Zebulon Baird Vance

Zebulon Baird Vance

Zebulon Baird Vance (born May 13, 1830 in Asheville , North Carolina , † April 14, 1894 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician and the 37th and 43rd Governor of North Carolina. He also represented this state in both chambers of Congress .

Early years and political advancement

Zebulon Vance came from a wealthy family that employed several slaves . He attended Washington College in Tennessee and then studied law at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . From 1852 he was a prosecutor in Buncombe County .

Between 1854 and 1856 he was a member of the House of Representatives from North Carolina . From 1858 to 1861 he represented the eighth congressional electoral district of his state in the US House of Representatives in Washington. When it became clear that North Carolina would join the Confederation , he gave up his seat. He returned to North Carolina and stepped as Hauptmann (Captain) in the Army of the Southern one. There he reached the rank of colonel , but returned to civilian life in 1862 and ran for the office of governor of North Carolina.

North Carolina Governor during the Civil War

Vance won the election in 1862 and was confirmed in office in 1864. His entire term of office was overshadowed by the events of the war. This involved, for example, the recruitment of new soldiers or the procurement of supplies and provisions for the army. As a result of the war costs, public schools and universities could no longer be financed from 1863. They remained closed until the tenure of Governor Tod Robinson Caldwell (1871–1874). Vance did not shy away from confrontation with the Confederation government and its President Jefferson Davis . Much like Joseph E. Brown in Georgia , he was keen to assert the rights of his state against the Jefferson-led government. He also refused to directly forward goods smuggled into the country through the blockade without North Carolina getting its share.

Second term as governor and election to senator

On May 13, 1865, Vance was captured by Union soldiers and imprisoned for two months in Washington as a supporter of the secession . In 1867 he was officially pardoned. He then worked as a lawyer. He returned to politics in 1868. That year he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in New York , where Horatio Seymour was nominated as a presidential candidate. In 1870 he was re-elected to Congress, but did not take this mandate.

He continued his political career when he was re-elected governor of North Carolina in 1876. His final term began on January 1, 1877 and ended on February 5, 1879 when he was elected to the US Senate . During his tenure he ensured budget consolidation. He expanded the education system and promoted the expansion of the railway network.

After his resignation as governor in February 1879, he took up his seat in the US Senate for the Democrats . Vance remained in the Senate from 1879 until his death in 1894 and served on several committees. He was married twice and had four children in total. His older brother Robert was a member of Congress, as was her uncle, also known as Robert B. Vance .

Web links

Commons : Zebulon Baird Vance  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Zebulon Baird Vance in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Zebulon Vance in the National Governor Association (English)
• Zebulon Baird Vance in the database of Find a Grave (English)