carolina to decide whether 
 they will submit to an unlimited Government, or will resist 
 its encroachments boldly and effectually. 
 
 They further declared that it was the duty of the United 
 States to protect property in slaves and denied its right to 
 prevent slavery in the territories, and declaring that the ad- 
 mission of California was an injustice to the South, they 
 invited the other slave States to make common cause with 
 North Carolina in demanding adequate protection. These 
 were debated with great heat for a large part of the session 
 and called forth a number of very able speeches, the two 
 most notable being those of Shepard himself in the Senate 
 and Dobbin in the House. Of the two the former's was the 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 145 
 
 most logical and the latter' s was the most eloquent. "He took 
 the ground boldly that the States are sovereign; that they 
 have a right to judge of infractions of the Constitution, and 
 of the mode and measure of redress — in a word that a State 
 in the last resort has a right to secede from the Union and 
 take care of her own interest and honor." He declared the 
 right of secession not a "constitutional" right, but a "re- 
 served" one, but one that never ought to be exercised except 
 in the last resort. "Much should be borne for the sake of 
 the Union, for the day of its dissolution will be the darkest 
 day for human liberty the world has ever seen." The reso- 
 lutions were finally defeated in the Senate by a vote of 31 to 
 16, 14 Democrats and two Whigs voting for and 10 Demo- 
 crats and 21 Whigs against them. In the House the same 
 resolutions were discussed in the committee of the whole 
 but never came to a vote. 
 
 Governor Manly' s message was a long and able document. 
 It contained an earnest plea for the Union and a long and 
 elaborate discussion of the question of constitutional amend- 
 ment which showed plainly that the Governor was still op- 
 posed to change. 
 
 Both houses passed strong anti-protective tariff resolu- 
 tions by large majorities, Whigs joining with Democrats in 
 the condemnation of what they rightly termed sectional 
 legislation. 
 
 Another proposition exciting considerable attention was 
 one to repeal the charter of the North Carolina Railroad. 
 This was debated for some time and then postponed indefin- 
 itely by a vote of 80 to 36. 
 
 Naturally the greatest interest of the members was in 
 the question of amendment. The committee rejected popular 
 election of judges and several other amendments, including 
 one to forbid appropriations by the legislature for internal 
 improvements unless they were approved by the people, but 
 reported favorably one for free suffrage. The popular elec- 
 tion of judges came up again before the houses but was 
 rejected by both. 
 
146 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 The resolution for free suffrage passed the House by a 
 vote of 75 to 36 and when it reached the Senate was rejected, 
 the required majority failing, three-fifths being required 
 for the first legislature and two-thirds for the second. The 
 Whigs in the main were opposed and the Register exultantly 
 proclaimed after its failure: "Free suffrage lies among the 
 slain." Most of the party, being politic and knowing the 
 sentiment of the mass of the people, were not so open in 
 their rejoicing. Another bill at once passed the House, 89 
 to 24, and this probably had some effect for the Senate re- 
 considered and passed the original 33 to 17. Throughout 
 the debates the Whigs sought in every way to obscure the 
 issue and finally centered their opposition on the method and 
 advocated a free and open convention elected on the same 
 basis as the House of Commons. A bill to take the sense of 
 the opinion on this proposition, introduced by a Democrat, 
 passed the House 67 to 40 and was defeated in the Senate. 
 This greatly alarmed the eastern Whigs who feared an at- 
 tempt to adopt the white basis of representation. After the 
 adjournment of the legislature, thirty-six Whig members 
 joined in an address to the people on the subject of constitu- 
 tional reform, urging a convention as the proper method. m 
 This thus committed a part of the party to opposition to the 
 pending amendment, and made the convention an issue for 
 the next campaign. 
 
 In spite of the time consumed by the discussions referred 
 to, the session was not unproductive. One hundred and 
 ninety-two public laws and twenty-nine public resolutions 
 were passed besides a mass of private legislation. Among 
 the more important laws were those creating a geological 
 and agricultural survey, chartering many railroads, turn- 
 pikes, and navigation companies, and laying off the counties 
 of Jackson, Madison and Yadkin. 
 
 The following resolution which was adopted by large 
 majority is interesting for the light it throws upon the 
 temper of the members : 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 147 
 
 Whereas a message has recently been transmitted to the 
 Senate by his Excellency David S. Reid, inclosing "resolu- 
 tions for the promotion of peace" forwarded by the Governor 
 of Vermont, as having passed the Legislature of that State; 
 and whereas the Legislature of the said State has recently 
 passed an act for the nullification of an act of Congress, 
 passed at its last session, on which the peace and harmony 
 of this Union mainly depend ; Therefore, 
 
 Be it resolved, That the Governor of this State be re- 
 quested to send back to the Governor of Vermont the afore- 
 said "resolutions for the promotion of peace" with the declar- 
 ation that North Carolina knows too well what is due to her- 
 self to receive from a sister State resolutions of that charac- 
 ter, when the State so adopting and transmitting them, has 
 been the first in the Confederacy to assume to herself the 
 right of violating the Constitution of the United States, and 
 bringing into jeopardy the peace and safety of the Union. 
 
 The congressional campaign of 1851 in most of the States 
 was largely devoted to the discussion of the Compromise of 
 1850. In North Carolina this was the case in several of the 
 districts, but in three the question of secession was made the 
 issue by the Whig candidates, two of whom were successful. 
 Mangum, Shepperd, Deberry, Outlaw, and Caldwell signed 
 the pledge to support no man for office who did not favor 
 the compromise. By this time the Democrats had grudg- 
 ingly accepted it so there could not be much of an issue made 
 of it. 
 
 In the first district Clingman ran as a Southern Rights 
 Whig and defeated Burgess S. Gaither who accused Cling- 
 man of secession tendencies and spent much of his time de- 
 nouncing South Carolina for its attitude and declaring that 
 if elected he would vote for the use of force to check seces- 
 sion there. In the second, J. P. Caldwell was elected with- 
 out opposition. In the third, secession was the subject of the 
 whole campaign. Green W. Caldwell was nominated by the 
 Democrats and Alfred Dockery opposed him, breathing fire 
 and brimstone against South Carolina, and was triumphantly 
 
148 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 elected. James T. Morehead was elected without opposition 
 in the fourth. A. W. Venable was elected in the fifth over 
 Calvin Graves who was supported by the Whigs as a "Union" 
 Democrat. J. R. J. Daniel was chosen in the sixth over 
 Henry W. Miller. W. S. Ashe had no opposition in the 
 seventh. Edward Stanly made secession the issue in the 
 eighth and defeated Thomas Ruffm of Wayne. In the ninth 
 David Outlaw was re-elected, defeating W. F. Martin, a 
 Democrat. The Northern papers followed the campaigns of 
 G-aither, Dockery, and Stanly with much interest, particu- 
 larly that of Stanly, whose election was hailed in the North 
 as a great Union victory. When Congress met he received 
 twenty-one votes for speaker, all from the North, except that 
 cast by Dockery, and most of them from New England. They 
 were of course due to his widely heralded opposition to 
 slavery and secession. 
 
 Such campaigns were naturally not unnoticed in the 
 State. The Whig press made every Democratic candidate 
 a disunionist in addition to being a demagogue. The Demo- 
 cratic press saw in every Whig candidate a submissionist who 
 cared nothing for the interest or honor of his State and sec- 
 tion. The Register and Fayetteville Observer more than 
 ever were slanderous in their comment. The Whig pa- 
 pers carefully avoided being forced to give their real opin- 
 ions as to secession as a principle, but^ no such caution 
 animated the Democratic papers, particularly the Stand- 
 ard which was the chief defender of the right of secession, 
 though it did not advocate invoking it now. Its belief is 
 best expressed in the following contemporary editorial: 
 
 We have heard the idea recently expressed that a State 
 has no right to secede from the Union — that there is no help 
 from oppression except by revolution; in other words, that 
 the States are the creatures and dependents of the Federal 
 Government and, of course, subject to its physical coercion. 
 Such an assumption, we humbly submit, is unsupported by 
 any testimony derived from the Constitution itself or any 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 149 
 
 single circumstance attending its foundation or adoption. 
 It is, moreover, at war with all regular ideas of free repub- 
 lican Government and the undoubted independence of the 
 States, as that independence has been displayed in their 
 separate organizations since 1787. We hold that as no State 
 could originally have been forced into the Union, none can be 
 forced in or rather prevented from going out. 
 
y 
 
 CHAPTEE XIII 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1852 
 
 The campaign of 1852 loomed large in advance to both 
 parties. The Democrats ardently desired to hold their ad- 
 vantage and to prove to the Whigs and to themselves that 
 it was not merely accidental and temporary ; the Whigs with 
 equal longing hoped to regain their lost position and prestige, 
 to have again in possession the government of the State for 
 which they had come to feel that they had a title in fee sim- 
 ple, and the snatching away of which by the Democrats 
 they had not ceased to regard not only as high handed pre- 
 sumption, but actual robbery without shadow of legality. 
 Then, too, the next legislature was a particularly important 
 one, since upon it would fall the responsibility of redisrict- 
 ing the State for the two houses for the next twenty years, and 
 for Congress for the next decade. A United States senator 
 was to be elected to succeed Mangum, and the free suffrage 
 amendment was to be passed on for final submission to the 
 people. Naturally both sides were determined to use all 
 their energy and thought to win. 
 
 The Whig convention met late in April and its character 
 was not such as to raise the hopes of the party, since but few 
 of the well known leaders of the party were present and since 
 there was a marked lack of the unity and confidence charac- 
 teristic of the victorious past. John Winslow was temporary 
 chairman and F. B. Satterthwaite was president. Thirty- 
 eight counties were represented. Speeches were made by Dr. 
 F. J. Hill, H. W. Miller, H. K Nash, Joseph Banks, E. E. 
 Troy, E. I. Wynne, J. G. McDugald, and John Winslow. 
 A. H. Sheppard, F. J. Hill, H. K. Nash, and H. W. Miller 
 were elected delegates to the national convention. The plat- 
 form endorsed Fillmore and Graham for the nominations, 
 but declared willingness to support any nominee who favored 
 complete acceptance and support of the compromise. It 
 opposed intervention, condemed the legislation of Congress 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 151 
 
 in regard to public lands, and declared the purpose of the 
 party to resist all efforts to alienate the sections and thus 
 weaken the Union. On constitutional reform the party 
 still "straddled," declaring that if constitutional changes were 
 to be made that they favored an open convention, chosen on 
 the basis of the Commons, if the people wanted it. This 
 was merely an attempt to stave off free suffrage, or equal 
 suffrage, as it was now generally called, without taking an 
 open and definite stand against it. They were well aware 
 that there was small likelihood of a convention's being 
 called in North Carolina, and it was one of the last things 
 that the party as a whole desired, but the very hopelessness of 
 securing one, made the demand an eminently safe one and 
 the very best block to the passage of the suffrage amendment, 
 and at the same time they could boast of a democratic spirit 
 in making the demand. 
 
 There had been comparatively little discussion of a can- 
 diate for governor, and there was really a wide division of 
 opinion as to the sort of candidate that should be chosen. 
 The Greensboro Patriot had demanded that the convention 
 should take a definite stand on the suffrage question and that 
 it should nominate a man of decided and well-known views 
 on the question. On the other hand, the Register said the 
 convention should select the party candidate without refer- 
 ence to his views on state reform or state questions generally. 
 It was fairly safe to predict that the latter view would pre- 
 vail. Shortly before the convention Alfred Dockery made a 
 public announcement that he could not accept the nomination 
 if it should be offered to him. It was clear, really, by this 
 time, that John Kerr would be the choice of the convention. 
 He was well known in the party, had a considerable reputa- 
 tion as a stump speaker, and was well thought of by the group 
 of Raleigh leaders, the "Raleigh Clique," which controlled 
 the party. He was nominated unanimously. Kerr was born 
 in Pittsylvania County, Virginia, in 1811, and was educated 
 in Virginia. He studied law under Judge Pearson and 
 settled in Caswell County where he had many relatives and 
 
152 James Sprttnt Historical Publications 
 
 where he developed quite an extensive practice. He was also 
 a farmer. Up to this time he had never held any elective 
 office. He was a stormy and fiery debater of good though not 
 unusual ability. 
 
 The Democratic convention met on May 13. John S. 
 Eaton was temporary chairman and Duncan K. McRae 
 president. Forty-two counties were represented, the largest 
 number any Democratic convention had thus far had. There 
 was much enthusiasm and decided unity. Speeches were 
 made by R. P. Dick, R. M. Saunders, Abram Rencher, and 
 J. C. Dobbin. Reid was unanimously renominated, no other 
 name having been mentioned. He appeared and addressed 
 the convention, thereby exciting the ire of the Whigs who, 
 forgetting that Morehead, Graham, and Manly had done 
 the same thing, insisted that it was improper conduct on the 
 part of the governor. 
 
 The platform declared for a strict construction of the 
 Constitution of the United States, for the independent treas- 
 ury, for a tariff for revenue only, for economy in the federal 
 administration, and asserted devotion to the Union and 
 desire for its preservation by a strict and faithful observance 
 of the Constitution and impartial justice to all its parts. It 
 affirmed willingness to abide by the Compromise and insisted 
 upon the Fugitive Slave Law, refusing support to any man 
 who was not pledged to it. It renewed the party opposition 
 to distribution which was again being much discussed in 
 North Carolina by the Whigs as well as by a number of 
 Democrats. Robert Strange was declared the choice of the 
 party for Vice President. Reid's administration was heart- 
 ily endorsed and devotion to the cause of free suffrage was 
 affirmed, strong opposition being declared at the same time 
 to a change to the white basis for representation. J. C. Dob- 
 bin, R. M. Saunders, W. 2ST. Edwards, and G. W. Caldwell 
 were chosen as delegates to the national convention. 
 
 Interest in the State in national politics was exceedingly 
 keen. The Democrats were fairly well united on James 
 Buchanan, but the Whigs were divided, or at least the leaders 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 153 
 
 were. Whig sentiment was overwhelmingly favorable to 
 Fillmore, and the Register had raised his name with that of 
 Graham early in the fall of 1851. But Badger was thought 
 to be for Scott — though this was a mistake — and Mangum 
 and Stanly were openly so, both on the ground of availability. 
 Even the Register, seeing the trend of sentiment, began in 
 March to hint that Scott would not be unacceptable. Mangum 
 was chairman of the Whig caucus in Washington which was 
 broken up by division because it declined to pledge party 
 support to the full terms of the Compromise. Clingman and 
 Outlaw were among the seceders and signed the address 
 drawn up by those who left. Morehead, Dockery and Stanly 
 stayed in the caucus in the hope of a compromise which they 
 declared absolutely necessary. Scott's silence on the Fugi- 
 tive Slave Law hurt him in the State, as did the suspicion, 
 loudly voiced by the Democrats that he was Seward's candi- 
 date. And so many of the Whigs grew very bitter towards 
 Mangum because of his identification with Scott's candidacy. 
 This feeling was so strong that Mangum refused to take the 
 nomination for Vice President which was offered him after 
 Scott was chosen. The North Carolina delegation in the 
 national convention voted for Fillmore until the end. On 
 the twelfth ballot the clerk by mistake announced that the 
 vote of North Carolina was cast for Scott. A stampede was 
 about to begin when he corrected the error, but this was not 
 enough for the North Carolina delegates and their chairman 
 at once arose and said in a loud voice, "North Carolina casts 
 ten votes for Fillmore and none for Scott." Crittenden and 
 Dawson in addition to Mangum declined the nomination for 
 Vice President and William A. Graham received it almost 
 unanimously. 
 
