Entered a* .ccond-class matter June 1. 1933. at the Postoltlce at Raleigh. North Carolina, under the Act of March 3 1879
Early Tar Heel Senators
Gained Many National Honors
Tar lleel legislator* on the political stage
during the first hundred years of American
independence comprised an interesting and
influential group. One became President
of the I'nited States, and another almost
attained that honor. Several others served
In important diplomatic posts.
During the 19th century, "ben poli¬
tics was a pastime of almost every
adult, and partisanship engendered
verbal joustings, frequent fisticuffs,
and even a duel thrown in every now
and then for good measure. North
Carolina had its share of political aspir¬
ants whose lustre enlightened the na¬
tional scene.
The United States Senate was the goal
of many Tar Heels, and thirty-nine
North Carolinians have served in that
highest of American legislative tribun¬
als since March 4, 1789, when the
first sessions of Congress were held.
The careers of all were interesting and
influential.
One of that number, the famous
Senator Willie P. Mangum of Orange
County, came close to having the
Presidency of the United States thrust
upon him while serving as president
pro tern of the Senate in 1844.
President William Henry Harrison
had died within a few months of his
inauguration in 1841, and was suc¬
ceeded by Vice-President John Tyler.
Incidentally, Senator Mangum militant-
ly opposed Tyler's policies, and made
no attempt to conceal his political an¬
tagonism.
Almost a President
In 1844. President Tyler barely es¬
caped death in an accident aboard the
U.S.S. "Princeton," a Naval gunboat.
К
If FA HI. HFA.\
If his life had been lost in that mishap,
Mangum would have succeeded him.
inasmuch as the office of vice-presi¬
dent had become vacant when Tyler
became President, and the presiding
officer of the Senate was next in suc¬
cession.
This state's first two United States
Senators were Benjamin Hawkins of
Warren County, and Samuel Johnston
of Chowan. They were followed by
many notable figures.
Senator Nathaniel Macon, another
Warren native, was the first Southerner
to serve as Speaker of the national
House of Representatives. He was also
presiding officer of the United States
Senate from 1825 until 1828. His serv¬
ice in both branches of Congress
totaled 37 years, said to have been
more than that of any other legislator.
He was a member of the House from
1791 to 1815, and upon retiring from
that body was given the title of "Fa¬
ther of the House of Representatives."
Transplanted Solons
Several early Senators from North
Carolina were natives of other states.
One of them, Samuel Johnston, was
born in Scotland in 1733. Alexander
Martin of Guilford County, came front
New Jersey; Senator John C. Abbott,
who was a Republican party leader in
Washington from 1868 until 1871,
lived at Wilmington but was a native
of New Hampshire; Senator Jeter C.
Pritchard of Buncombe, had been born
in Tennessee, and Montford Stokes,
Robert Strange and James Turner
were all natives of Virginia.
Although Senator William Rufus
King represented the State of Alabama
in the Senate front December, 1819
until April, 1844, he was a native of
North Carolina who had been bom in
Sampson County on April 7, 1786. He
was a member of the Senate for nearly
29 years, five of which he spent as
presiding officer. Senator King was
elected vice-president of the United
States in 1852 and allowed to take the
oath of office at Havana. Cuba, where
he had gone for his health, on March
4. 1853. However, he died the day
after his return to the United States on
April 18, 1853.
Only One Speech
Senator Matt W. Ransom of Warren
County, was a brilliant orator who
frequently made speeches throughout
Eastern North Carolina (Ransomville
was named for him), but he delivered
only one formal address on the floor of
the Senate during his service in that
body.
Two Senators from North Carolina
( Continued on i>agc 16)
THE STATE. April 23, 1951
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