USA > North Carolina > Biographical history of North Carolina from colonial times to the present; > Part 15
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After the War of 1812 the Federalist Party ceased to exist as an organization, although a large element remained faithful to their principles. But the great leaders being all Republicans, it was a period of fierce factional warfare, fostered by the personal ambi- tions of men.
In 1822 and 1823 Major William B. Lewis, of Nashville, Ten- nessee, undertook to bring General Jackson out as a candidate for the Presidency to succeed Monroe. It so happened that in 1816 General Jackson had written a letter to President Monroe, sug- gesting that he should disregard old party differences in making appointments, and Major Lewis possessed a copy of that letter. Colonel William Polk, of Raleigh, a strong Federalist, being on a visit to Major Lewis, was shown a copy of that letter, and admir- ing its sentiments, warmly espoused Jackson's candidacy. United
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States Senator Montfort Stokes, of North Carolina, was the father-in-law of Major Lewis, and an ardent Republican. He, too, agreed to support Jackson, should Calhoun not be in the field. The joinder of the old Federalists under Polk with the influence of Stokes and other friends in North Carolina assured that State to Jackson. Notwithstanding Macon supported Crawford, who was the caucus nominee, and notwithstanding the efforts made in behalf of Clay and of Adams, North Carolina gave Jackson 5000 majority. Elsewhere similar influences prevailed, the Fed- eralists giving Jackson a cordial support.
But although at the election Jackson received a much greater popular vote than any other candidate and a considerable plurality in the Electoral College, the choice of the President was thrown into the House of Representatives, and Henry Clay giving his in- fluence to Adams, a minority candidate, succeeded in electing him. Jackson never forgave Clay for this action, which he regarded as a great wrong. He and his friends crucified Clay for having de- feated him in opposition to the will of the people.
At the next election, in 1828, Jackson was elected by an over- whelming vote, and John C. Calhoun was chosen Vice-President on the same ticket. On forming his Cabinet, President Jackson appointed Senator John Branch, of North Carolina, Secretary of the Navy. In 1830, however, General Jackson broke with Cal- houn because of some developments made of matters occurring when Jackson invaded Florida; and in the Spring of 1831 Cal- houn made a publication that led to implacable hostility between them. Governor Branch and two other members of the Cabinet were friends of Calhoun, and Jackson, proposing to form a new Cabinet, asked all of the Cabinet to resign. and they did so, Branch retiring on April 19, 1831. Prior to that time the North Caro- lina public men had generally been warm supporters of the ad- ministration. Now divisions began to manifest themselves. The same result followed elsewhere. Clay's followers had been called National Republicans to distinguish them from the administration Republicans. Calhoun preferred the name of Democrat. In 1832, the year following his breach with the President, Calhoun influ-
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enced South Carolina to adopt an Ordinance to nullify the Tariff Act of 1828, and to threaten to secede from the Union. Jack- son, on the other hand, announced a resolute determination to pre- serve the Union and enforce the laws of the United States, and a great breach was made between the administration and the State's Rights men of the South. In addition to these matters of contro- versy, the President's opposition to granting a new charter to the bank of the United States, his removal of the Government de- posits, and his fierce war on the bank, and on all those who sus- tained that institution, drove off friends from him; and beginning with 1831 these various questions engendered bitter feuds from which the public men of North Carolina were not exempt.
Jackson's course had been so arbitrary, partaking of the nature of the prerogative of kings that Clay classed his followers as the Tories of England, and likened the opponents of the administration to the "Whigs," and this gave the name to the party that rallied around that leader.
When the Senate met in December, 1833, a majority of the Senators were in the opposition, and on March 28, 1834, the Senate . passed a Resolution of Censure, proposed by Mr. Clay, by a vote of 26 to 20. Among those who voted for this Resolution was Senator Mangum, who in 1831 had succeeded Senator James Iredell. The Legislature of North Carolina had, however, re- mained faithful to Jackson, whose principles and policies com- mended him to the masses of the people. Indeed in 1831, when Jonathan Worth and a few other members of the Assembly re- fused to vote for a resolution sustaining Jackson, they were de- nounced "almost as traitors." Senator Mangum's vote on Clay's Resolution led to resolutions of instructions which resulted in his resignation ; and in 1836 Robert Strange succeeded him. In that year North Carolina gave her electoral votes to Van Buren, who was Jackson's choice for his successor, although in the same year Edward B. Dudley, who was not a friend to the administration, was elected governor of the State.