 When the Democratic convention met in Baltimore, R^ " 
 M. Saunders was temporary chairman. Dobbin, the chair- 
 man of the delegation, took a very prominent part on the 
 floor. The delegation voted for sixteen ballots for Buchanan 
 solidly. On the seventeenth Douglas got one vote from 
 North Carolina which had increased to four by the thirty- 
 
154 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 fourth. From the thirty-fifth to the forty-eighth they voted 
 solidly for William L. Marcy of New York. When on the 
 forty-ninth ballot North Carolina was called, Dobbin rose 
 and said: 
 
 Mr. President, pardon me for obtruding one word before 
 North Carolina casts her vote. We come to pander to no 
 factious artifices here — to enlist under no man's banner at 
 the hazard of principles — to embark in no crusade to pros- 
 trate any aspirant for the sake of sectional or personal tri- 
 umph. We come to select one in the array of noble spirits 
 in our ranks to be our great leader and champion in the 
 glorious struggle for the great principles of democracy. 
 Again and again have we tendered the banner to the North. 
 Save our happy Union, guard well the rights of the States, 
 say we, and you can have the honor of the standard-bearer. 
 Zealously and sincerely have we presented the name of 
 Buchanan, that noble son of the Old Keystone, around whom 
 the warmest affections of our hearts have long clustered. We 
 have turned to New York and sought to honor one of her dis- 
 tinguished sons, whose splendid administrative powers have 
 just been so faithfully eulogized by my friend from Missis- 
 sippi. We now feel that in the midst of discord and dis- 
 traction, the olive branch, if tendered once more, cannot be 
 neglected. We feel that the hour now has come when the 
 spirit of strife must be banished, and leave to reign in her 
 place the milder and gentler and holier spirit of a liberal 
 patriotism. Come, Mr. President, let us to the altar and 
 make our sacrifices for our country. We now propose with 
 other friends the name of one who was in the field just long 
 enough to prove himself a gallant soldier; who was in the 
 councils just long enough to demonstrate that he is the states- 
 man of the strong mind and honest heart ; who has exhibited 
 to his countrymen, in his career of legislation, that he knew 
 the rights of the South as well as the North, the East and 
 the West ; whose sterling principles of democracy are strong, 
 solid, and enduring like the granite hills of his own New 
 Hampshire home — Gen. Franklin Pierce. Come, Mr. Pres- 
 ident, let us strike now — now — for harmony and conciliation, 
 and save our principles and our country. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 155 
 
 A scene of wild excitement followed, the convention was 
 stampeded and Pierce was nominated on that ballot, although 
 his highest vote before that ballot had been twenty-nine, and 
 he had lost votes since that time. 
 
 The state campaign began as soon as Kerr was nomi- 
 nated for he was on the stump before the Democratic con- 
 vention met. As soon as Reid was nominated he went out 
 also and the first joint debate occurred at Raleigh in June. 
 Kerr devoted nearly all his time to the discussion of national 
 affairs and when he finally turned his attention to the real 
 issue he said that if the people wanted it he was in favor of 
 calling a convention, but that he was unalterably op- 
 posed to the legislative method of amendment. He never 
 would openly and directly oppose free suffrage, but he always 
 insisted that the constitution, as it was, was "the most perfect 
 constitutional instrument ever devised by the wit of man." 
 The Register in an analysis of Kerr's practical views stated 
 that he thought free suffrage in itself harmless, but feared 
 it because it would open the way for "tinkering" with the 
 sacred instrument, but really he was entirely opposed to any 
 change, being as the Register s article indicated entirely re- 
 actionary. His arguments against constitutional change if 
 read aloud to-day might be taken for an echo of the campaign 
 of 1914, so perfectly does it match those employed then and 
 for the same purpose. Kerr was not alone in his opposition. 
 It was more clearly apparent in this campaign than ever that 
 the Whig leaders were entirely opposed to reform and that 
 any apparent leaning towards it was merely for popular 
 favor. The rank and file were divided, the West genuine in 
 its demand for an open convention to make a number of 
 needed reforms, and the East, fearing the possible change to 
 the white basis, being frantically opposed to a convention 
 and, rather less so, to free suffrage. 
 
 The campaign was very heated and charges and counter 
 charges rang from the stump and filled the columns of the 
 press. The Whig press as usual was vehemently abusive, and, 
 as usual, the Register took the lead in this sort of thing. 
 
156 James Spettnt Histokical, Publications 
 
 Every Democratc candidate was a demagogue in its phrase- 
 ology and some epithet such as "dirty" was apt to precede 
 the title. It attacked Reid bitterly, always calling him 
 "Holden's tool/' "Holden's Man Friday," or the "prince of 
 demagogues," and it denied to him honesty, ability, or de- 
 cency. There were at this time twenty Whig and eleven 
 Democratic newspapers in the State, but the odds were some- 
 what lessened by the fact that several of the former refused 
 to support Kerr because of his attitude towards suffrage 
 reform and a number more declined to support Scott, some 
 being for Webster and some for Fillmore. The Whigs were 
 much alarmed by this defection, and Graham wrote the 
 Wilmington Commercial, which was associating his name 
 with that of Webster, asking that his name should be with- 
 drawn. There was also a considerable defection among 
 prominent Whigs, notable among whom were Clingman, who 
 came out in a long public letter in advocacy of Pierce's elec- 
 tion, and Rayner, who refused to take any part in the cam- 
 paign because of his opposition to Scott. 
 
 The campaign was largely conducted on the free suffrage 
 and convention issues. Kerr, in his effort to please both 
 East and West, became involved in contradictions which 
 hurt him in both sections. Reid, having a single position to 
 support, was more fortunately placed. 
 
 The result was never in doubt. Reid was elected by a 
 majority of 5,564 in a vote of 91,570, a gain of over two 
 thousand over 1850. The legislative elections caused surprise 
 and bitterness, however, to the Democrats. They held the 
 Senate by the narrow majority of six, and the Whigs 
 captured the House and had a majority of two on joint ballot, 
 with the possibility of electing the Senator if the party vote 
 was united, but with small hope of carrying the amendment 
 or of redistricting the State to suit themselves. 
 
 The presidential campaign lagged after the state election, 
 for the people lost interest. Graham's name gave the Whig 
 ticket strength in the State that was sufficient to save it. By 
 a strange co-incidence William R. King, the Democratic can- 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 157 
 
 didate for Vice President was also a native North Carolinian 
 and a former student of the University. 
 
 Scott and Graham received a popular majority of 1,697 
 in a total vote of 64,933. The total vote was more than 26,000 
 short of that in the state election, and the majority was 
 smaller by more than 6,000 votes than Taylor's in 1848. 
 As in state affairs, so in national, the day of the Whig party 
 in North Carolina had really reached its end. It was to 
 continue to exist, an opposition, minority party, a shadow 
 of its former self and steadily losing strength, based more, 
 indeed on opposition to the Democratic party than on 
 definite political principles of its own, yet furnishing suffi- 
 cient opposition to keep the latter's organization at a high 
 point of efficiency without ever really threatening its control 
 of the State. 
 
 Governor Reid was compelled to call the legislature into 
 extra session in October to enact a new electoral law under 
 the apportionment of 1850 which gave North Carolina only 
 eight members of Congress and hence only ten electoral votes. 
 W. N. Edwards was elected speaker of the Senate over An- 
 drew Joyner, the perennial candidate of the Whigs, and 
 Dobbin was defeated by John Baxter in the House. 
 
 Governor Reid in his special message suggested that the 
 regular session should be abandoned, and this was done, 
 the legislature not adjourning when the particular purpose 
 of the session was accomplished. In his regular message 
 he urged the ratification of the amendment, arguing against 
 a convention and a change in the basis of representation. 
 His message also contained an endorsement of public edu- 
 cation and internal improvements and urged reform of the 
 taxation system. 
 
 The portion of his message relating to free suffrage was 
 referred to a select committee which reported adversely to 
 the Governor's recommendation. A minority report en- 
 dorsed the governor's view and urged action. The amend- 
 ment passed the House by the requisite two-thirds' majority, 
 but on November 31 it was defeated in the Senate, thirty-one 
 
 li 
 
158 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 to sixteen. Reconsideration was immediately decided upon 
 and, on December 3, it failed again by a vote of thirty-three 
 to fifteen, Speaker Edwards not voting. His vote would 
 have carried it and his action, as might be imagined, greatly 
 angered the Democrats, although he was known to oppose the 
 amendment and had opposed it before his election. JSTo at- 
 tempt was made to pass a new bill, but a bill to submit to the 
 people the question of a convention failed in the House. 
 
 The Democrats were deeply distressed at the failure of 
 the amendment but were not disheartened, for they knew that 
 a large majority of the people wanted it. The opposition 
 Whigs were jubilant, the Register saying, "We are unwilling 
 to believe that there is a husting in the State from which 
 any one who begins to croak about free suffrage will not be 
 driven with hisses and scorn." 
 
 The attempt to elect a senator caused a long drawn out 
 contest. Dobbin was the nominee of the Democratic caucus, 
 but Saunders still had his eye on the place and refused to vote 
 for him until it was too late and several other Democrats 
 followed his example. Some of these voted for James B. 
 Shepard. The Whigs nominated Rayner but never voted for 
 him with any regularity and they later supported N\ W. 
 Woodfin. Throughout they cast votes for Saunders, who 
 always made a bid for Whig support, or any other Democrat 
 they thought they might encourage to stay in the fight and 
 whose candidacy might embarrass the organization and pre- 
 vent the election of Dobbin. Dobbin's conduct in the matter, 
 like most things in his career, was very fine. Wheeler says 
 of him, "All of us who were members of the legislature can 
 remember the intense excitement of the time. The oppo- 
 sition was able, active, and not over-scrupulous. They could 
 not elect ; but by aid of one or two marplots of the other side 
 could prevent the election of the Democratic candidate. 
 Amid all of this excitment Mr. Dobbin appeared the only 
 calm and considerate person among us. After some forty 
 ballotings he requested that a caucus be called, and with 
 unaffected sincerity and glowing eloquence he requested his 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 159 
 
 name to be withdrawn and some other person voted for. He 
 saw with sorrow the party distracted by jealousies, and a 
 fearful chasm of disorder had been opened, engulfing its 
 unity, if not its very existence. He withdrew his name; 
 but it was in vain. If he could not be elected no other per- 
 son should be, and the State had only one senator for a long 
 time." Towards the end of the session a number of the 
 Democrats voted for Clingman but without result. 
 
 Chief Justice Ruffin resigned during the session and 
 Judge Battle was elected to succeed him on the bench, Judge 
 Nash becoming chief justice. Saunders, to the disgust of 
 the Democrats, who not unnaturally blamed him for a large 
 part of their woes, was elected to the Superior bench to suc- 
 ceed Battle. 
 
 One notable accomplishment of the session was the estab- 
 lishment of the office of superintendent of common schools 
 and the election of Calvin H. Wiley to fill it. He was a 
 Whig member from Guilford who had proposed the creation 
 of the office two years before, but failing, had come back and 
 was now successful. His work in the position needs no de- 
 scription here. 
 
 The session was also notable for the incorporation of a 
 large number of railroads, turnpikes, and plank roads. No 
 less than forty-one of the latter were chartered. The two 
 most important railroads were the Atlantic and North Caro- 
 lina from Beaufort to Goldsboro, and the North Carolina and 
 Western, later the Western North Carolina, from Salisbury 
 to the Tennessee line. 
 
 The laying off of the congressional districts and the ap- 
 portionment of the House of Commons was accomplished 
 without much difficulty, but the laying off of the senatorial 
 districts was accompanied by an attempt on the part of the 
 Whigs in the House, who had failed to carry their point, 
 as indeed had the Democrats, to let the legislature adjourn 
 sine die under a joint resolution adopted some time pre- 
 viously, without passing the bill. Their idea, apparently, 
 was that the resulting situation would force the call of a 
 
160 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 convention. Their plan, if they had any, was twice defeated 
 by Speaker Baxter, a Whig himself, who, to prevent such 
 action, twice violated the rules of the House by peremptorily 
 cutting off debate and forcing a vote on the Senate's resolu- 
 tion to receive the adjournment resolution. He then resigned 
 and was immediately re-elected. 
 
 The early months of 1853 saw Badger nominated by 
 President Fillmore to be associate justice of the Supreme 
 Court of the United States. This was done after an under- 
 standing had been reached that the Senate would confirm 
 the nomination which however, it failed to do. Another 
 national honor paid a North Carolinian was the appointment 
 of Dobbin to be secretary of the navy in President Pierce's 
 cabinet. His distinguished services in this capacity are 
 known to-day to only too few North Carolinians. Among the 
 things he accomplished were the establishment of the appren- 
 tice system, the system of promotion for merit, the system of 
 a retired list on pay, and the construction of six first-class 
 steam frigates, the first in the service. In his last report was 
 the following which is of particular interest today: 
 
 I deem it my duty candidly to express my opinion that 
 our Navy is not only too diminutive to be expected to con- 
 tend fairly with that of other respectable Nations, is insuffi- 
 cient to give protection to our commerce, but is unquestion- 
 ably too feeble to command the waters of our own coast. . . . 
 I could not if I would disguise the truth that even a respect- 
 able Navy must necessarily involve large expenditures. 
 But it is equally true that without naval strength a six 
 months' war with any Nation with a powerful marine 
 would in the seizure of rich and valuable cargoes, in 
 the destruction of fleets of merchantmen, and in plundering 
 defenseless points along the coast, cost us more, than a squad- 
 ron of invincible men-of-war. ... I regard the steady 
 increasa of naval strength not as a war, but as a peace meas- 
 ure — a measure of defense involving grave questions of com- 
 mercial security and National independence. Negotiations 
 and diplomacy will be exhausted before war is made upon a 
 Nation of brave men, powerful and ready for the conflict. . . 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 161 
 
 There is much in the proud consciousness of National 
 strength that stimulates trade, emboldens enterprise, and 
 nerves the arm of commerce. And while I by no means sug- 
 gest the policy or the necessity of so large a naval force as 
 many powerful Nations foster, yet it is desirable and at- 
 tainable, too, that the American citizen, whether in the opu- 
 lent emporiums along the coast or in the rural retreats of 
 the interior, or borne in his adventurous spirit to traffic in 
 the thronged ports of the strong or the insecurer ports of the 
 barbarous and weak, should gather confidence and courage 
 and energy from the reflection that he belongs to a Govern- 
 ment recognized by all as able to avenge his wrongs and 
 vindicate his rights. 
 
