Background
Alexander Martin was born in 1740 and was the son of Hugh and Jane Martin of Hunterdon County, New Jersey.
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Alexander Martin
Edit ProfileEducation
Martin received the degree of A. B. from the College of New Jersey in 1756 and soon thereafter moved to the village of Salisbury, North Carolina.
Career
In North Carolina he was merchant, justice of the peace in 1764, deputy king's attorney in 1766, and judge in 1774-75. Incurring the hostility of the Regulators, he was severely whipped by them at the Hillsborough superior court in 1770 and was one of the signers of an agreement with them in Rowan County in 1771 to refund all fees taken illegally and to arbitrate all differences. He represented Guilford County, to which he had recently moved, in the North Carolina House of Commons (1773 - 74) and in the second and third provincial congresses (1775) as a supporter of the Patriot cause. Appointed lieutenant-colonel of the 2nd North Carolina Continental Regiment, September 1, 1775, he participated in the "Snow Campaign" against the Loyalists in upper South Carolina late in the year; in the Moore's Creek campaign of February 1776; and, after promotion to a colonelcy, in the defense of Charleston in June. In 1777 he joined Washington's army in the North, but having been arrested for cowardice in the battle of Germantown, tried by court martial, and acquitted, he resigned his command on November 22 and returned to North Carolina. He represented Guilford County in the Senate, 1778-82, 1785, 1787-88, being speaker at every session except those of 1778-79; was a member in 1780-81 of the powerful Board of War and its successor, the Council Extraordinary; and acted as governor during the captivity of Governor Burke in the autumn and winter of 1781-82. The General Assembly elected him governor in 1782 over the conservative Samuel Johnston, in 1783 over Richard Caswell, and in 1784 without opposition. In December 1786 he was elected to the Continental Congress, but resigned the next year. He was the least strongly Federalistic and a relatively inconspicuous member of the North Carolina delegation to the Federal Convention of 1787. He left the Convention late in August and did not sign the completed Constitution. Nevertheless, his Federalism caused his defeat in the election of delegates to the Hillsborough Convention in 1788. He was again elected governor in 1789 and, by reelections, completed in 1792 the constitutional limit of three consecutive terms. In 1792 the Republican legislature elected him to the United States Senate. Here his most conspicuous role was that of advocate of open legislative sessions. He voted for the Alien and Sedition acts, and probably for that reason failed of reelection in December 1798. In 1799 he returned to his plantation, "Danbury, " in Rockingham County, whither he had moved his residence prior to 1790, when he was reported as the owner of forty-seven slaves. He represented Rockingham County in the state Senate, 1804-05, serving as speaker during the session of 1805. He was a trustee of several academies and of the University of North Carolina, 1790-1807. On November 2, 1807, he died at "Danbury, " closing a public career unusual in length and popularity.
Achievements
Politics
A moderate Federalist before 1790, he inclined toward Republicanism thereafter.
Personality
Martin was not a public speaker or a man of remarkable ability. Suave, upright, moderate, faithful, an excellent parliamentarian, and a master of the art of conciliation, he courted with great success the favor of the powerful General Assembly by magnifying its ascendency over the governorship and drifting with the current of its opinion, in divining which he was an adept. In courteous gubernatorial messages he suggested clemency toward the Tories; encouragement of education; public support of ministers, regardless of denomination; greater power for the Continental Congress; stimulation of agriculture, commerce, and manufactures; and the construction of a system of internal improvements by convict labor. In public life he sought to placate both sides.
Connections
He never married.
References
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Born
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Died
January 2, 1807 (aged 67) -
Nationality
American -
Political Party
Anti-Administration Party