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North Carolina's Governors
In 1926 voters elected him to the state Senate, where he advanced workmen's compensation and secret ballot legislation. After two terms he returned to his law practice. In 1940 Broughton led a field of seven candidates for the Democratic nomination after the first primary. Wilkins P. Horton, who placed second, declined to call for a runoff and in the fall Broughton defeated Republican Robert H. McNeill. Mounting concern over the war in Europe overshadowed the campaign. As governor Broughton endorsed, and the legislature extended, the school term to nine months and added a twelfth grade. A retirement plan was instituted for state employees and the state provided for the first time aid to public libraries, the Art Society, and the Symphony Society. Broughton appointed a board to investigate conditions in the mental hospital at Morganton. He launched a "Good Health Program" to extend medical care and hospital construction. Like his predecessors, Broughton opposed the transfer of authority from the states to Washington and warned against increased federal power. U.S. entry into World War II took place eleven months into Broughton's term. As Chief Executive in the state where more men were trained for service than any other, Broughton took charge of civil defense and preparedness exercises. After his governorship, Broughton in 1948 defeated William B. Umstead who had been appointed to fill the unexpired term of Josiah Bailey in the U.S. Senate. Broughton took office in December 1948, but died just over two months later. He is buried in Montlawn Memorial Park in Raleigh.
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J. Melville Broughton (1888-1949), the only native of Wake County to serve as governor of North Carolina, led the state through most of World War II. Born in Raleigh, he was educated at Hugh Morson Academy and Wake Forest College. Subsequently he served as a principal in Franklin County and as a newspaper reporter. He later studied law at Wake Forest and Harvard.