 The congressional campaign of 1853 had little in it 
 worthy of particular note, save the revival of the distribu- 
 tion issue. The districts were much changed by the new law 
 and their numbers have no reference to those of the former 
 districts. In the first H. M. Shaw, a Democrat, defeated 
 David Outlaw. Thomas Ruffin of Wayne, was opposed un- 
 successfully by W. C. Loftin, an independent Democrat. In 
 the third, Duncan K. McRae was a candidate, but, being ap- 
 pointed consul to Paris, withdrew, leaving W. S. Ashe and 
 W. F. Leak, the latter running as an advocate of distribution, 
 to fight it out. Ashe was elected. In the fourth, which 
 seemed safely Democratic, there was much opposition to 
 Venable, the sitting member, because he had voted for the 
 Bennett land distribution bill and because he was opposed to 
 the acquisition of Cuba. A. M. Lewis, who was another 
 Democratic candidate, proposed a convention to settle their 
 respective claims, but Venable, hoping for Whig support, 
 refused and both stayed in the race. The Whigs then brought 
 out Sion H. Rogers who made distribution the issue with 
 Lewis and was elected. In the fifth Morehead declined to 
 run again and John Kerr was successful, the Democrats mak- 
 ing no nomination but voting generally for Abraham Rench- 
 er. J. P. Caldwell had been much opposed to Scott the year 
 before, so the Whigs dropped him and brought out R. C. Pur- 
 year who defeated George D. Boyd, the regular Democratic 
 
162 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 candidate. Burton Craige and James W. Osborne faced 
 each other in the seventh and conducted the most spirited 
 campaign of all the candidates, in which Craige, in spite of 
 the inclination for South Carolina political ideas with which 
 the Whigs charged him, was successful. Burgess S. Gaither 
 again opposed Clingman in the mountain district and with 
 the same result, Clingman, who was now, to all intents and 
 purposes, a Democrat, but with much Whig strength, de- 
 feating him with ease. In spite of the new apportionment 
 having been made partly by Whigs, the Democrats had won 
 five of the districts. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1854 
 
 North Carolina Whigs in the autumn of 1853 began to 
 gird up their loins for the contest of the coming year. The 
 leaders had not yet discovered that the sceptre had departed 
 from Israel and were unable to believe that Democratic vic- 
 tory in 1850 and 1852 was due to anything else but accident, 
 plus David S. Reid. With Reid's approaching ineligibility 
 they were confident of being able again to regain their lost 
 ground. The leaders were not at all in close touch, however, 
 with the people and had no conception of the changes being 
 wrought in the very fibre of popular sentiment in the State. 
 Their artistocratic tendencies in politics were more clearly 
 recognized, too, by the people. The Wilmington Journal in 
 the spring of 1854 gave the following analysis of the Whig 
 attitude which, while it may have been exaggerated, was 
 nevertheless fundamentally true: 
 
 The Whigs appear to think this world of ours composed 
 of two very different and distinct classes — themselves and 
 their candidates who, dwelling in the odor of "Respectabil- 
 ity" are above and beyond criticism, and must be handled 
 with silk gloves properly scented — and the mere rabble, the 
 "Locofocos," comprising a majority of the voters of North 
 Carolina who are utterly unworthy of respectable treatment. 
 
 The aspect of national affairs also immeasurably helped 
 the Democratic party. Hope as the South might that the 
 compromise of 1850 would be a finality, there was small 
 reason at that or any other time to believe that such would be 
 the case and as a matter of fact few really believed it, for 
 the slavery question was patently one that from its nature 
 could not yet be closed. The menace of the situation from 
 the Southern standpoint was the attitude of the Northern 
 Whigs. Consequently these things, with the firm hold that 
 the old leaders of the party had upon its machinery, were 
 leading to a steady and growing exodus of Whigs to the Dem- 
 
164 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 ocracy. These were of two classes. The more numerous was 
 probably that composed of those who were uneasy as to South- 
 ern interests and who were fearful of the tendencies of the 
 Northern Whigs, believing that their hostility to slavery was 
 a menace not only to any real unity in the party but to the 
 South as a whole. Many of these were young men who were 
 inclined to be particularly extreme in their advocacy of the 
 Southern position, but older leaders such as Clingman were 
 also to be found. The second class was composed almost en- 
 tirely of young men who wanted to get into the more open 
 atmosphere of the Democratic party and to enjoy its greater 
 opportunities for political advancement. It is scarcely neces- 
 sary to add that this class was also profoundly affected by 
 the free suffrage issue. 
 
 On December 3, 1853, the Whi<i convention issued the 
 call for the state convention to meet February 21, 1854, and 
 immediately Whig meetings were held throughout the State, 
 marked by increased enthusiasm and confidence. The Demo- 
 cratic committee did not meet until Janaury 25, and the date 
 selected for their convention was April 19. 
 
 In the meantime momentous action was being taken in 
 Congress. In January, Stephen A. Douglas introduced the 
 Kansas-Nebraska bill, which, in spite of the fact that a de- 
 liberately and grossly distorted view of his action has since 
 led to general misunderstanding of his purposes, was never- 
 theless a veritable Pandora's box of national ills. By it the 
 Missouri Compromise was definitely repealed and the prin- 
 ciples of popular or "squatter" sovereignty were substi- 
 tuted to determine the question of slavery in the terri- 
 tories. The bill was pending for more than four months and 
 during that time was the subject of much discussion in North 
 Carolina. 
 
 Practically all the Democrats hailed the bill joyfully as 
 a settlement of the slavery question. Douglas became more 
 popular than ever in the State and the Democrats asked the 
 Whigs if they could now justify the epithets such as "dirty 
 little demagogue" which they had so freely applied to him 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 165 
 
 in the past. The latter were at first disposed to opposition 
 for purely party reasons, but it was faint-hearted opposition. 
 The following comment of the Register, soon after the intro- 
 duction of the bill is highly significant: 
 
 We confess that we doubt the utility of disturbing the 
 Missouri Compromise, which was acquiesced in by the South 
 as the condition of the admission of Missouri as a slave State 
 — though we hardly know what modification our views may 
 undergo. The North may say that by attempting to repeal 
 the solemn slavery restriction clause, the South has violated 
 a solemn compact, and it will be difficult to refute the 
 charge. 
 
 But the growing sectional feeling evoked in defense of 
 slavery was very strong and that combined with Badger's 
 hearty endorsement and support of the bill determined the 
 Whig attitude. In the House Puryear and Rogers voted 
 against it, but the rest of the delegation voted for it and 
 John Kerr made an elaborate speech in advocacy of it which 
 with Badger's speeches won enthusiastic commendation from 
 the Democrats. The Whig convention in February endorsed 
 the principle of non-intervention by Congress in respect to 
 slavery in the territories but went no further. The rank and 
 file of the party, however, soon accepted the bill as entirely as 
 the Democrats and its passage was hailed by all without dis- 
 tinction of party as a great Southern triumph. 
 
 In neither party was there at the beginning of the pre-- 
 convention movement any outstanding candidate. George . • ^- j 
 Davis, James W. Osborne, Edwin G. Eeade, D. M. Bar- 
 ringer, Alfred Dockery, David Outlaw and Joseph B. Cher- 
 ry were all mentioned as Whig possibilities. In the Demo- 
 cratic party there was at first even wider variation, John W. 
 Ellis, Asa Biggs, William H. Thomas, Abraham Bencher, 
 George Bower, Thomas Bragg, Cadwallader Jones, Colum- 
 bus Mills, and W. W. Avery all being discussed. The West 
 was loudly claiming the candidate, with Ellis, Mills, or Avery 
 as favorites, but Ellis and Avery at once declined to be con- 
 sidered and Mills had no chance whatever. 
 
166 James Sprunt Historical, Publications 
 
 In the fall of 1853 Holden and Daniel W. Courts, the 
 state treasurer, gave much time to a consideration of the 
 question of a candidate. They finally settled upon Thomas 
 Bragg and when he attended the winter term of the Supreme 
 Court, Holden had a conference with him at the Yarborough 
 House at which Bragg consented to be the party candidate 
 if there was no serious opposition to him in the party. 
 Holden then called the Wake County Democrats to a meeting 
 and resolutions were passed endorsing Bragg. Other coun- 
 ties rapidly followed suit and it was generally understood 
 before the convention met that he would be selected. 
 
 The Whig convention organized with Joseph B. Cherry 
 as temporary chairman and chose Richard S. Donnell presi- 
 dent. The renewed activity and confidence of the leaders 
 was seen in the presence of 185 delegates from 41 counties. 
 The platform was very short. It expressed the devotion of 
 the party to the Constitution and the Union and avowed a 
 determination to resist all attempts to alienate one section 
 from another. Once more it demanded the distribution of 
 the proceeds from the public lands. Its expression concern- 
 ing slavery in the territories has already been noted. As a 
 matter of course it condemned the Pierce administration. 
 On the free suffrage question it had the following to say: 
 "Resolved, That we are of opinion that the people of North 
 Carolina desire a change in the Constitution of the State, 
 and that this can be most wisely and safely done by a con- 
 vention of delegates, elected by the people; therefore, we 
 recommend to the Legislature to call such a convention, and, 
 in submitting the election of delegates to the people, so to 
 provide, as to preserve the present basis of representation 
 in the Legislature." 
 
 The platform closed with an endorsement of common 
 schools and internal improvements. When the nomination 
 of a candidates came, Alfred Doekery was unanimously 
 chosen. 
 
 Alfred Doekery was born in Richmond County in 1797 
 within a mile of the place where he spent his life and where 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 167 
 
 he finally died. Deprived by poverty and by the necessity of 
 assisting in the support of a large family of any opportunity 
 of education, he, nevertheless, rose through industry, char- 
 acter, and native ability, not only to considerable wealth, 
 but to high political position. His public life commenced in 
 1822 when he was a member of the House of Commons. He 
 served as a delegate to the convention of 1835 and in 1836 
 was elected to the State Senate and was continuously a mem- 
 ber until 1845 when he was elected to Congress over Jon- 
 athan Worth, the regular Whig candidate. He served only 
 one term, but in 1851 was again a candidate and won, as 
 will be remembered, on the issue of upholding the Union 
 against secession. He was a plain man of hard sense, gen- 
 uinely devoted to the State and its people, and an earnest 
 advocate of public education and internal improvements. 
 He was an effective campaigner and a strong man on 
 the stump. An amusing instance of his methods has come 
 to us from his campaign with Worth. The latter was a poor 
 and comparatively unknown lawyer when he ran for Con- 
 gress and on one occasion he unwisely attempted to win the 
 sympathy of the crowd by calling attention to Dockery's 
 wealth, particularly as evidenced by his fine brick residence. 
 He had scarcely mentioned this when Dockery jumped to 
 his feet and rushing to the front of the platform extended 
 both arms and cried : "Yes, and it was these old yaller hands 
 of mine that built all of it." 
 
 The Democratic convention indicated even more enthusi- 
 asm and confidence than the Whig meeting. Forty-nine 
 counties were represented and the high-water mark to that 
 time of 200 delegates was reached. Asa Biggs was tempo- 
 rary chairman and Abraham Rencher president. According 
 to expectation Bragg was nominated unanimously. The 
 platform declared for a rigid construction of the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States as a grant of limited powers. It 
 endorsed as usual the independent treasury, condemned a 
 national bank, favored a tariff for revenue, and opposed pro- 
 tection, endorsed the administrations of Pierce and Reid, 
 
168 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 approved the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and opposed distribu- 
 tion. In three strong planks it discussed state questions, 
 taking firm ground for free suffrage, internal improvements 
 and common schools. 
 
 Thomas Bragg was a native of Warren County. His 
 father, a carpenter and contractor, was a man of fine sense 
 and a firm believer in education. There were four sons, all 
 of whom were distinguished. John Bragg graduated from 
 the University in 1824 and after five years' service in the 
 North Carolina legislature removed to Alabama where he 
 won reputation as an editor, lawyer, judge, and a member 
 of Congress. He was later to be a member of the secession 
 convention of Alabama. William Bragg was a captain in 
 the Confederate service and was killed in battle. Braxton 
 Bragg is too well known for any notice here. Thomas Bragg 
 was the ablest of the four. He was born in 1810 and re- 
 ceived his early education under Rev. George W. Freeman, 
 who later became Bishop of Arkansas, and Rev. James H. 
 Otey, who became Bishop of Tennessee. Later Bragg was 
 sent to Partridge's Academy at Middletown, Conn., where 
 he remained three years. Studying law under Judge John 
 Hall, he was admitted to the bar and began practice at Jack- 
 son, at once winning reputation in the profession. As a matter 
 of fact he was easily the greatest lawyer who held the execu- 
 tive office in the period under dis2ussion. He served as a 
 member of the House of Commons in 1842 and was chair- 
 man of the judiciary committee, then the chief honor on the 
 floor. His only other public service was as a presidential 
 elector in 1844, 1848, and 1852, when he canvassed against 
 William W. Cherry, Kenneth Rayner and D. A. Barnes in 
 succession and proved himself in their class as a debater and 
 campaigner. 
 
 The campaign began as soon as Dockery was nominated. 
 Bragg met him in joint debate several times before his own 
 nomination, not as an avowed candidate, but simply as a po- 
 litical opponent. The campaign continued until the election 
 accompanied by the most complete and therefore the most 
 
Pakty Politics in North Carolina 169 
 
 arduous canvass of the State up to that time. Dockery at- 
 tempted to make internal improvements the chief issue be- 
 cause his own chief interest was there and because Brac;2; 
 had never been strong in his support of them. The proposed 
 Western Extension of the North Carolina Railroad was pop- 
 ular in the State and Bragg's failure to take a strong po- 
 sition in favor of it made the prospect for his election look 
 dark when Holden warned him of the danger and Bragg at 
 once gave his hearty endorsement to the proposed measure. 
 
 Having thus strengthened himself Bragg had the ad- 
 vantage as to the other issues of the campaign. The Whigs 
 had been much divided on the question of free suffrage and 
 the plank of their platform which was a compromise, did not 
 even meet with individual Whig approval. The party lead- 
 ers did not like free suffrage any better than they had done 
 when it was first proposed. The Register during the cam- 
 paign denied that the party had ever opposed it, but in ad- 
 dition to the absurdity of the claim, the party leaders and the 
 Whig press, including the Register, still sneered at it as 
 "Reid's hobby," "a demagogue's pet" and "Douglas' pres- 
 ent." The mass of the people, however, irrespective of 
 party, wanted the reform and the Democratic record on the 
 question, in spite of Weldon N. Edwards' casting vote which 
 had defeated it in 1852, was fairly clear. 
 