On March 16, 1837, Benton's Resolution to expunge from the records of the Senate the Resolution of Censure was adopted by
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a vote of 25 to 19, Senators Strange and Brown, of North Caro- lina, voting for it. The Assembly of 1838 was, however, in op- position to the administration and adopted in its turn resolutions of instructions that resulted in the resignation of the two Demo- cratic senators, Strange and Brown; and Mangum and Graham were elected in their stead.
Indeed that decade, covering Jackson's public life, was one of the most stirring eras in the history of our people. It was marked by the beginning of internal improvements, by the erection of a new Capitol building, by the Constitutional Convention of 1835, the culmination of the intense bitter feeling between the East and. -the West, by the rise of great sectional animosity between the North and the South on the slavery question and on the Tariff question. There was likewise great bitterness developed among the public men, because of Jackson's measures, and some of the States Rights men affiliating with the Whigs, eventually, in 1840, the opposition to the Van Buren administration became so strong in North Carolina that the electoral votes of the States were given to Harrison, who, badly defeated in 1836, now was overwhelmingly triumphant. To the end, however, the Democratic followers of Jackson were ardent in sustaining him, and were fiercely opposed to Clay and those North Carolina statesmen who followed the fortunes of that gallant leader. It thus came about that this son of Carolina, Jackson, who in his early manhood had left the State, exerted in his subsequent career a powerful influence on her af- fairs. Because of him and his measures her public men became widely estranged and her people divided. In this way he entered as a powerful factor into the life of the State.
At the expiration of his second term as President, in 1837, Gen- eral Jackson retired to his residence, the Hermitage, which many. years before he had erected in the vicinity of Nashville, and he was known among his friends as "The Sage of the Hermitage." His remaining years, after one of the stormiest lives that ever marked the career of any American statesman, were passed in a quiet dig- nity, befitting so illustrious a character. He died June 8, 1845.
S. A. Ashe.
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JOHN JENKINS
XHEN Governor Carteret left Albemarle in the Spring of 1673 and went to England, he trans- W ferred the administration to Colonel John Jen- kins, as Deputy-Governor. "Captain John Jenkins" was one of the first settlers of Caro- lina. He had located on the Perquimans River before the grant to the Lords Proprietors, and conformably with the instructions of the King, he took out a patent for his land from Governor Berkeley, as Governor of Virginia. This was on September 25, 1663, and before Berkeley had been informed of the grant to himself and the other Proprietors. Captain Jenkins was a man of some consequence, bringing into the province at that time fourteen persons, and from the first he was an important personage in the settlement. In 1670 he was the Deputy of the Earl of Craven, and had risen to the dignity of Colonel and was the senior member of the Council.
