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Fight
THE STATE
January 4, 1936
GOVERNORS OF NORTH CAROLINA
- No.— 46 EDWARD B. DUDLEY -
- By W. J. Sadler -
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It. Dudley of l\*eu Hanover
County, was tlie first Governor of
North Carolina lo be elecliMl by a
popular vole. He servoil during a
somewhat eritieal period in the
history of the state, hut apparently
made a very ereditable reeord.
After sixty year* <>f
having lb»* Govor-
• nor of North Caro¬
lina chosen by a vote of
the General Assembly of
the state. Edward B. Dud¬
ley of New Hanover Coun¬
ty. was the first chief exec¬
utive to be selected by pop¬
ular vote.
Dudley succeeded Richard Dobbs
Spaight, Jr. of Craven County, the
Inst Governor to be named by the legis¬
lature. and who served «lightly more
than a year. Whon it was decided that
the people themselves should make
known their choice for the highest of¬
fice in the state government, Spaight
was nominates! by the Democrats, with
the Whigs choosing Dudley.
A Hot Campaign
The pre-election campaign, accord¬
ing to historical account*, was quite
spirited, with Dudley having a major¬
ity of slightly more than 4.000 votes
when the ballots were east. His mar¬
gin was 63,94$ to
59.90.'».
He was in¬
augurated on December 31. 1S36. and
was reelected for a aecond term, serv¬
ing until January I, 1841.
One of the interesting facts in con¬
nection with Spaight was that his fa¬
ther had served three ono-ycar terms
as Governor just prior to the turn of
the nineteenth century. After retir¬
ing from the gubernatorial office, he
engaged in a political dispute with
John Stanley, the quarrel resulting in
a duel in which the elder Spaight was
killed. This incident occurred in
1802. thirty-odd years I* fore the son
was elevated to the governorship, and
created considerable commotion in the
political ranks of the state at that
time.
Good Business Man
Dudley bad amassed quite a record
prior to his elevation to the guber¬
natorial chair, ond was president of
tbo Raleigh and Gaston Railroad at
the time of his election, a post which
he subsequently resigned, lie appar¬
ently was n man of means, ns ho in¬
vested $25,000 in the railroad, and was
reported to be heavily interested in
other business enterprise*.
Newspapers during the first cam¬
paign in which a governor was to be
selected by a vote of the pooplo took
considerable interest in the proceed¬
ings. with various publications sup¬
porting their favorite candidate, as is
the ease at the present time. Many
of the i*.>ues of the campaign revolved
around federal policies under Presi¬
dent Andrew Jackson, and hundreds
of pro ami con speeches were made
by the principals in the campaign and
their adherents.
Davie County Formed
The western section of tlio state
gradually was acquiring thousands of
now citizens, and the old fight for
equal representation with the eastern
counties was continued following Dud¬
ley'. election. Shortly after he had
aitsiuiicd office, the county of Davie
was organized, giving to the western
area two more representatives in the
North Carolina General Assembly.
Industrial expansion in the state ap¬
parently was absorbing a great ileal of
the attention of leaders of the day, and
during the latter 1830's many new
railroad and steamship lines, as well
as cotton mills and other business en¬
terprises were established in the state.
Many notable North Carolina names
appear in the records of these transac¬
tions,
Davidson College Established
Governor Dudley also took up the
fight for better educational facilities,
and one of the momentous achieve¬
ments in this direction during his ad¬
ministration* was the incorporation of
Davidson College, now almost 100
year* old. Another notable institution
established about, that time was the
Greensboro Female College.
Dudley’s pathway was not a smooth
one. Several months after he had as¬
sumed office, during the mi-
i i
о
n
а
I administration of
President Martin Van
Huron, n financial crisis in¬
volved every section of the
nation. North Carolina
was no exception, although
it is not ' recorded that
there was any great amount
of suffering in this state during the
i imo.
Governor Dudley, after less tliiin
two years office, was forced to under¬
go another campaign to hold his seat
in the Capitol at Raleigh. This time
Spaight again was a candidate, to¬
gether with former Governor John
Branch, but their combined forces
were not enough to defeat Dud¬
ley who won by a majority in execs»
of 12.000 over both candidates. This
was 8,000 better than the majority lie
had amassed the first time he ran.
Fought for Education
Soon after he was elected for the
second time. Governor Dudley re¬
opened his fight for public education.
The first proposal was for the estab¬
lishment of free schools in every coun¬
ty of the state, but after much debate
•in this and substitute measures, it
finally was decided to let the voters
of the state puss on the issue. The
proposal to he balloted on was
“schools" or "no schools." with the cit¬
izens of the .tote to furnish one dol¬
lar for every two dollars subscribed.
It was not until Dudley had retire-1
from office that this proposition was
voted on. but he is given credit for
doing more, up to that time, for pub¬
lic education than any previous gov¬
ernor.
Population on Upgrade
North Carolina’s population, mean¬
while. had continued to grow. The
census of 1840 showed that there were
484.870 whites. 22.732 free negroes,
and 248,807 slave* in the state.
Governor Dudley seems to have
made a very ereditable record during
his services ns Chief Executive, and
retire-1 from that office on January 1,
1841. an honored nml respected man.