 The Whigs as usual claimed internal improvements and 
 public education as their own. True as that had been in the 
 past, it had now ceased to be so. Under Democratic rule 
 both systems had been greatly extended, and to the Whig 
 charge that continued Democratic control and conduct of 
 state affairs would be ruinous, the Democrats were able to 
 reply by pointing to the fact that the State was more pros- 
 perous than ever before and that North Carolina bonds were 
 selling for the first time at a premium. 
 
 The election resulted in a majority for Bragg of 2.061 
 in a total vote of 95,349. Compared to the result of 1852 
 the Whigs had gained in every congressional district but the 
 first and the seventh, their total s;ain beinff 3,505. The leais- 
 
170 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 lative result, however, showed greater Democratic strength. 
 In the Senate there was a clear Democratic majority of 
 twelve, and in the House one of ten. Among the Whigs in 
 the House were four so-called Southern Rights Whigs who 
 usually acted with the Democrats so the strength of the latter 
 was even greater than their majority. 
 
 The politics of this year indicated two things which 
 might menace the continued triumph of the Democratic 
 party. One was the resurgence of the question of distribu- 
 tion. Many Democrats were tempted by the possibility of 
 so much money's coming to the State as a free gift and a 
 Democratic newspaper was established in advocacy of the 
 policy, but the time was not ripe and only one issue appeared. 
 The other threat lay in the rise of the Know Nothing party 
 and its extension South. The existence of the party was 
 much discussed in the summer, and in the autumn a meet- 
 ing of the new party was held secretly in Raleigh. The 
 Democrats attacked it bitterly for its religious intolerance 
 and declared it merely abolition in disguise. The Register 
 and the members of the Whig party generally were inclined 
 to take a much more charitable view of it and in fact were 
 ready to join the new movement. 
 
 When the legislature met, Warren Winslow of Cumber- 
 land was chosen speaker of the Senate over Joseph B. Cher- 
 ry of Bertie and S. P. Hill of Caswell, speaker of the House 
 over J. S. Amis of Granville. Governor Reid in his message 
 recommended the renewed passage of the free suffrage 
 amendment and also urged the popular election of judges. 
 Just as strongly he asked for a reform of the entire revenue 
 system of the State. He devoted a considerable portion of 
 the message to the questions of internal improvements and 
 public education and closed with the suggestion that the 
 threatening aspect of national affairs should be considered 
 by the legislature. 
 
 The election of two United States senators made the 
 session notable from the politicians' point of view. The 
 Whigs had some hope that Badger's earnest support of the 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 171 
 
 Kansas-Nebraska bill might cause his re-election by the 
 Democrats. The Register had gone so far as to say that this 
 would probably fuse the two parties in the State and sever 
 all connection with the Northern Whigs who were so detested 
 by the Democrats and now, be it said, by many of the Whigs. 
 But such action was not generally expected. 
 
 Dobbin signified to his friends before the legislature met 
 his wish that his name should not be presented. The candi- 
 dates were Biggs, Reid, Clingman, and Craige. The fol- 
 lowing was the caucus vote, forty-four being necessary to a 
 choice : 
 
 First Second Third Fourth 
 
 Biggs 42 50 — — 
 
 Reid 35 36 37 46 
 
 Clingman 11 — 21 21 
 
 Craige — — 25 19 
 
 Thomas Ruffin .... — — 2 — 
 
 Totals 88 86 85 86 
 
 The Whigs supported Badger and D. M. Barringer. 
 
 Governor Reid's acceptance of the election created a 
 vacancy in the gubernatorial office which under the consti- 
 tution was filled by the speaker of the Senate. It was the 
 view of the Democrats that the speaker not only became gov- 
 ernor but continued to fill his legislative office as well. The 
 Democratic leaders submitted the question to Judge Ruffin 
 who declared it his opinion that Winslow must remain as 
 speaker. The Whigs attacked this view and much time was 
 consumed in argument on the question but numbers prevailed 
 and for a month Warren Winslow was both governor and 
 speaker of the Senate. At the expiration of that time Bragg 
 was inaugurated. In his inaugural address he endorsed the 
 proposed constitutional amendment, declared his intention of 
 supporting the movement for internal improvements, and in 
 his discussion of national affairs showed himself to be a po- 
 tential secessionist. 
 
 In the election of state officers the Democrats followed 
 
172 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 party lines very closely, electing only one Whig, that being 
 William Hill, the secretary of state. After the filling of 
 places the legislature had time to consider the important 
 question of constitutional amendment. William A. Graham, 
 who was a member of the Senate, introduced an amendment 
 to the bill providing for the submission to the people of the 
 question of an unlimited convention. The bill ignored the 
 need of a two-thirds' vote of each house to call a convention 
 and won the instant opposition of the Democrats on that 
 score as well as on the merits of the question. It provoked 
 a long discussion and was rejected as were various other 
 amendments proposed by the Whigs. The original bill then 
 passed by the following vote: 
 
 For — Senate : Democrats 30 ; Whigs 5. House : Demo- 
 crats 64; Whigs 29. 
 
 Againsf — Senate : Democrats 3 ; Whigs 12. House : Dem- 
 ocrats 0; Whigs 18. 
 
 A strong series of resolutions, introduced by Thomas 
 Settle, endorsing the Kansas -Nebraska act was tabled. This 
 was the only national question which came before the legisla- 
 ture and it was probably smothered to avoid the waste of 
 time in discussion. 
 
 Important railroad legislation was enacted. Additional 
 stock to the amount of one million dollars was taken in the 
 North Carolina Railroad ; the authorized stock of the Atlantic 
 and North Carolina was increased with the provision that the 
 State should still hold its two-thirds of the whole amount of 
 the stock; the Western North Carolina Railroad was incor- 
 porated to run from Salisbury to some point on the French 
 Broad beyond the Blue Ridge, the State agreeing to take as 
 much as $1,400,000 of the stock ; the Wilmington, Charlotte 
 and Rutherford Railroad was incorporated to connect Wil- 
 mington and Charlotte, the State agreeing to take four hun- 
 dred thousand dollars in stock and six hundred thousand dol- 
 lars more when the road was extended to Rutherfordton. 
 
 Among the most important acts of the session was the 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 173 
 
 passage of a new and greatly improved revenue act which 
 was expected to relieve the State of any uneasiness as to 
 funds. It was a step to reform, but the tax question was one 
 which remained unsettled. 
 
 The congressional campaign of 1855 was chiefly inter- 
 esting for the prominence of the Know-Nothing question in 
 the campaign. The American or Know-Nothing party, which 
 had for its cardinal principles opposition to immigration and 
 the participation of recent immigrants in politics and oppo- 
 sition to the Roman Catholic Church, was now spreading 
 very rapidly in North Carolina, where there had never been 
 any alien problem and where none was likely to arise and 
 where there was only a handful of Roman Catholics and no 
 Catholic problem, and by the summer the estimated member- 
 ship was thirty-five thousand. Some Democrats joined the 
 order, but, discovering shortly that in North Carolina at any 
 rate it was nothing but the old Whig party in disguise, soon 
 abandoned it. It was through the public withdrawal of such 
 members that the State as a whole was first informed of its 
 presence. James B. Shepard was the best known Democrat 
 to join and he remained a member. Probably the leading 
 member in the State was Kenneth Rayner who in 1855 se- 
 cured the adoption by the national council of the third or 
 "Union" degree, notable for its oath of allegiance to the 
 Union, which he wrote. The Democrats viewed the order with 
 horror for a double reason. They disliked its nature, being 
 opposed to a secret political society, and they recognized 
 its identification with the Whig party. Press and plat- 
 form orator vied in denunciation of it and Judge Saun- 
 ders at Buncombe Superior Court, when the grand jury 
 asked for instructions upon the subject, charged that it was 
 an illegal and hence indictable conspiracy. 
 
 In the first district H. M. Shaw, the sitting member, was 
 renominated and was defeated by Robert T. Paine, an Amer- 
 ican. In the second, Thomas Ruffin was re-elected over 
 Thomas J. Latham, an American. Warren Winslow was 
 chosen in the third over David Reid, a former Democrat but 
 
 12 
 
174 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 now an American. In the fourth the Democrats nominated 
 George W. Thompson of Wake, and, upon his refusal, L. 
 O'B. Branch, who defeated James B. Shepard. In the fifth 
 John Kerr, the Whig member, was dropped partly because of 
 the vigor of his advocacy of the Kansas-Nebraska bill and 
 more because of the corresponding vigor of his opposition to 
 the Know-lSTothing movement. Edwin G. Reade was chosen 
 in his place and, though the Democrats supported Kerr who 
 now joined their party, was elected. In the sixth the Demo- 
 crats nominated George W. Boyd who declined to run and 
 A. M. Scales was chosen. R. C. Puryear, the Whig incum- 
 bent, defeated him. Burton Craige was again successful in 
 the seventh, defeating S. N. Stowe, an American, as was 
 Thomas L. Clingman in the eighth who defeated L. B. Car- 
 michael. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1856 
 
 The steady growth of the Know-Nothings gave much en- 
 couragement to the entire opposition in the fall and winter 
 of 1855, and, as by that time the organization was an open 
 one, many difficulties due to its secrecy were removed and 
 hope rose again that the Democracy might be overcome. 
 
 The American convention met at Greensboro, April 10. 
 C. T. N". Davis of McDowell, was temporary chairman, and 
 Sion H. Rogers, president. The platform was the usual 
 Whig platform with two changes. One of these was a plank 
 declaring the approval of the party of the adoption of a 
 scheme of internal improvements which would not add any 
 burdens to the people in the way of taxation. This qualifi- 
 cation shows the influence of a feeling that was gaining 
 strength in the opposition. Since the Democrats had ac- 
 cepted internal improvements, there were many of the op- 
 position who were against any further development and still 
 more who were indifferent on the subject. This feeling in a 
 lesser degree extended to common schools as well. The 
 other change in the platform is to be seen in the resolution 
 which follows: 
 
 Whereas there exist various and conflicting opinions 
 among Whigs and Democrats both as to the propriety of 
 amending the State Constitution, as well as the manner and 
 extent to which amendment should be made; 
 
 Resolved, That in order that the paramount principles 
 of Americanism may not be trammelled in the ensuing con- 
 test by vexed State questions made up by former political 
 organizations, the American party, eschewing sectional issues 
 in the State as in the Union, declare their purpose of abiding 
 by and maintaining the representative basis of the present 
 Constitution. 
 
 This resolution was entirely indefinite on the question of 
 amendment and left opposition leaders free to oppose any 
 
176 James Spkunt Historical, Publications 
 
 change. The Register, throughout the campaign, bitterly- 
 opposed the adoption of free suffrage as did several other 
 papers and a number of leaders. 
 
 Only two names had been mentioned in connection with 
 the nomination, George Davis and John A. Gilmer, and the 
 former was not a candidate. For that matter, neither was 
 Gilmer, who wrote a public letter declining to consider the 
 nomination, but when he was unanimously selected, he recon- 
 sidered and accepted. The convention was a shouting, en- 
 thusiastic, and confident assembly of two hundred and fifty 
 delegates. 
 
 John Adams Gilmer was born in Guilford County in 
 1805. He received his education under Dr. Caruthers and 
 then taught in Laurens County, South Carolina, for several 
 years. Returning to North Carolina he studied law under 
 Judge Murphey and was admitted to practice in 1833. He 
 faced in the practice of his profession the most eminent 
 members of the North Carolina bar and his rise was natur- 
 ally slow; yet in comparatively few years he won a distin- 
 guished place among distinguished colleagues. In 1846 he 
 was sent to the state Senate and served for five terms, prov- 
 ing himself a legislator of ability. A man of unusual gen- 
 iality and charm of manner, and a good mixer, he was widely 
 popular, and his choice as a candidate was about the best that 
 his party could have made. 
 
 The Democratic convention met as usual in Raleigh, as- 
 sembling four days after the American meeting in Greens- 
 boro adjourned. James E. Williams of Caswell, was tempo- 
 rary chairman and Jesse E. Shepherd of Cumberland, presi- 
 dent. Forty-six counties were represented by about two 
 hundred and seventy-five delegates. The platform endorsed 
 the principle of popular sovereignty and commended the 
 behavior of Northern Democrats in relation to slavery and 
 sectional questions generally. It condemned the Know- 
 Nothing party as dangerous in tendency and practice. It de- 
 clared Pierce and Dobbin the choice of the North Carolina 
 Democracy for President and Vice President. When state 
 
Pakty Politics in North Carolina 177 
 
 affairs were reached, free suffrage, internal improvements, 
 and common sshools received hearty and unqualified en- 
 dorsement. Bragg was unanimously renominated and W. 
 S. Ashe, W. W. Avery, Bedford Brown and K. R. Heath 
 were appointed delegates to the national convention. 
 
 The campaign was uninteresting and today affords a de- 
 pressing view of political conditions generally in the State. 
 According to the Democrats, the American party was a se- 
 cret society organized in the interest of the abolition move- 
 ment and controlled entirely by a small group of leading 
 abolitionists. The American argument was even more banal. 
 Democratic success, according to the Know-Nothings, meant 
 the absolute control of American politics by the pope with 
 the strong likelihood of his emigration to the United States 
 to become President, or at least to become governor of North 
 Carolina. The similarity between this argument and those 
 used in opposition to the ratification of the United States 
 Constitution in the Hillsboro convention of 1788 is striking. 
 Every attempt was now made to arouse religious prejudice 
 and feeling against foreigners. 
 
 The slavery question played probably a much greater 
 part beneath the surface than is apparent to-day. Not that 
 it did not appear openly. The assault of Brooks upon Sum- 
 ner met with considerable approval and the Standard said 
 that the former was "indeed a noble specimen of the true 
 Southern gentleman." To so great an extent had the slavery 
 question debauched the morals of the community. The 
 North Carolina delegation in Congress also supported him, 
 and Reade won some criticism by voting, alone of all the 
 Southern members to censure Keith for his part in the 
 assault. 
 
 The opposition still controlled the major part of the 
 State press and of the thirty-seven political papers in the 
 State, twenty-two supported Gilmer. They were the Ashe- 
 ville Spectator, Concord Gazette, Greensboro Patriot, Char- 
 lotte Whig, Lexington Flag, Hillsboro Recorder, Raleigh 
 Star, Raleigh Register, Milton Chronicle, Weldon Patriot, 
 
178 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 Murfreesboro Patriot, Elizabeth City Sentinel , Edenton Ban- 
 ner, Plymouth Villager, Washington Times, Wilmington 
 Herald, Fayetteville Argus, Fayetteville Observer, Asheboro 
 Bulletin, Salisbury Watchman, Salisbury Herald, and Ocean 
 Banner. 
 