At the time of his accession to power, his interests were those of the community, but he was the representative of the Proprietors, and one of the nobility according to Carteret's instructions, and thus had to sustain government. Discontent was rife because of the new Navigation Acts and custom duties interfering with the es- tablished trade with New England, whence alone the planters had been accustomed to draw their needed supplies. Some time elapsed, however, before any attempt was made to enforce these
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acts. At length commissions came for Copely and Birch to be respectively the King's Collector and Surveyor of Customs; but the men themselves did not come and the duty devolved on Governor Jenkins to have the offices filled and the law observed. There was opposition, but Jenkins reconciled the people and the appointments were made. Valentine Bird, a rich planter, was made Collector, and Timothy Biggs, who had married the widow of George Catchmaid, the Surveyor of Customs. Bird probably was not diligent in the execution of his office. It was said that many hogsheads of tobacco went out marked as "bait" for the New England fishermen ; and European merchandise was landed that did not come direct from London. Still there was cause for irritation. In addition, the terms of the Fundamental Constitu- tions raising the quit rents gave uneasiness, and there were rumors that the province was to be apportioned among the Proprietors and that Albemarle was to be allotted to Governor Berkeley, a sugges- tion that was abhorrent to the people. About that time an Indian war set in, and just when needed Captain Gilliam brought his ves- sel into port with a cargo of arms and ammunition, and a force was organized to suppress the Indians. On the return from this cam- paign, the people, being armed, demanded that the export tax on tobacco should not be collected. Chief among the insurgents was George Durant, and in alliance with him was Valentine Bird him- self. Governor Jenkins, unable to resist, offered a compromise, and consented that only one-half the required tax should be col- lected. This action was without authority, and it is an evidence of the difficulties of his situation. In discharging his duties, bad blood arose between him and Thomas Miller, who was probably an agitator. Miller was arrested on the charge of uttering treason- able words against the King's person and the monarchy, and blas- phemy. He was sent to Virginia for trial, but was acquitted. In the meantime the General Assembly deposed Jenkins from office as Governor and President of the Council, and imprisoned him, and. on Miller's going to England, they sent to the Proprietors for instructions.' In this conflict between the Assembly and Jen- kins, the latter was sustained by a majority of the deputies, and
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the exact lines of divergence between them cannot be traced. During this interregnum, the Assembly seemed to have governed, perhaps aided by the councillors who assented to their authority.
When Miller arrived in London, he was joined by Eastchurch, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the latter was appointed Gov- ernor and Miller was appointed Collector of Customs. George Durant being in London at the time told the Proprietors that Eastchurch should never be Governor. Hastening back, Durant organized opposition. On their return voyage, Eastchurch stopped at the island of Nevis, and sent Miller on with authority to exer- cise the office of Governor, as well as Collector of Customs. Hav- ing information of Durant's threat, Miller resorted to arbitrary measures, made limitations on the choice of Assemblymen, and succeeded in having himself invested with the power of imposing fines at his own pleasure. Armed with this authority, he- issued warrants to have some of the most considerable men in the colony brought before him dead or alive. These proceedings led to great commotions, and Valentine Bird, with John Culpepper and some other coadjutors, embodied a force, seized Biggs and Miller, called a free Parliament, which deputed five of its members, among them John Jenkins and Valentine Bird, to form a court to try the pris- oners, who were charged with treason. In all these proceedings Jenkins was an actor, although John Culpepper, who in 1671 had been Surveyor of the Province and then claimed to be Collector, was the chief director, and Durant was also a manager. East- church arrived in Virginia, but died, and the Assembly continued to govern. At length, to compose all differences, the Proprietors appointed Seth Sothel Governor, who on his way fell into the hands of the Algerines; and then they appointed John Harvey Governor, and re-appointed the old deputies, and the Assembly elected the other members of the Council; Harvey's instructions dated February 5, 1679, being similar to those given to Carteret. Harvey, however, died within a few months after his administra- tion began, and Jenkins was again elected Governor, and now had the support of the Legislature, Durant being the Attorney-Gen- eral and the manager of affairs. During his first administration,
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Durant seems to have been opposed to Jenkins, but on Miller's return to the colony, Jenkins and Durant made common cause against him. In these turmoils it does not appear that the au- thority of the Lords Proprietors was questioned or that their policy and management was a principal factor in events, but rather that there was a popular demonstration against the enforcement of the navigation laws and the new custom duties of 1672. It was rebellion against the Crown and not against the Proprietors ; or rather a purpose to displace some Crown officers and substitute others who would not vigorously enforce the obnoxious laws. On learning of the death of Harvey, the Proprietors sent Captain Henry Wilkinson over as Governor, who, appearing in the colony in 1681, relieved Jenkins of the administration. During this last administration of Jenkins, order was maintained in the colony, al- though the Quakers, who had then become quite numerous, com- plained that Durant was pursuing them with a strong hand and oppressing them because they had not sympathized with the re- bellion.
