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North Carolina's Governors
Richard Dobbs Spaight (1758-1802), a signer of the United States Constitution and the first native-born governor, was the father of Richard Dobbs Spaight Jr., who served as governor, 1835-1836. Of Irish extraction, the elder Spaight was born in New Bern. He received his preparatory education in Ireland and is thought to have graduated from the University of Glasgow. Spaight served as a military aide to Governor Richard Caswell. Early on, however, his energies and ambitions were directed primarily toward politics rather than warfare. As a prominent Federalist leader, Spaight was one of five delegates to the 1787 Constitutional Convention. Twice reelected governor, he served the maximum three consecutive terms. Spaight was the first governor to convene the General Assembly in Raleigh. Much of his role as chief executive was played against the backdrop of war between England and France. Issues during Spaight's administration included the settlement of financial accounts with the federal government, negotiation of border disputes with South Carolina, and threat of Cherokee uprisings in the mountains. In 1795 he presided over the opening of the University of North Carolina. Post-term, Spaight returned to New Bern and the life of a planter, but in 1798 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. There he remained until 1801 and his election to the state Senate. For several years, Spaight had found himself increasingly inclined toward Jeffersonian Republicanism. His final conversion to that political philosophy stemmed largely from his opposition to the Alien and Sedition Acts. In 1802 Spaight became embroiled in a bitter personal rivalry with the ardent Federalist and fellow New Bernian, John Stanly. On September 5th of that year the two men fought a duel in which Spaight was seriously wounded. He died on the following day and was buried in the family cemetery at Cleremont plantation.
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