 Just at the close of the campaign a great American rally 
 was held at Guilford Battle Ground at which Morehead, 
 Graham, Davis, Rayner, and Henry K. Nash were speakers. 
 The proceedings of the meeting, the enthusiasm displayed 
 here and elsewhere, and the activity of the leaders, all go to 
 indicate the hopefulness and indeed, confidence of victory, 
 which the opposition unquestionably felt. Gilmer made a 
 strong campaign and enthusiasm was continuous. But the 
 Democrats were excellently organized, North Carolina did 
 not like secret political societies and the Americans could 
 not shake of! the facts of its origin, and Bragg was a power- 
 ful campaigner. The result showed a majority for Bragg of 
 12,628 in a total vote of 102,568 and the legislature was 
 Democratic in both houses, the majority being sixteen in the 
 Senate and forty in the House. 
 
 The state campaign out of the way, the Democrats enter- 
 ed into the presidential contest with great vigor, determined 
 at last to carry the State which had not chosen Democratic 
 electors since 1836. Buchanan had long been a favorite in 
 the State and Pierce's defeat was probably not a cause of 
 very deep regret. The opposition, of course, had no hope of 
 carrying the State and were divided among themselves. Ken- 
 neth Rayner was nominated for Vice President by the North- 
 ern wing of the American party which seceded from the con- 
 vention which nominated Fillmore. He declined to accept 
 the nomination, but the fact of his nomination served as a 
 peg on which the Standard and the Democrats generally 
 could hang some more charges of abolitionist tendencies 
 among the opposition. In the closing days of the campaign 
 he went to Pennsylvania where he made a number of speeches 
 advocating a coalition of the opposition to the Democrats in 
 Pennsylvania in order to defeat them in that State. These 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 179 
 
 speeches of his were highly commended by the Republican 
 press and leaders, and, in consequence, Rayner was bitterly 
 criticised at home by the Democrats and privately by many 
 of his own party. 
 
 Probably the most significant and interesting happening 
 of the presidential campaign in North Carolina was the 
 Hedrick case at the University. Benjamin S. Hedrick, pro- 
 fessor of agricultural chemistry, was a native of Davidson 
 County and an alumnus of the University. A product of an 
 anti-slavery community, his feeling against slavery had been 
 strengthened by residence in the North, and by 1856 he had 
 come to see the peculiar institution in its true light as the 
 greatest burden borne by the mass of white people of the 
 South. In state politics he was a Democrat and in August 
 voted for Governor Bragg, but in a response to a direct 
 question, addressed to him on election day by one of the 
 students, he replied that he would vote for Fremont if there 
 was an electoral ticket in the State. The matter came to 
 Holden's ear and in the issue of the Standard of September 
 17, he hinted strongly at the presence of a Fremont supporter 
 in the faculty of some college of the State. On September 
 29, he published a letter from J. A. Engelhard, then a law 
 student in the University, signed "Alumnus," in which he 
 made the charge, but without mentioning Hedrick's name, 
 and after attacking him bitterly, demanded the dismissal of 
 the offending professor from the University. Interestingly 
 enough, the article was full of denunciation of the dismissal 
 of Judge Loring from the Harvard faculty because of his up- 
 holding the fugitive slave law. Hedrick was a man of high 
 spirit and could not endure attack without any answer. Ac- 
 cordingly he sent his "Defense" to the Standard which, on 
 October 4, published it. 
 
 The Defense was a manly acknowledgement of his po- 
 litical beliefs and of his opposition to slavery. Incidentally 
 his argument was unanswerable. Great excitement followed. 
 Meetings of the executive committee of the trustees and of 
 the faculty followed. The former was restrained from im- 
 
180 James Spbunt Historical Publications 
 
 mediate action and the latter drew up a series of resolutions 
 declaring that the views of Hedrick were not shared by the 
 rest of the faculty. The press was filled with denunciation, 
 the Standard, of course, taking the lead. The trustees were 
 urged by popular clamor to dismiss Hedrick peremptorily 
 and they finally yielded and October 19, the executive com- 
 mittee dismissed him, although legally it had no power in 
 the matter. The incident stands out as clear proof of how far 
 slavery had annihilated free thought and free speech in the 
 South as well as in the North. 
 
 Secession was discussed during the campaign with more 
 interest than ever before in the State. Holden was an 
 avowed advocate of secession in the event of Fremont's 
 election and a considerable number of Democratic leaders 
 were in full agreement with him. Clingman in October 
 issued an address to the people of North Carolina in which 
 he outlined a definite plan for disunion if Fremont should 
 be successful. Another indication of the definite nature 
 of the Democratic opinion on the subject was the meeting 
 in Raleigh in October of Governor Wise of Virginia and 
 Governor Adams of South Carolina, who were guests of 
 Governor Bragg ostensibly to attend the State fair. Other 
 Southern governors were expected but failed to come. An 
 informal consultation was held at the governor's mansion and 
 several prominent men were invited to be present, including 
 W. W. Holden, M. A. Bledsoe, and L. O'B. Branch. Instead 
 of being a radical meeting it was the contrary, owing to the 
 conservative position taken by Governor Bragg. The pres- 
 ence of the two visiting governors attracted attention and 
 the opposition charged that it was the conclusion of a definite 
 disunion plot and the press denounced the supposed "schemes 
 of treason and disunion," and demanded to know by what 
 right governors of other States came to North Carolina to 
 perfect plots and thus "hitch North Carolina to the car of 
 disunion." "• Iff 
 
 The election resulted in the choice of Buchanan electors 
 by a majority of 12,914 in a total vote of 72,060. The loss 
 
Party Politics in Nokth Carolina 181 
 
 of more than 30,000 votes in the total as compared to the 
 state election can be explained by the fact that Democratic 
 success was certain and that many of the opposition were in 
 sympathy with the Democrats on national questions and, 
 feeling entirely secure, stayed away from the polls. 
 
 When the legislature met, W. W. Avery was elected 
 speaker of the Senate over M. L. Wiggins and Jesse G. Shep- 
 herd speaker of the House over James M. Leach. Most of 
 the governor's message was devoted to discussion of internal 
 improvements and public education, but he commented on 
 the alarming political situation and recommended the fur- 
 nishing of arms to military schools. 
 
 The session was devoid of any particular interest. The 
 opposition was so outnumbered that all they could do was to 
 try and call public attention to every action of the majority 
 in the hope that somewhere might be found the basis for pop- 
 ular opposition. They were particularly angry when the 
 speaker of the Senate refused to entertain a proposed amend- 
 ment to the bill for the suffrage amendment which was now 
 on its final passage. An amendment to it would serve to 
 postpone its submission to the people for two more years and 
 make necessary its passage by another legislature and it was 
 of course with this in view that it was offered. The amend- 
 ment bill passed the Senate thirty-nine to eight, all the nega- 
 tive votes except one — that of William Eaton — being cast by 
 Americans, and passed the House ninety-eight to five, all the 
 negatives coming from Americans. D. P. Caldwell of Guil- 
 ford, offered an elaborate protest against its passage, declar- 
 ing his opposition to the principle and to the method. His 
 protest is an excellent statement of the traditional Whig at- 
 titude on the subject. 
 
 The congressional campaign of 1857 was even more unin- 
 teresting than the state campaign just described. A bitter 
 quarrel between John W. Syme, the editor of the Raleigh 
 Register and the Hales of the Fayetteville Observer, be- 
 trayed a certain cleavage of sentiment in the opposition and 
 plans were immediately made among the opposition leaders 
 
182 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 either to drive Syme out or establish a new organ for the 
 party. 
 
 In the first district, H. M. Shaw was again the demo- 
 cratic candidate and Robert T. Paine declining to run as;ain, 
 W. JL H. Smith received the American nomination but was 
 defeated. In the second Thomas Ruffin was elected without 
 opposition as were Winslow, Branch, and Craige in the 
 third, fourth, and seventh respectively. S. E. Williams 
 was the Democratic candidate in the fifth, opposed by 
 Maurice Q. Waddell of Chatham and John A. Gilmer, both 
 Americans. The case of the last two was finally submitted 
 to a committee which decided in favor of Gilmer, and Wad- 
 dell withdrew. Gilmer was elected. Reade, the sitting mem- 
 ber, had refused to be a candidate. In the sixth A. M. Scales 
 defeated R. C. Puryear and in the eighth Clingman defeated 
 Z. B. Vance, who was now forging to the front as a power 
 in western politics. 
 
 The free suffrage amendment was submitted to the peo- 
 ple at this election and in a total vote of 69,477 received a 
 majority of 30,713 and thus became a part of the Constitu- 
 tion. 
 
 The general results showed small encouragement to the 
 opposition to further connection with the American move- 
 ment, and from this time it rapidly disappeared. 
 
CHAPTEE XVI 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1858 
 
 During the Fall of 1857 there was much discussion of 
 distribution and it was evident that many Democrats were 
 seriously inclining towards that policy. Walter F. Leak 
 made a formal announcement of his candidacy for governor 
 on that issue, and Duncan K. McRae of IsTew Bern, was 
 known to favor the policy. It was, however, early evident 
 that the Democratic party would maintain its traditional 
 stand in opposition. Of course, the question had no real 
 bearing on state affairs directly, since its decision was purely 
 national, but once more state issues had disappeared and 
 national questions dominated state politics to the great detri- 
 ment of the State. 
 
 In January, McRae made speeches at Wilmington, Fay- 
 etteville, Goldsboro, Raleigh and Hillsboro in which he ad- 
 vocated distribution. At this time he was uncertain if he 
 would be a candidate for governor, and was undoubtedly 
 waiting to see what action would be taken by the Democratic 
 party. So far as the candidates for the regular Democratic 
 nomination were concerned, a movement for Holden had ap- 
 peared early in 1857 and had gained strength steadily. 
 
 This did not at all suit the plans and calculations of the 
 dominant forces in the party. Holden was easily the strong- 
 est leader in the party but he was disliked by a large number, 
 and the more aristocratic elements were bitterly opposed to 
 him and feared his policies as well as his personal power. 
 Another very serious threat to his chances lay in the strength 
 in the Democratic party of the Whigs who had recently join- 
 ed and who still hated him for his apostacy — or, in other 
 words, for doing early the very same things they had done 
 late. 
 
 All the elements of opposition looked about for a candi- 
 date and finally found one in Judge John W. Ellis, who 
 declined to leave the bench or to be a candidate, but who 
 
184 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 was known to be willing to accept the nomination. Jesse G. 
 Shepherd was spoken of for the nomination but developed 
 little strength. W. W. Avery, who was very popular in the 
 west, developed considerable strength and was regarded se- 
 riously by the other candidates. Judge S. J. Person was 
 endorsed by several counties, but refused to allow the use of 
 his name. A. W. Venable's name was also constantly men- 
 tioned in connection with the nomination. 
 
 The Democratic executive committee called the conven- 
 tion to meet at Charlotte. This caused great surprise and 
 in the east great dissatisfaction. It was regarded as a stroke 
 in favor of Ellis' candidacy, and Holden's friends were very 
 fearful of its effects upon his candidacy. 
 
 In the contest which followed and which was the first 
 pre-convention campaign in the political history of the 
 State, a great deal of bitterness developed and at times it 
 seemed certain that a compromise candidate would be nomi- 
 nated. As was to be expected the Democratic press of the 
 State took an active part in this campaign. Among others 
 the Charlotte Western Democrat, Winston Western Sentinel, 
 Fayetteville Argus, Goldsboro Tribune, Warrenton News, 
 and Williamston Banner were for Holden, while the Wil- 
 mington Journal, Salisbury Banner and Elizabeth City Pio- 
 neer were for Ellis. 
 
 Even the opposition press took sides, usually in a sar- 
 castic way, but sometimes in earnest. The Register said in 
 April, "Although not entitled to a seat in the Democratic 
 pew, we have all along been a strong Holden man. We 
 think he is entitled to the nomination and are of opinion that 
 it would be a burning shame if one who has spent his life 
 in making great big men out of the very smallest sort of 
 materials should be refused the reasonable reward he so 
 urgently seeks." 
 
 The Fayetteville Observer, after quoting part of the first 
 scene of the fourth act of Julius Caesar, said, "Mr. Holden 
 'is a tried and valiant soldier' who has 'groaned and sweat 
 under the business' until he has made the Democratic party 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 185 
 
 all powerful in North Carolina. Without him these Demo- 
 cratic lawyers would never have been judges. Governors, 
 Congressmen, legislators — would have been scarcely heard 
 of. But the work is done. And when he or his friends for 
 him ask a participation in the honors of the victory, it is only 
 natural, now as then, that his creatures should 'take down 
 his load and turn him like the empty ass, to shake his ears 
 and graze in commons.' How dare an editor of a newspaper, 
 a man who has worked with his own hands, aspire to reward 
 from the Democratic party ?" 
 
 Both candidates behaved with dignity in this period. The 
 Standard was entirely impartial and a stranger would not 
 have known that it was Holden's paper. As the time for the 
 convention came both sides became more confident. It was 
 practically a certainty that Avery would withdraw and it 
 was thought that Holden would get his strength. Holden was 
 placing his chief reliance in Avery's strength and there is no 
 shadow of a doubt that if the modern device of a primary 
 had been employed that he would have been overwhelmingly 
 chosen. But the mass of the party had no direct control and 
 the nomination was dictated by politicians. The Register 
 said that the reason Ellis received such strong support from 
 lawyers was clear — every one of them expected to be chosen 
 to fill the judgeship he would vacate. 
 
 When the convention finally came there was a great out- 
 pouring to Charlotte. The convention assembled on April 
 14 and organized with Capt. John Walker of Charlotte, 
 "The Wheelhorse of Democracy," as temporary chairman 
 and C. M. Avery of Burke, as president. It was the largest 
 convention that had been held in the State to that time. Fifty- 
 nine counties were represented by 454 delegates in person 
 and twelve other counties were represented by proxies. This 
 left only four counties unrepresented. 
 
 The most noticeable thing about the delegates was the 
 startling number of recent Whigs, some of whom were ex- 
 ceedingly prominent and influential in the convention. 
 
 The platform commended the administrations of Presi- 
 
186 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 dent Buchanan and Governor Bragg and endorsed the policy 
 of internal improvements. Concerning distribution it had 
 the following to say : "That we regard the distribution of the 
 public lands or their proceeds as unconstitutional, anti-Demo- 
 cratic, and impolitic, and its agitation at this time as emi- 
 nently unpatriotic because being wholly impracticable, the 
 sole tendency of such agitation must be to divide and distract 
 the only party upon which the South can rely for the defense 
 of her rights and interests in the Union." 
 
 After the adoption of the platform attention turned to 
 the nomination of a candidate. It was certain by this time 
 that Ellis had a simple majority, but Holden' s supporters 
 thought that if the two-thirds rule could be adopted that their 
 candidate would win. The motion, however, was tabled by 
 a small majority. If adopted, it would probably have de- 
 feated both candidates. By this time Avery had formally 
 withdrawn, so the contest was between Holden and Ellis. 
 After the failure of the motion, Ellis was nominated on 
 the first ballot, receiving the vote of forty counties against 
 twenty-seven for Holden. The official vote stood 25,051 to 
 21,594, with 1,203 scattering. Holden took his defeat well 
 and at once urged his friends to activity in behalf of the 
 ticket. This was a disappointment to the Whigs, who had 
 confidently predicted a serious breach in party solidarity as 
 a result of this contest within the party, a new thing in North 
 Carolina politics. 
 
