|
North Carolina's Governors
From Stokes County Glenn was elected to a single term in the state house in 1880. In 1885 Glenn moved his law practice to Winston. From 1893 to 1897, he was U.S. attorney for the western district of North Carolina, coinciding with Charles B. Aycock's service in the eastern district. Like Aycock, Glenn, who served a single term in the state senate in 1899-1900, spoke widely on behalf of white supremacy. In 1904 Glenn won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and in the fall defeated Republican C. J. Harris by a wide margin. As governor he continued his predecessor's emphasis on public education by endorsing a minimum school term and compulsory attendance. Unlike Aycock, Glenn opposed the use of taxes paid by whites to educate blacks. He sought increased funding for hospitals, public health, and care of the insane. Glenn's skills as an orator were tested by the campaign in 1908 to prohibit the sale or manufacture of liquor. As governor he ridiculed the argument by opponents that sale of whiskey would promote business and he worked to identify Prohibition in the popular mind with education. Glenn signed a proclamation making North Carolina a Prohibition state as of January 1, 1909. In 1915 President Woodrow Wilson, whom Glenn had known at Davidson, appointed him to the International Boundary Commission, charged with negotiating matters between the United States and Canada. On a trip to Winnipeg, Glenn died in May 1920. He is buried in Salem Cemetery in Winston-Salem.
|
While a champion of educational progress and railroad regulation, Governor Robert Brodnax Glenn (1854-1920) most effectively used the powers of his office to advance the cause of Prohibition. The "Prohibition Governor" was born near Sauratown in Rockingham County and educated at Davidson College. He followed his father's lead with study in Richmond Pearson's law school in Yadkin County. 
