1781 North Carolina gubernatorial election

1781 North Carolina gubernatorial election
June 25, 1781
Members of the General Assembly
Majority of votes needed to win
 
Nominee Thomas Burke Samuel Ashe Samuel Johnston
Party Radical Conservative Conservative
 
Nominee Willie Jones John Williams
Party Radical Radical–Moderate
Governor before election

Abner Nash
Moderate

Elected Governor

Thomas Burke
Radical

A gubernatorial election was held in North Carolina on June 25, 1781.[1] The delegate to the Second Continental Congress from North Carolina Thomas Burke defeated the presiding judge of the North Carolina Superior Court Samuel Ashe, the former member of the North Carolina Senate Samuel Johnston, the former member of the North Carolina House of Commons from Halifax County Willie Jones, and the judge of the Superior Court John Williams.[2]

The incumbent governor of North Carolina Abner Nash was nominated for re-election but declined to seek a second consecutive term in office.[3] Nash's term was marked by the weakening of the radical–moderate coalition that had dominated North Carolina politics since 1776 and by the partial collapse of civil authority in the face of the British invasion of North Carolina. Burke and Jones belonged the radical faction in state politics, while Johnston was the leader of the conservatives the legislature.[4] Ashe was a prominent conservative in the late 1770s,[5] while Williams had affiliated with the radical–moderate coalition during the previous decade and was nominated primarily due to his affable personality.[6]

The election was conducted by the North Carolina General Assembly in joint session. Burke was elected with a majority on the first ballot.[7]

References

  1. ^ Smith 1980, p. 421.
  2. ^ Clark 1896, pp. 885, 892.
  3. ^ Clark 1896, p. 886.
  4. ^ Smith 1980, pp. 423–24, 358, 394–95.
  5. ^ Connor 1919, p. 412.
  6. ^ Smith 1980, pp. 397, 490.
  7. ^ Clark 1896, pp. 891–92.

Bibliography

  • Clark, Walter, ed. (1896). The State Records of North Carolina. Vol. 17, 1781–85. Winston, NC.
  • Connor, R. D. W. (1919). History of North Carolina. Vol. 1, The Colonial and Revolutionary Periods, 1584–1783. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company.
  • Smith, Penelope Sue (1980). Creation of an American State: Politics in North Carolina, 1765–1789 (PhD thesis). Houston: Rice University.
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