 John Willis Ellis was a native of what is now Davidson 
 County, but was then Rowan. He was educated at Bandolph- 
 Macon College and at the University, graduating from the 
 latter in 1841. Studying law under Judge Pearson, he was 
 admitted to the bar in 1842. In 1844 he was elected to the 
 House of Commons and was re-elected in 1846 and 1848. 
 While a member of the legislature he was elected judge and 
 thus had been on the bench for ten years. There he had made 
 a fine reputation in spite of his inexperience when he was 
 chosen. He was a man of no exceptional ability, but was uni- 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 187 
 
 versally popular because of his genial and charming manner 
 and because of his entire sincerity in every relation. 
 
 In the meantime a sharp division of sentiment had taken 
 place in the press and in the ranks of the opposition as 
 to the proper course for the party to pursue in relation to 
 the campaign. One faction, headed by the Register, favored 
 support of an independent Democrat without holding a con- 
 vention; the other headed by the Greensboro Patriot and 
 Flag, favored united party action through a convention and 
 the nomination of one of their own party. Leak had with- 
 drawn in February, so McRae was the only independent 
 Democrat discussed for support. Agreeing with the Register 
 were the following papers which, as a Western Whig editor 
 said, had "gone over to the Beast" : the Wilmington Herald, 
 Weldon Patriot, Salisbury Watchman, Kinston Advocate, 
 Newbern Express, Salem Press and Louisburg Eagle; while 
 those which with the Patriot and Flag favored independent 
 action were the Asheville Spectator and Elizabeth City 
 Sentinel. Their view was expressed in the following com- 
 ment of the Patriot and Flag : "So far as we are concerned, 
 we can never consent to see the great American Whig party — 
 strong in numbers, strong in intellect, strong in the correct- 
 ness of its principles and the justice of its cause, consent to 
 enter into a fight headed by a Democrat." 
 
 The convention advocates finally called upon Henry W. 
 Miller, chairman of the executive committee, to call a meeting 
 of the committee for the purpose of calling a convention. He 
 replied that since the last campaign there was no committee 
 and that he had no power in the matter. As it was usual for 
 the party executive committee to last from convention to con- 
 vention this answer excited comment and question, and the 
 Standard hinted that possibly a change of heart politically 
 on the part of the chairman was the explanation. In April, 
 on the question of Southern rights, Miller declared himself 
 a supporter of Buchanan's administration and because of his 
 opposition to the principles of "Black Republicanism" de- 
 
188 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 clared his intention of acting in the future with the Demo- 
 cratic party. 
 
 On April 26 McRae declared himself a candidate for 
 governor on the issue of distribution. He also expressed his 
 opposition to any further increase of the State debt for new 
 internal improvements and asked for non-partisan support. 
 In other respects he was frankly still a Democrat in belief. 
 But like the Democrats of the old school he was lukewarm, 
 if not indeed hostile, to state-supported internal improve- 
 ments and this won him additional favor from the Whigs, 
 who were relapsing into the former Democratic attitude in 
 the same proportion that the Democrats occupied the former 
 Whig position. In consequence he received the support of 
 the Whigs. 
 
 The campaign was extended and given up almost entire- 
 ly to the discussion of distribution and possible further ex- 
 tension of the system of internal improvements. In the pre- 
 ceding legislature the Whigs had shown a tendency to op- 
 pose the western extension and this question figured largely 
 in the campaign. The contest waxed warm at times and 
 Ellis and McRae actually came to blows at Beaufort. 
 
 In May Asa Biggs was appointed United States district 
 judge to succeed Judge Henry Potter who, after a service of 
 56 years, had died the year before, and Governor Bragg at 
 once appointed Clingman to succeed Biggs in the Senate. 
 Thomas Lanier Clingman was born in that part of Surry 
 County which has since become Yadkin, in 1812. He gradu- 
 ated from the University in 1832 and studied law and in 
 1835 was elected to the House of Commons from Surry. He 
 then moved to Buncombe and in 1840 was elected to the state 
 Senate. In 1843 he was elected to Congress, was defeated 
 for re-election by James Graham, but was again elected in 
 1847 and had served there ever since. As will be remember- 
 ed he had left the Whig party in 1852. 
 
 Clingman's promotion to the Senate, left a vacancy in 
 the mountain district and a warm contest took place there 
 between W. W. Avery and Zebulon B. Vance. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 189 
 
 The result of the election was never in doubt during the 
 campaign. Ellis' majority was 16,383 in a total vote of 
 96,475, the legislature was Democratic with a majority of 
 fourteen in the Senate and forty-four in the House, and 
 Vance defeated Avery with a majority of more than two 
 thousand. 
 
 During the autumn a most interesting political struggle 
 developed. Holden's defeat emboldened to open opposition 
 many of his party who disliked him but had hitherto feared 
 him too much to attack him. From every quarter came at- 
 tacks upon him and accusations of disloyalty to Ellis and to 
 the party. Holden, as has been said, had behaved very well, 
 accepting his defeat with good grace rather than otherwise 
 and giving to Ellis very loyal support. All this counted for 
 nothing in the desire of his enemies to crush him. The fight 
 was redoubled when it became evident that his name would 
 be presented to the legislature for election to the United 
 States Senate. Here begins the breach between Holden and 
 the States' Rights Democracy which he had organized and 
 led, a breach which in time, although he was the foremost 
 advocate of secession, drove him into the ranks of Union 
 men simply because of the efforts of his enemies in his own 
 party. 
 
 His first step was rather towards closer relations with 
 the rank and file of the party. He became an earnest advo- 
 cate of the popular election of judges and endorsed heartily 
 the movement for ad valorem taxation which was really di- 
 rected against property in slaves, and endorsed at first the 
 movement in Wake County which led to the organization of 
 the Wake County Workingmen's Association which was the 
 most active organization for a reform in taxation. 
 
 When the legislature met Henry T. Clark of Edgecombe, 
 was chosen Speaker of the Senate over Ralph Gorrell of 
 Guilford, and Thomas Settle, speaker of the House, over Den- 
 nis D. Ferebee. The matter of first interest before the body 
 was the election of senator. During the autumn the State 
 had been full of the rumor of a combine which was said to 
 
 13 
 
190 James Speunt Historical Publications 
 
 have existed between Clingman, Holden, Biggs and Bragg 
 by which Holden was to be elected governor, Biggs was to 
 resign from the Senate to go on the federal bench, Clingman 
 was to be appointed by Bragg to succeed him and Bragg him- 
 self was to be elected to the Senate to succeed Reid. 
 
 The story may or may not be true. In any event the 
 failure of Holden to secure the nomination for governor 
 broke the plan somewhat. He was told by his friends that 
 the "combine" had not acted fairly by him and was urged 
 to contest with Bragg for the place in the Senate. He finally 
 consented after his relations with Governor Bragg had be- 
 come much strained. Before the legislature met he resigned 
 from the Literary Board to which Bragg had appointed him. 
 But the opposition to him was too strong and on the first 
 ballot the vote stood : Bragg, 40 ; Holden, 36 ; Reid, 18. On 
 the second ballot Reid's friends who were angry with Holden 
 for entering the contest, went for Bragg and the vote was 
 Bragg, 58 ; Holden, 36. Holden was later rather regretful 
 that he had opposed Reid even in this way. Bragg was thus 
 elected to succeed Reid, who was greatly hurt by his defeat, 
 and Clingman succeeded himself. 
 
 The session lasted ninety-five days, the longest in the his- 
 tory of the General Assembly to that time. It had no record 
 of achievement corresponding. Its early days were spent in 
 selecting the senators, everything else of course being subor- 
 dinated and it spent a large part of its later time in discus- 
 sion of the Danville Connection. In 1848, it will be remem- 
 bered, application had been made for a charter for a road 
 from Greensboro to Danville and in this legislature the pro- 
 position was renewed through the influence of John M. More- 
 head, who was a member of the legislature. A tremendous 
 fight followed directed at first against the proposition on its 
 merits and gradually developing into an attack on Governor 
 Morehead who was known to be the author and inspiration 
 of the bill. The East felt that the North Carolina Railroad 
 would suffer, and against the proposition were arrayed the 
 Standard, the Register, and a large number of prominent 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 191 
 
 men including R. R. Bridgers, W. T. Dortch, Pride Jones, 
 John W. Norwood and Dennis D. Ferrebee. Morehead en- 
 dured the personal attacks for five days and then rose to 
 make one of the most remarkable, powerful, and successful 
 personal defenses in the legislative history of North Carolina. 
 The Danville Connection, however, was defeated. 
 
 A proposition for a convention of the people then came 
 up and was defeated, as was a resolution, introduced by M. 
 A. Bledsoe of Wake, looking to the ad valorem taxation of 
 all property, but which had for its chief purpose the imposi- 
 tion on slave property of some adequate and equitable share 
 of the tax burden. 
 
 Jonathan Worth, who was a Whig member of the Senate, 
 brought in a report on the condition of the Western North 
 Carolina Railroad which reflected bitterly upon the manage- 
 ment of its president, Charles P. Fisher. Fisher replied and 
 a war of words ensued lasting for nearly two years in which 
 politics played as large a part as the railroad question. 
 
 Ellis's inaugural related chiefly to internal improvements 
 in which he had always been deeply interested, but, in a some- 
 what conservative way, it also touched upon the question of 
 the protection of States' rights. The allusion is as follows: 
 "We are not prepared for the acknowledgment that we can- 
 not enjoy all our constitutional rights in the Union. Should 
 that day unfortunately come, but little doubt need be enter- 
 tained that our people will act as best comports with their 
 interests and honor and with the sacred memories of the past 
 to whatever the result may lead." 
 
 At the close of the session the opposition appointed a 
 state executive committee and began preparations for an 
 active congressional campaign. The year was interesting 
 politically. Holden's struggle with his enemies, particularly 
 those in Wake County where he was engaged in a bitter 
 fight with Cantwell and Whitaker, two rival editors, continu- 
 ed and caught the attention of the whole State without re- 
 gard to party. The most popular accusation made against 
 him was of attempted domination and the following editorial 
 
192 James Spkunt Histokical Publications 
 
 comment of the Standard was so misinterpreted as to form 
 a base for the charge : "The Standard speaks the sentiments, 
 and has the confidence of the Democratic masses of the State, 
 and because of this, and for no other reason, it can kill and 
 make alive." 
 
 When Postmaster General A. V. Brown died in 1859 it 
 was supposed that Reid would succeed him, but the condition 
 of his health stood in the way and President Buchanan tele- 
 graphed an offer of the position to L. O'B. Branch. The 
 latter was out of reach and did not receive it and the Presi- 
 dent appointed Joseph Holt. In December, 1860, when 
 Howell Cobb, on account of the secession of Georgia, resigned 
 as secretary of the treasury, Buchanan offered the place to 
 Branch, who declined to accept. 
 
 The Standard and the Register were carrying on their 
 usual warfare and the latter became so bitter and so hostile 
 to the administration and the Democratic party that it finally 
 was able to say, "The Standard asks who we will support 
 for the presidency. We answer that we will support any op- 
 ponent of rotten and corrupt Democracy who is not an aboli- 
 tionist or Black Republican; and furthermore, we say that 
 as between an abolitionist or Black Republican and a Demo- 
 crat we will make no choice." 
 
 The congressional elections were dominated by the sec- 
 tional agitation. In the first district, W. S", H. Smith, who 
 was again the Whig candidate, defeated H. M. Shaw. Thomas 
 Ruffin was re-elected in the second without opposition. Win- 
 slow was unsuccessfully opposed in the third by M. J. Mc- 
 Duffie, an independent Democrat. In the fourth Linn B. 
 Saunders, another independent Democrat, was defeated by 
 Branch. In the fifth there was the same array of candi- 
 dates as two years before, S. E. Williams being the Demo- 
 cratic candidate, John A. Gilmer the Whig, and M. Q. Wad- 
 dell an independent Whig. Gilmer was elected. A. M. 
 Scales was defeated by James M. Leach, the Whig candidate 
 in the sixth. In the seventh Burton Craige was re-elected 
 over S. H. Walkup, who was nominated by the Whigs and 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 193 
 
 declined, then reconsidered and ran. Vance was again suc- 
 cessful in the eighth, defeating David Coleman who had 
 withdrawn from the campaign two years before in favor of 
 Avery. The Whigs had thus elected four members of Con- 
 gress and were highly pleased with the result. The total 
 vote in the elections, however, showed a Democratic majority 
 of 5,934. 
 
 When Congress met in December a deadlock ensued 
 which lasted until February. Gilmer came very near to elec- 
 tion as speaker at one time and at another Smith was elected, 
 but before the result was announced several members from 
 Pennsylvania changed their votes. He could at any time have 
 secured the election if he would have agreed to allow the 
 Pennsylvania changed their votes. He could at any time have 
 and means, which they wanted packed in favor of a protec- 
 tive tariff, but he did not care to have it on such terms, 
 and William Pennington, a New Jersey ^Republican who 
 was serving his first and last term in Congress, was chosen. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE CAMPAIGN OF 1860 
 
 The Whigs, highly delighted with the result of the con- 
 gressional elections of 1859, nerved themselves to further 
 achievements, and determined to carry the election of 1860. 
 The executive committee at once summoned a state conven- 
 tion to meet in Raleigh in February and county meetings 
 followed. It soon became evident that a considerable ele- 
 ment of the party favored adoption of the principle of ad 
 valorem taxation as a party issue likely to carry the elec- 
 tion. It was equally clear that the Democratic party would 
 not accept it. 
 
 The Whig convention met on February 22. R. C. Pur- 
 year was president of the meeting. It was a large and en- 
 thusiastic body of over two hundred and fifty delegates rep- 
 resenting fifty-three counties. John Pool of Pasquotank, 
 Alfred Dockery and George Davis were the only persons 
 mentioned for the nomination and the first mentioned was 
 chosen unanimously. William A. Graham was endorsed for 
 the presidential nomination. The platform advocated ad 
 valorem taxation of all property, demanded a convention of 
 the people to make that and other necessary changes in the 
 constitution, proclaimed the devotion of the party to the 
 Union and demanded its preservation, and bitterly con- 
 demned the Democratic administrations, state and national. 
 