Colonel Jenkins did not long survive his last term of office as Governor. He died in December, 1681.
S. A. Ashe.
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GABRIEL JOHNSTON
OVERNOR BURRINGTON on his return to North Carolina in 1731, as the first Royal Gov- G ernor, soon found that the inhabitants would not acquiesce in the claims of powers and pre- rogatives made on behalf of the Crown; and political divergences quickly developed per- sonal antagonisms. As a result of his asperity of temper, he was removed, and in 1733 Gabriel Johnston was appointed to succeed him.
The Johnstons were of an ancient family and derived their name from the Barony of Johnston, in Annandale, Scotland. Gabriel Johnston was a native of Scotland, and had received his education in the University of St. Andrews. After spending a few years studying medicine, he was appointed Professor of Oriental Languages in the University, but later removed to Lon- don and entered into politics as a political writer. He contributed to the Craftsman, a periodical opposed to the ministry, and was associated with Bolingbroke and William Johnston, afterward Earl of Bath, a relative of the subject of this sketch. From 1726 to the time of his departure from England, he lived almost con- stantly with Spencer Compton, Baron of Wilmington, Lord Presi- dent of the Privy Council, and was intimately thrown with many persons of distinction.
Governor Johnston was well advanced in years, a man of learn-
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ing, and something of a politician. Unlike his immediate prede- cessors, he was neither given to profanity nor to drink, and he had the purpose to promote the interests and prosperity of the prov- ince committed to his care, but at the same time to govern it ac- cording to his notions. He arrived at Brunswick on October 27, 1734, and on November 2d took the oaths of office. The Legislature at that tine was in session at Edenton, and receiving notice of Governor Johnston's arrival, on November 13th it adjourned.
The end of Burrington's administration had been very stormy. Several members of the Council had fled from the province from fear of personal violence. These now returned and gave their version of their differences with Burrington into willing ears, and Johnston readily espoused their cause. He showed but slight favor to Governor Burrington. It was not long, however, before he himself became embroiled with the inhabitants.
The little hamlet of New Liverpool had been begun at the con- fluence of the two branches of the Cape Fear, and its fame had reached Great Britain. Later, in 1732, the town of Newton was laid off by Caleb Grainger and others about a mile lower down the river. Competition had already set in between this nascent village and Brunswick, then nearly ten years old. Governor Johnston took sides with Newton, and determined to make it the metropolis of that section. He directed in May, 1735, that the Council should be held there, and designated it as the place for holding courts and for payment of taxes, and other public purposes. He bought land in the vicinity, promoted its settlement and identified himself with its growth, naming it in honor of his patron, the Earl of Wil- mington. Thus at the very outset he threw himself into antago- nism with the powerful interests that were centered at Brunswick.
Besides, his instructions with reference to annulling patents that had been issued in blank without actual survey, also arrayed op- position against him. His purpose to have the quit rents collected and his efforts to remodel the form of government, fashioning it after that of England, were likewise causes of controversy.
These were the chief occasions of the political troubles that
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marked the early years of his administration. The quit rents had from time immemorial been payable on the farms and in com- modities and at a valuation fixed by the Act of 1715. Now they were demanded at some certain central points ; and when the reg- ulations were not complied with, they were levied by distress with extravagant charges. Edward Moseley himself refused to observe those regulations, and others followed his example, so that the rents were not collected. The Governor, however, in 1739, agreed to a compromise, and a bill was passed whereby concessions were made on each side; but the Crown disallowed that Act, and it was years before any quit rent law was passed.
In 1744 Lord Granville's share of Carolina was set apart, the line running from Cape Hatteras West, so that the northern coun- ties were in Granville's territory, and the people there had interests different from the inhabitants of the southern portion of the province.
, The various officers of the Government had been required by the Act of 1722 to keep their several offices open at Edenton, and, now that the southern part of the province was somewhat settled, that location of the capital was inconvenient, and the inhabitants of the southern counties preferred New-Bern as being much more accessible to them. To this the northern counties would not as- sent ; and having five representatives each, while the southern counties had only two, they held the majority and their objection prevented any change.
