1
Williai
A. GraSiam
Among* oilier things, lie hold
того
high of¬
fices than nny olhor Aortli Carolinian. and
his life
как
of groat constructive service
to tho state*.
MENDEL devoted his life to
formulating the theories and
ascertaining the laws of na¬
ture pertaining to heredity. He
could easily have tested his the¬
ories here in North Carolina.
Under his laws, much was to be
expected from the descendants of
Col. Joseph Graham, revolutionary
hero. It eventuated that his son.
William A. Graham, became the
foremost figure of his day. a man
whose shadow brooded over North
Carolina for more than fifty years.
Graham was an old-line Whig,
and if that party has a record of
constructive achievement in North
Carolina, it was due largely to him.
for he was the dominant figure in
its counsels for half a century, and
its platforms and policies were
formulated by him. And he held
more high offices than any other
North Carolinian.
Pioneer in Education
He served the usual apprentice¬
ship in the legislature, where his
commanding ability made him the
leader of his party. As early as
1836. as chairman of a legislative
committee, he made courageous
efforts in the interest of education,
recommending that $900,000 in
money just paid to the State by
the F'ederal government, be turned
over to the Literary Fund and
used for the public schools.
He was first elected Governor
in 1844. During this campaign
Henry Clay, then candidate for
the presidency, visited Raleigh,
and while there, upon the advice
of Graham, wrote his famous letter
opposing the annexation of Texas,
which proved a political error and
largely contributed to the defeat
of Clay. Graham was again elected
Governor in 1846. and during his
second administration was charged
with conducting the State's part
in the Mexican war. raising our
quota of troops and placing them
in the field. Although opposed to
the war. he discharged his diffi¬
cult duties with great ability.
In 1848 President Taylor offered
to appoint him as Minister to either
Russia or Spain, but he declined
the appointment. After Taylor’s
By 1C. C. LAW lll \( i;
death. President Fillmore ap-
K>inted him as Secretary of the
avy. and in that capacity he ren¬
dered three outstanding services to
the Nation, and one such service
to the world: he reorganized the
Coast survey; he adopted a plan
for retirement of naval officers
who had outlived their usefulness;
he sent an expedition to explore
the sources of the Amazon; and
he sent the naval expedition under
Admiral Perry to Japan, which
resulted in the ports of that hither¬
to hermit kingdom being opened
to the commerce of the world.
What far-flung changes have re¬
sulted from that expedition!
Nominated for Vice President
He was nominated by the Whigs
for vice president in 1852. but
went down to defeat with his party.
When that party disintegrated, he
aligned himself with the Conserv¬
atives. and was the leader of that
party in the Convention of 1861
which adopted the ordinance of
secession.
In 1862, when North Carolina
under the stress of war wished
to send her ablest son to the Senate
of the Confederate States, the
choice naturally fell upon Graham,
and he shares with Vance, great
war Governor, and with George
Davis, attorney general of the
Confederacy, the honor of being
the foremost exponent of the Con¬
federate cause.
In 1865 when the forces of Sher¬
man approached Raleigh, and the
fall of the city became inevitable.
Vance felt that he should try to
carry on the State government
elsewhere instead of waiting in
Raleigh to be captured by the Fed¬
eral forces, so to Governor Graham
was delegated the disagreeable
but necessary task of surrendering
the capitol to the victorious Sher¬
man and arranging the best possi¬
ble terms for the helpless civilian
population.
In 1866 he was threatened with
death by Governor Holden. This
was in retaliation for the murder of
John W. Stephens, and other out¬
rages laid at the door of the Ku
Klux Klan. Holden likewise re¬
fused to recommend his pardon to
President Grant las was required
of all who had served the Confed¬
eracy ) in the hope that this would
bar his future participation in the
Eolitical life of the State. In this
e was unsuccessful.
During the days of reconstruc¬
tion. he was elected to the Senate
of the United States, but was not
allowed to take his seat, as none
of the former Confederate States
had then been "admitted" to the
Union. North Carolina at the time
was not a State but a "Military
Department."
He took the leading role in the
dark days of reconstruction, serv¬
ing as chairman of the Conserva¬
tive Convention in 1868. where he
secured the adoption of a platform
opposing Negro suffrage and urg¬
ing upon the people the necessity
of preserving white supremacy at
any cost.
Re-opened University
To him was left the re-opening
of the University after the war.
As chairman of its Board of Trus¬
tees he re-organi/.cd that institu¬
tion. elected a new faculty, and re¬
opened its doors in 1875 with fifty-
nine students!
His last election was as a delegate
to the Constitutional Convention
of 1875. but he died before taking
his seat. His leadership and his
vote were both sorely needed in
that Convention, as his death left
the Conservatives and the Republi¬
cans tied with fifty-eight votes
each.
Here was a life of constructive
service to North Carolina which
I do no believe equalled in our
history. And let us see whether
Mendel's laws continued to operate
in the children of Governor Gra¬
ham: one of his sons. John W., be¬
came an outstanding lawyer: an¬
other. Augustus W., became a dis¬
tinguished jurist; yet another.
William A., became Secretary of
Agriculture.
e