 John Pool, the nominee for governor, was born in Pas- 
 quotank in 1826. He graduated at the University in 1847 
 and was admitted to the bar the same year. He was imme- 
 diately very successful in his profession and became known 
 as one of the strongest lawyers in his section of the State. 
 He had been a member of the state Senate in 1856 and in 
 1858 where he had been one of the leaders of the opposition 
 and had won some reputation. He was a cool, self-reliant, 
 ambitious and utterly unscrupulous man who was willing to 
 win on any terms. 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 195 
 
 The party was by no means united on its chief issue as 
 many Whigs were utterly opposed and even Pool himself 
 had opposed it and voted against it in the Legislature of 
 1858. Kenneth Rayner was a strong opponent of the policy 
 from the time it was proposed in the county meetings. Writ- 
 ing to Judge Puffin in February he said, 
 
 Well the convention of the "opposition" party has come off 
 and they have passed a resolution in favor of ad valorem tax- 
 ation and recommending a convention to change the Consti- 
 tution so as to enable the Legislature to pass such a tax bill. 
 I voted against it and I will not sustain, but will oppose it 
 before my people. Mr. Badger made a speech in favor of it 
 and Graham who was here is also in favor of it. It was 
 carried by an overwhelming majority, many Eastern men 
 voting for it. I wish I could tell you and talk to you. I 
 could tell you many things about influences which have been 
 at work that would astonish you. As to the effect of this 
 thing — as to the prospect of its being engrafted on our State 
 policy — all now depends upon the action of the Democratic 
 convention, to meet here on the 8th of March. I have con- 
 versed with several prominent Democrats and I think they 
 are inclined to oppose it. If the Democratic convention also 
 endorses it, of course the measure will go through the next 
 Legislature with but little resistance. If the Democratic 
 convention takes ground against it, there will be to a very 
 considerable extent a re-organization or recasting of parties. 
 You insisted on my staying and attending the convention 
 of my party to oppose this thing, and I was in great measure 
 influenced by your wishes. Now I beg of you to attend the 
 convention of your party for the same purpose. I think the 
 prominent Democrats are disposed to take ground against 
 the measure, but they are evidently alarmed and need the 
 strengthening influence of able, calm and dispassionate men 
 of their party. By coming down here and attending the con- 
 vention you may prevent the carrying out of this mischievous 
 and pernicious measure — for such I regard it. 
 
 In March Kayner wrote again : 
 
 As I wrote you before, I am most decidedly opposed to this 
 notion of ad valorem taxation, as proposed to the late oppo- 
 
196 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 sition convention in this place, and I intend to oppose it with 
 all the power and influence I possess. 
 
 What I have to ask of you is this — to sit down when you 
 have a leisure hour, and write down the objections to this 
 measure in the way it strikes you most forcibly — of course 
 I do not wish to tax you so far as to write all the minute 
 details of the subject; but what I desire is that you will 
 present the salient points of the argument. 
 
 Having been a member of the Convention of 1835 — and 
 therefore in a measure one of the parties to the compact or 
 compromise entered into on this subject, I feel that I am par- 
 ticularly called on to resist this measure. 
 
 When the election came Rayner voted the Democratic 
 ticket, declaring that the Constitutional Union party was only 
 a negation. 
 
 On the other hand Democrats were favorable to ad 
 valorem, including for some time W. W. Holden. But after 
 the Whig convention he was silent and finally opposed it. 
 
 The Democratic convention met at Raleigh, March 8. 
 About three hundred delegates attended, representing sixty- 
 one counties. W. W. Avery was temporary chairman and 
 David S. Reid president. The platform was entirely South- 
 ern in the extreme sense and contained a distinct secession 
 threat. Its reply to the Whig demand for ad valorem taxa- 
 tion was a straddle — an endorsement of equality of taxation 
 within the limits of the constitution — a most comfortable 
 statement that might be interpreted as conditions required 
 to mean anything or everything. Governor Ellis was re- 
 nominated without opposition and W. W. Avery, W. W. 
 Holden, Bedford Brown and W. S. Ashe were chosen dele- 
 gates to the national convention. 
 
 The joint debate was a heated one devoted largely to the 
 state issue in spite of Ellis' efforts to keep national questions 
 to the fore. The Whigs had a powerful argument in the 
 inequality of the taxation system in favor of the slaveholders. 
 The Workingmen's Association had put forth statistics to 
 show that 187,842 slaves, worth $112,568,800 went untaxed, 
 while those taxed, at the poll rate of 50 cents, 159,925 in 
 
Paety Politics in North Carolina 197 
 
 number and worth $139,000,000, paid only $75,462. The 
 same amount in taxes would be paid by $31,000,000, loaned 
 out while the slaves on whom it was paid were valued at 
 $250,000,000. The discrimination is apparent. It was 
 evident in other ways. Land worth $1,000 paid a tax of 
 $1.50 and a negro worth $1,800 yielded to the State only 
 50 cents. It is evident that the issue was not a genuine party 
 issue, but one between slaveholders and non-slaveholders. 
 But for the situation of national affairs undoubtedly a new 
 alignment of parties would have resulted and since the non- 
 slaveholders were in the great majority, the ultimate issue 
 is not at all uncertain. The Whigs had made no demand for 
 any exemptions and Ellis used this very cleverly to arouse 
 the people against the plan, telling them that ovens, pots, 
 pans, chickens, and eggs would be taxed. He had on his 
 side the settled disinclination of North Carolinians, suspi- 
 cious then as now, to meddle with the existing tax system 
 even when relief is promised to the masses. The Whigs of 
 course had a very powerful argument in the fact that North 
 Carolina was the only Southern State that did not tax slaves 
 as property. 
 
 The interposition of the national campaign alone saved 
 Ellis from defeat if we may judge from the material now 
 available on the subject. Pool was a stronger man on the 
 stump, was a stronger man in intellect and power generally, 
 and he had the popular and equitable side of the question at 
 issue. Many Whigs had come into the Democratic party on 
 account of the national situation, for John Brown's raid was 
 dominating national politics in the State, but the state issue 
 had won a considerable number of Democrats away from 
 their party, most of them from the non-slaveholding class. 
 Ellis had a majority of 6,340 in a total vote of 112,586 and 
 the Democrats won the legislature with a majority of twelve 
 in the Senate and ten in the House. 
 
 Returning now to the national campaign, it will be re- 
 membered that the Democratic convention met at Charleston 
 in April. W. W. Avery was chairman of the platform com- 
 
198 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 mittee and presented the majority report and defended it 
 in a speech. Holden was prominent in the convention and 
 made a Union speech. W. S. Ashe spoke in quite the oppo- 
 site vein, warning the convention when the minority report 
 was adopted that it meant the secession from the convention 
 of the Southern delegates, and Bedford Brown also gave a 
 similar warning. When the delegates from the Cotton States 
 withdrew, the North Carolina delegation refused to go and 
 by their action undoubtedly prevented the withdrawal of the 
 delegations from the Border States. When the balloting for 
 the presidential nomination began, North Carolina voted 
 thirteen times as a unit for R. M. T. Hunter, twelve times 
 for Lane, and six times for D. S. Dickinson. Then, until the 
 balloting ceased, her vote was divided between Lane and 
 Douglas, the latter receiving one vote, that of R. P. Dick. 
 
 When the convention met at Baltimore, all the North 
 Carolina delegation withdrew except Dick, Holden and J. 
 W. B. Watson. The others joined the seceders in Richmond 
 and took part in the nomination of Breckinridge and Lane. 
 North Carolina Democrats were overwhelmingly in favor 
 of Breckinridge ; and while Holden was for some time doubt- 
 ful whom he would support, he finally decided to favor the 
 Breckinridge ticket with the understanding that the electors 
 would vote for Douglas, if by doing so they could defeat 
 Lincoln. He had returned from Charleston strongly impress- 
 ed with the necessity of preserving the Union but in a month 
 he was again arguing in behalf of secession. Editorially he 
 said: 
 
 But it is said that the Supreme Court may in the future 
 be an unsafe tribunal for the South; that the Black Repub- 
 licans will obtain control of it and turn its decisions against 
 the slaveholding States. That may be so. At present it is 
 certainly a safe tribunal for the South. It may be changed 
 and no doubt will be, if the Black Republicans should ob- 
 tain possession of the Government. But what of that ? Must 
 we wait until this change is made ? Shall we permit Lincoln 
 to pervert the whole power of the Government and in addi- 
 tion to turn the Supreme Court against us ? We are for 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 199 
 
 meeting the enemy at the threshold — for vanquishing 
 him or being vanquished long before his law, his adjudica- 
 tions against us are made. If the people of the South are 
 true to themselves they will never be troubled by the decisions 
 of Black Republican judges. But if they submit to the inau- 
 guration and rule of Black Republicans they will bind them- 
 selves to submit to the decisions of abolition courts. 
 
 The various elements in the country which could not 
 accept the principles of either branch of the Democratic party 
 or of the Republican party met in April and organized the 
 Constitutional Union party with the platform "The Constit- 
 tion, the Union, and the Enforcement of the Laws," nomi- 
 nated John Bell of Tennessee, and Edward Everett of Mass- 
 achusetts. These received the enthusiastic support of the 
 North Carolina Whigs led by Badger and Graham. 
 
 In August a Douglas convention was held in Raleigh with 
 thirty-one counties represented which chose an electoral 
 ticket. Douglas was present and address the convention. 
 R. P. Dick was the chief leader of the group and was assisted 
 by Thomas Settle, D. K. McRae, H. W. Miller, and a num- 
 ber of lesser lights. Their campaign was active but entirely 
 hopeless. It however gave great alarm to the Breckinridge 
 Democrats who were fearful of losing the State to Bell, who 
 seemingly developed great strength as the campaign pro- 
 gressed. 
 
 On the whole the campaign was moderate in tone. After 
 the division of the party the situation was so evidently seri- 
 ous that most speakers were very conservative in expression 
 of opinion. In January Holden, as a result of the John 
 Brown raid, was advocating in the Standard war prepara- 
 tions and telling B. S. Hedrick, who had written him a letter, 
 that he would not publish it, but that if he came South with 
 the abolition invaders that the State would welcome him and 
 them "with bloody hands to hospitable graves," but in the 
 autumn this sort of talk was chiefly notable in its absence. 
 Rather there was a sort of stillness, a tenseness, of waiting, 
 of hoping against hope that the impending calamity of Re- 
 
200 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 publican success with its undesired consequences might be 
 averted. 
 
 The result of the election was as follows: 
 
 Breckinridge 39,711 
 
 Bell 36,640 
 
 Douglas 2,245 
 
 With this election ends an era. 
 
CHAPTEE XVIII 
 NORTH CAROLINA IN 1860 
 
 Politically and socially North Carolina in 1860 showed a 
 very remarkable development as contrasted with the North 
 Carolina of 1835. The very atmosphere of the community 
 was different. The phenomenal advance of internal improve- 
 ments and of public education had liberalized the people to 
 an extent almost undreamed of in 1835. The greater part 
 of this development had taken place in the last decade prior 
 to 1860. 
 
 In population the growth of the State can be seen from 
 the following table: 
 
 White Population 
 
 Per Cent. Increase Rank 
 
 1840 484,870 2.54 10 
 
 1850 553,028 14.05 12 
 
 1860 629,942 14.42 15 
 
 Free Colored 
 
 1840 22,732 13.31 8 
 
 1850 27,463 20.81 5 
 
 1860 30,463 10.92 6 
 
 Slaves 
 
 1840 245,817 .08 5 
 
 1850 288,548 17.38 6 
 
 1860 331,059 14.73 7 
 
 Aggregates 
 
 1840 753,419 16.31 7 
 
 1850 869,039 2.1 10 
 
 1860 991,464 14.2 10 
 
 Of this population only 3,298 were foreign born, a very 
 slight increase in the number over 1850. In both census 
 years this was the lowest number of any of the States in the 
 Union. Of the natives of other States, 22,044 were living 
 in North Carolina while 272,606 were living outside the 
 
202 James Sprtjnt Historical Publications 
 
 State. This population in 1850 lived on 56,963 farms with 
 an average acreage of 316. There were in the State 1,184 
 farms of over 500 acres and only 311 with over 1,000 acres. 
 The material changes were also striking. In 1850 the 
 State had 248 miles of railroad, and in 1860, 889. In the 
 former year there were 18 banks and branches, while in the 
 latter there were 60, and the capital had almost doubled. In 
 the real value of property, real and personal, there was an 
 increase of 58.17 per cent, the amount for 1860 being $358,- 
 739,399, and for 1850 $226,800,472. The rank of the State 
 in this respect in 1850 was 11, and in 1860, 20. The assess- 
 ed value in 1860 was $292,297,602. The State was of 
 course agricultural and its rank in this respect compared with 
 the other States is interesting: 
 
 TABLE 
 Product Rank 
 
 Wheat 14 
 
 Corn 11 
 
 Eye 13 
 
 Oats 16 
 
 Peas and beans 2 
 
 Irish potatoes 22 
 
 Sweet potatoes 2 
 
 Butter 29 
 
 Cheese 24 
 
 Wool 18 
 
 Flax 6 
 
 Kice 3 
 
 Tobacco 5 
 
 Horses 13 
 
 Asses and mules 11 
 
 Oxen 21 
 
 Milch cows 14 
 
 Other cattle 13 
 
 Sheep 15 
 
 Swine 8 
 
 Value of stock 15 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 203 
 
 In manufacturing there had been considerable develop- 
 ment with the promise of more. The manufacturing situa- 
 tion in 1860 is best seen from the following: 
 
 Number of establishments 3,689 
 
 Capital $9,693,703 
 
 Cost of raw material (annual) $10,203,228 
 
 Number of hands 
 
 Men 12,106 
 
 Women 2,111 
 
 Cost of labor $2,689,441 
 
 Value of product $16,678,698 
 
 Government was comparatively inexpensive and in the 
 amount of taxes paid in the different States, North Caro- 
 lina stood twenty-first in 1860 as against fifteenth in 1850. 
 
 Intellectually, the State was improving. Twenty years 
 of public schools, with the system for eight years of that 
 time under Calvin H. Wiley, were beginning to show results. 
 The school situation in the two census years appears in 
 the following: 
 
 Number of schools 1850, 2,657; number of teachers 
 2,730; number of pupils 104,095; amount expended $158,- 
 564; number of schools 1860, 2,994; number of teachers 
 2,928 ; number of pupils 105,025 ; amount expended $268,- 
 719. 
 
 There were also many private schools and academies, 
 each class showing an increase over 1850. The number of 
 illiterates had decreased from 73,566 in 1850 to 68,128 in 
 1860. 
 
