Governors

Thomas W. Bickett (1869-1921) Encyclopedia

Thomas W. Bickett, a native of Monroe and graduate of Wake Forest College, studied law at the University of North Carolina. After a brief tenure in the state House of Representatives, he served as North Carolina attorney general from 1909 to 1917. In 1916 he was elected governor. Inaugurated on January 11, 1917, Bickett's gubernatorial administration included the beginning of a juvenile court system, the expansion of the state's roads and improvements in education, and the prison system.

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John C. B. Ehringhaus (1882-1949) Encyclopedia

John C. B. Ehringhaus served as a Democratic governor in the most important era's in the state's history since Reconstruction—the Great Depression and New Deal. Ehringhaus intended to maintain the conservative, pro-business policies of his predecessor, O. Max. Gardner, yet like other conservative Democrats in the state, he supported President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was very popular, and favored some New Deal policies--ones that did not threaten the fiscal conservatism of state government. Overall, Ehringhaus limited the impact of the New Deal in the state.

 

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O. Max Gardner (1882-1947) Encyclopedia

O. Max Gardner served as governor of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933, but more importantly, his political organization dominated state politics from the 1920s to the 1940s. As a result, Gardner and his allies controlled the Democratic Party when it dominated the state and the South.  Although initially he endorsed publicly the New Deal, Gardner privately criticized some New Deal programs. By the late 1930s, as the New Deal became more pro-labor and anti-business, Gardner privately opposed it and fought to prevent the implementation of Roosevelt’s “court-packing scheme” and supported New Deal opponents during the 1938 election.

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William Hawkins (1777-1819) Encyclopedia

When the War of 1812 came, North Carolinians voiced pro and anti-war opinions and debated whether the threat from England was worth answering President Madison’s call for troops.  During this time, Governor William Hawkins supported the war effort and cooperated with national authorities in defending the young United States from enemy invasion while increasingly becoming disenchanted with the national government’s lack of military assistance to ensure North Carolina’s safety.

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Clyde R. Hoey (1877-1954) Encyclopedia

The administration of Clyde R. Hoey as governor from 1937 to 1941 reaffirmed conservative rule in the state and also the power of the "Shelby dynasty," the label given to the political organization of former governor Max Gardner, Hoey's brother-in-law and fellow resident of Shelby.

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