Governor Johnston was anxious for the progress of the prov- ince, and sought to promote all measures that tended in that di- rection ; and particularly was he solicitous for the establishment of the seat of government at New-Bern as being more central than Edenton. Thwarted in his desire, he resorted to "management" to accomplish the purpose. He convened the Assembly to meet at Wilmington. It was not convenient for the northern members to attend, and they remained at home. The southern members were in full sympathy with the Governor, for it was a sectional fight between the counties. It seemed unreasonable that the inhabitants of the Cape Fear should have to travel 150 miles through the
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wilderness to Edenton in order to transact public business ; and entirely unjust that the six small northern counties should have thirty assemblymen, while the eleven larger counties had only twenty-two. They proposed to remedy these political evils.
When the members of the Assembly came together at Wilming- ton, they were so few in numbers that the question presented it- self-could the House proceed with less than a majority? Speaker Swann determined that a majority was not necessary. The mem- bership of the House of Commons in England was 540, and forty members constituted the quorum of that body. Basing his ruling on that, the Speaker held that fifteen members were sufficient to constitute a quorum in the province, and he proceeded to business. Two Acts only were passed : one equalizing representation, and allowing only two representatives to each county ; the other fixing the capital at New-Bern and providing for a court system, fash- ioned after that in vogue in England, and laying taxes to carry the Act into effect.
These Acts, passed by less than a majority of the House, were held by the northern counties as null and void, and they were so obnoxious to them that they would not recognize their validity in any respect. When writs were issued for a new assembly, each northern county voted as formerly for five members, which the Governor and Assembly would not admit, and so it came about that the northern counties ceased to send members to represent them ; nor would the people there attend any General Court or pay any taxes.
The condition in the northern counties was that of an unarmed rebellion against the Provincial Government ; but yet the county courts were held as usual, and local matters were administered. From 1746 to 1752 the same Assembly continued to meet, holding eleven sessions. Then the questions raised by the northern coun- ties were decided by the Crown officers in their favor, and the Acts complained of were declared void, and the small northern counties were represented in the Assembly by five representatives, each, until the Revolution.
But notwithstanding the political differences that marked his
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administration, Governor Johnston, who thought himself a wise politician, was seldom embroiled in personal controversies; and so in many matters he was able to exert an influence which other- wise he would not have done.
Thus in 1740, when there was much political disaffection, on the war breaking out with Spain he was able to raise companies of men, both in the Albemarle and on the Cape Fear, that served in the expedition against Carthagena, where nearly all of the colonial troops either fell victims by disease, or were destroyed in battle. Captain Innes went with one of these companies, and gained a high reputation by his fine conduct.
Governor Johnston sought to promote the settlement of the province, and in 1736 efforts were made to locate foreign Protest- ants in the interior. Henry McCulloh, who had been appointed Receiver-General of the King's rents in both North and South Carolina, associated with himself Huey and Crimble and obtained from the King grants for many thousand acres of land that were located on the Catawba, on the Pedee, Cape Fear and Neuse rivers, under an agreement to settle them with Protestants. They first sought to secure Irish tenants ; and almost contemporaneously with the arrival of Governor Johnston came the forerunners of a settlement of Irish Protestants, who located in upper New Han- over, now Duplin and Sampson, and Scotchmen, who settled at Wilmington and in Bladen. Because of the Irish settling on the Cape Fear, the new county there laid off for them was named after Lord Dupplin, but in time one of the p's was omitted; and on the waters of the Neuse a new county was contemplated, called Essex, but when established, it was named in honor of the Gov- ernor himself, Johnston.
In September, 1739, a large body of Scotchmen arrived on the Cape Fear, accompanied by Dugald McNeal, Colonel McAlister, and several other Scotch gentlemen; and the Legislature appro- priated a thousand pounds to aid them, and resolved that "wher- ever forty persons shall arrive in one company and settle in the province, they shall be exempt from all taxes for ten years." Gov- ernor Johnston fostered this immigration from Scotland and from
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