Richard Spaight junior

Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr. (* 1796 in New Bern , North Carolina ; † November 2, 1850 ibid) was an American politician and the 27th governor of the state of North Carolina.

Early years and political advancement

Richard Spaight was the son of former governor Richard Spaight senior , who was fatally wounded in a duel by a certain John Stanly in September 1802. The exact date of birth of the young Richard is not known, but the year 1796 is assumed. He attended the New Bern Academy and the University of North Carolina , where he graduated in 1815. This was followed by a law degree. He was admitted to the bar in 1818, after which he opened a practice in New Bern.

His political career began in 1819 when he was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives . From 1820 to 1822 he then sat in the State Senate . From 1823 to 1825 he represented the fourth constituency of his state in the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , but missed re-election. He was then re-elected to the North Carolina Senate, where he remained between 1825 and 1835. From 1827 he ran five times in vain as a Democrat for governor of North Carolina.

North Carolina Governor

In 1835 he applied for the post for the sixth time. This time he was elected by the state parliament. It was also the last election of a governor by this body. An amendment to the state constitution that was passed shortly before stipulated that in future the governor would have to be elected by the people in general elections. However, only rich, white men had a vote. Women and blacks were initially excluded from voting. Spaight's tenure began on December 10, 1835 and ended on December 31, 1836. He campaigned for agriculture, but refused to support the development of the state's infrastructure with budgetary funds. According to the aforementioned constitutional amendment, the first general elections for the office of governor were held towards the end of his term of office. Spaight stood for election and lost to the Whig Edward Bishop Dudley .

After being voted out of office, he worked as a lawyer again. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of North Carolina. In total, he was on this body for 29 years. Spaight died in November 1850 and was buried on his family property, the Clermont Plantation.

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personal data
SURNAME	Spaight, Richard Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Spaight, Richard Dobbs Jr.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	1796
PLACE OF BIRTH	New Bern , North Carolina
DATE OF DEATH	November 2, 1850
Place of death	New Bern , North Carolina