 While in many respects the outlook was encouraging, the 
 State was still ridden by national politics, ever the curse of 
 the people. With the adoption of the free suffrage amend- 
 ment which had performed an incredibly valuable service 
 to the State in awakening interest in state affairs, it looked 
 as if the people would relapse into their former indifference. 
 In 1860 the question of ad valorem taxation gave promise to 
 renewed interest in State politics. The following extract 
 
I 
 
 204 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 from a letter written in 1857, shows the feeling of the few 
 who recognized the greatness of the evil: 
 
 It was intended by the framers of our governmental or- 
 ganism, both State and Federal, that the will of the whole 
 people should be ascertained in the way just pointed out 
 (Legislative elections in the States), and experience has 
 taught us, that any departure from our organic laws, and 
 any lack of due observance of them while in force, are at- 
 tended with direful results. This was never more obvious 
 than in the case of this State. Who can say, without fear 
 of successful contradiction, that North Carolina, with all 
 her natural advantages, is not this day, far behind her sister 
 States in an agricultural, manufacturing, and commercial 
 point of view ? Is she not rather following slowly in the 
 wake of other States? We are forced to admit that she is. 
 And why ? Is it because she has no rich and productive soil 
 that invites the industry of the husbandman ? No. Is it 
 because the manufacturer cannot manufacture cotton fabrics, 
 woolens, flour, tobacco, shoes, boots, etc., etc. ? No. Is it 
 because a widespread and enriching commerce would not 
 certainly grow out of a well directed system of agriculture 
 and manufactures, fostered by an extensive system of inter- 
 nal improvements ? No. There is, in fact, no good reason — 
 there never has been any plausible reason, why North Caro- 
 lina should not soon be in advance of most of the States of 
 the Union, in point of her agriculture, manufactures, and 
 commerce. On the contrary, there are many powerful reas- 
 ons why she should be a great and prosperous State. She 
 possesses the natural elements that form the sure basis of 
 wealth and power, and these only require the hand of indus- 
 try properly applied to develop them in all their strength 
 and worth. Her soil, for the most part, is rich and astonish- 
 ingly productive, and is susceptible of the highest state of cul- 
 tivation. She has water power unsurpassed, sufficient to 
 drive any amount of machinery. She has harbors on her 
 seaboard that will compare favorably with the best on the 
 Atlantic coast, and the surface of her territory is such that 
 railroads, leading from almost every point of trade, may be 
 built with a very moderate outlay of means. 
 
 Why, let me ask, have all these advantages been so long 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 205 
 
 neglected ? There must be some cause for this novel condi- 
 tion of our State. Our people are intelligent, industrious, 
 and enterprising when properly encouraged, and it is not 
 because they are wanting in these indispensable requirements 
 of success. If we will look at the leading characteristics of 
 our Legislatures and legislation, we may find the prime cause 
 of all our backwardness and neglect of precious and valuable 
 interests and advantages. The Legislature and legislation 
 have almost uniformly been of a partisan and political charac- 
 ter. Whig, Democrat, or American, Federal politics en- 
 tered chiefly into the election of legislators, and the result was 
 political legislation. Witness the proceedings of our Legis- 
 latures, and say if this is not true. What do our Governors 
 and legislators talk about for the most part, but Federal poli- 
 tics and the offices to be filled ? How much time has been lost 
 in electing our Senators to Congress, our Attorney Generals, 
 and solicitors — in discussing empty resolutions touching 
 matters with which the State Legislature had nothing to do. 
 Look to the journals of, and the debates in the Legislature, 
 and every conservative man will learn to his supreme dis- 
 gust. One will be astonished and dispirited to see how com- 
 pletely Federal politics control our best interests, and that 
 too, in our halls of State legislation. Look to our legislation 
 upon matters of pressing and practical importance, and no 
 one can fail to see how great detriment the whole State has 
 sustained from time to time by political and office-seeking 
 Legislatures. Look, for example, at our system of internal 
 improvements, the great mainspring of commercial wealth 
 and prosperity at this day. Who can tell where it begins, 
 or where it is eventually to end ? What is the settled policy 
 of the State upon this great matter of public concern ? Who 
 can tell ? What great points of trade and commerce are to 
 be united by railroads and navigators? What have we not 
 now, roads giving our seaboard and the whole State a direct 
 connection with the great heart of the Mississippi Valley, 
 so that our State might enjoy the incalculable benefits of 
 that commerce that ought to belong to it ? Misguided honesty 
 and political legislation is the cause. Who dares to say that 
 ever upon the internal improvement interests of the State, 
 Federal party politics has not exerted an unwholesome in- 
 fluence ? 
 
 14 
 
206 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 Indeed, the time has fully come when the people of North 
 Carolina ought to look to her immediate interests — when her 
 people ought to throw off party ties in the election of Gover- 
 nor and members of the Legislature, and when their votes 
 should be influenced in these elections by questions of State 
 policy solely. Politicians and office seekers should be tramp- 
 led under foot, and the people should call upon the candidates 
 for office and not the candidates upon the people to elect him. 
 
 The slavery situation in the State furnishes a most inter- 
 esting field of study. North Carolina, like Virginia in the 
 early years after the Revolution and even thereafter, looked 
 upon slavery as an evil. During all these years anti-slavery 
 sentiment was freely expressed and various organizations 
 were founded for securing emancipation, the most notable 
 being the North Carolina Manumission Society with head- 
 quarters at New Garden which had over 30 separate branches 
 by 1830. Naturally the feeling was strongest among the 
 numerous Quakers in the State and they were the most 
 active, but it was not at all confined to them. Cotton grow- 
 ing was a negligible interest in the State and the large plan- 
 tation was the exception. Hence slavery was not nearly so 
 profitable and the interest was not so shielded as in some 
 of the other Southern States. 
 
 The rise of the abolition movement in the North with its 
 loud, unjust, violent, and threatening attacks upon slave- 
 holders as well as slavery changed this condition. The South- 
 ampton insurrection only hastened the process. Opponents 
 of slavery within the State ceased to agitate against slavery 
 and began to defend it. The Manumission Society and kin- 
 dred organizations disappeared. Laws against the negro, 
 whether slave or free, became, on the statute books at least 
 harsher and more rigid. The free negroes were deprived of 
 the suffrage. By 1849 opposition to abolitionist doctrines had 
 entered politics and each party regularly charged as its most 
 damning indictment against the other that it had a leaning 
 in national affairs towards the abolitionists, or that it was 
 controlled by them. Politics, not economics, solidified North 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 207 
 
 Carolina sentiment in favor of slavery, and politics was re- 
 sponsible for the complete suppression in behalf of slavery 
 of free thought and free speech which now followed in re- 
 spect to the whole question. Not that slavery was not in- 
 creasingly valuable, viewed from one angle. With Virginia, 
 North Carolina discovered that the breeding and selling of 
 slaves to the Southern market paid well, and hence the prices 
 of slaves in North Carolina rose steadily until in 1859 and 
 1860 they reached their highest point. It is said that in 
 those two years the two States sold more than 100,000 slaves 
 to the South. If that be true, and there is no reason to sup- 
 pose it false, the reason for the advance in the price of 
 slaves is clear. 
 
 In spite of these facts, slavery was a curse to the vast 
 majority of white people in the State. Consider the ques- 
 tion of slave ownership, by no means the most important con- 
 sideration. In 1860 there was a total of 34,658 slaveholders 
 owning 331,059 slaves. The distribution of the latter is most 
 interesting. 
 
 Slaveholders No. Slaves Owned 
 
 6440 1 
 
 4017 2 
 
 3068 3 
 
 2546 4 
 
 2245 5 
 
 1887 6 
 
 1619 7 
 
 1470 8 
 
 1228 9 
 
 4044 10 to 14 
 
 2029 15 to 19 
 
 1997 20 to 29 
 
 870 30 to 39 
 
 474 .40 to 49 
 
 423 50 to 69 
 
 188 70 to 99 
 
 118 100 to 199 
 
 11 200 to 299 
 
 4 300 to 500 
 
208 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 It will be noted that more than half of the slaveholders — 
 18,316 — owned not more than five slaves, and therefore that 
 their real economic interest lay with the non-slaveholders. 
 If we add those who owned less than ten, most of whom were 
 of the same class, we find the total is 24,520, leaving the 
 small total of 10,158 who owned ten or more. Of course 
 the total of the slaveholding class was greater than the num- 
 ber of slaveholders since their families must be included. The 
 relative numbers were approximately 173,290 of the slave- 
 holding class as against 456,652 in the non-slaveholding class. 
 
 For the non-slaveholders and that part of the other class 
 mentioned above slavery was a bond and a shackle. Labor 
 was not only cheapened but degraded and the door of oppor- 
 tunity was to a great extent closed. Consaiousness of this 
 came slowly to the State as a whole, but the flood of immi- 
 grants moving to the free North and West to found there 
 abolitionist families is testimony beyond impeachment that 
 the more progressive elements of the non-slaveholding popu- 
 lation were finding it out individually. 
 
 It cannot be said that anti-slavery feeling ever died in 
 North Carolina, for among the Quakers at least it survived, 
 but it was silent from 1835 until after 1850. By that time a 
 new leaven was at work, due to better education, better means 
 of communication with the other sections of the State and 
 the rest of the world, and visible and growing evidences of 
 the effects of slavery. Daniel R. Goodloe, who left the State 
 in 1844, and in 1848 became one of the editors of the National 
 Era, an abolition paper published in Washington, was the 
 first of a group of North Carolinians to become outspoken 
 and active opponents of slavery. He became convinced by 
 the arguments used in the State in 1831 in defense of slavery 
 that it was wrong, and further study and reflection made 
 him believe it wrong for other than humanitarian reasons. 
 Hinton Rowan Helper, the most important of the North 
 Carolina abolitionists, hated the negro and based the entire 
 argument of his famous Impending Crisis on the economics 
 of slavery and the non-slaveholders, and his main thesis was 
 
Party Politics in North Carolina 209 
 
 unanswerable. He represents perfectly the point of view 
 of the educated and thinking non-slaveholder. Hedrick also 
 represents the revolt against slavery for economic and social 
 reasons. 
 
 One of the clearest indications of the spread of anti- 
 slavery sentiment is to be seen in the fact that by 1860 the 
 New York Tribune, the most hated probably of all the anti- 
 slavery newspapers, had about 200 subscribers in the State 
 and other similar papers were also circulated in increasing 
 numbers. Abolitionists traveled over the State ostensibly as 
 peddlers, booksellers, or preachers, but really circulating 
 tracts, newspapers, or Helper's book. In 1860 four were 
 known to be engaged in this work in Guilford County alone. 
 They were George W. Vestal, Daniel Worth, Samuel Turner, 
 and Jesse Wheeler. It is not doubtful that there were many 
 more in the same locality as well as in other sections. It 
 became increasingly difficult to convict such offenders and 
 finally they were regularly tried by juries composed entirely 
 of slaveholders. 
 
 The final and by far the most significant movement 
 against slavery took, as was to be expected, an economic 
 form. The demand for ad valorem taxation of slave proper- 
 ty was a conscious attempt to secure justice in taxation and 
 unconsciously was a movement of the non-slaveholders, led 
 by the artisan class, against slavery itself. There is to my 
 mind scarcely a doubt that had not the war intervened the 
 issue would have led to a complete reorganization of parties 
 which in time — and no long time — would have put the State 
 in the hands of the non-slaveholders and ultimately would 
 have made of North Carolina a free State. 
 
 The State in 1835 was decadent; in 1860 it was steadily 
 moving forward. One can almost believe that the very na- 
 ture of the people was being changed. The rapidly growing 
 expenditure of public money for internal improvements and 
 public education was heartily approved by the majority of 
 the people. Conservative they still were, but they were awake 
 and from economic progress were looking to intellectual and 
 
210 James Sprunt Historical Publications 
 
 political progress. The future was bright and the horrors 
 of the war and of reconstruction are intensified to the stu- 
 dent of North Carolina history because of the wonderful edu- 
 cational work that they interrupted, the progressive spirit 
 that they stifled, and the faith in the future that they de- 
 stroyed. 
 
BIBLIOGEAPHY 
 
 SOURCE MATERIAL 
 
 The Washington, D. C, National Intelligencer, 1834-1860. 
 
 The Ealeigh Register, 1835-1860. 
 
 The North Carolina Standard, 1834-1860. 
 
 The Ealeigh Star, 1830-1854. 
 
 The Fayetteville Observer, 1835-1860. 
 
 The Tarboro Press, 1835-1860. 
 
 The Tarboro Southerner, 1852-1860. 
 
 The Washington, D. C., Union, 1850-1855. 
 
 The Hillsboro Recorder, 1836-1850. 
 
 The Congressional Globe, 1835-1860. 
 
 Abridgement of the Debates in Congress, 1832-1843. 
 
 The Murphey Papers, Ealeigh, 1915. 
 
 The Correspondence of Jonathan Worth, Ealeigh, 1909. 
 
 The Diary of James K. Polk, Chicago, 1910. 
 
 Memoirs of William W. Holden, Durham, 1911. (John 
 
 Lawson Monographs). 
 Public Education in North Carolina, Ealeigh, 1908. 
 The Ruff in Papers. (In preparation for publication). 
 North Carolina Legislative Documents, 1830-1860. 
 Laws of North Carolina, 1835-1860. 
 Journals of the Senate and House of Commons, 1835-1860. 
 
 SECONDARY MATERIAL, 
 
 Barringer, E., History of the North Carolina Railroad, 
 Chapel Hill, 1894. 
 
 Bassett, J. S., Suffrage in the State of North Carolina, (Ee- 
 port of the American Historical Association, 1894). 
 
 Bassett, J. S., Slavery in the State of North Carolina, Balti- 
 more, 1899. 
 
 Boyd, W. K., Antecedents of the Convention of 1835, (South 
 Atlantic Quarterly, 9:83, 161). 
 
 Boyd, W. K., Early Relations of North Carolina and the 
 West, (North Carolina Booklet, 7:293). 
 
 Cole, A. C, The Whig Party in the South, Washington, 1913. 
 
 Connor, H. G., The Convention of 1835, (North Carolina 
 Booklet, 8:90). 
 
212 James Spkunt Historical Publications 
 
 Connor, R. D. W., Historical Foundations of Democracy in 
 North Carolina, (Proceedings of the North Carolina 
 Literary and Historical Association, 1912). 
 
 Connor, R. D. W., John Motley Morehead, (Proceedings of 
 the North Carolina Literary and Historical Association, 
 1912). 
 
 Franklin, E. P., The Instruction of United States Senators 
 by North Carolina, (Historical Papers of Trinity Col- 
 lege Historical Society, 7:1). 
 
 Moore, J. W., History of North Carolina, Raleigh, 1884. 
 
 Nash, Francis, William A. Graham, Raleigh, 1910. 
 
 Norton, A. B., Reminiscences of the Great Political Revo- 
 lution of 18JfO, Dallas, Texas, 1888. 
 
 Wagstaff, H. M., State Rights and Political Parties in North 
 Carolina, Baltimore, 1906. 
 
 Wheeler, John H., History of North Carolina, Philadelphia, 
 1851. 
 
 Wheeler, John H., Reminiscences of North Carolina, Colum- 
 bus, Ohio, 1884. 
 
 Wiley, C. H., Speeches and Reports as Superintendent of 
 Common Schools from 1852 to 1860. 
 
 The Biographical History of North Carolina, Greenshoro r 
 1905-1908. 
 
 Eminent and Representative Men of the Carolinas, Madison,. 
 Wis., 1892. 
 
 The North Carolina Manual, Raleigh, 1914. 
 
 The James Sprunt Historical Publications. 
 
 The North Carolina Booklet. 
 
 Historical Papers of the Trinity College Historical Society*