(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
(Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
Jonathan Worth was the 39th governor of the U. S. state of North Carolina from 1865 to 1868, during the early years of Reconstruction.
Background
Jonathan Worth was born on November 18, 1802, in Randolph County, North Carolina. He was the eldest son of Dr. David and Eunice Worth (Gardner), and through his father traced his ancestry back to early settlers of Massachusetts; one branch of the family, many of them Quakers, moved to North Carolina from Nantucket before the Revolution.
Education
Worth went to the neighborhood oldfield schools and to Caldwell Institute in Greensboro, and then studied law under Archibald D. Murphey.
Career
In 1824, he began practice at Asheboro. He was shy and retiring and made slow progress, but in 1830 he was elected to the House of Commons and, reelected for a second term, gained a confidence in himself that ended his difficulties. In addition to his practice he engaged in numerous business enterprises, operating several plantations and a turpentine tract and furthering the building of railroads and plank roads. In the legislature of 1831 he took the lead in formulating the protest of the House of Commons against nullification, but he was a bitter opponent of the Jackson administration, and became an enthusiastic and partisan Whig. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 1841 and again in 1845. For a number of years he was clerk and master in equity in Randolph County, but in 1858 he returned to the legislature, where he served two terms in the Senate and one in the Commons. In 1860 he actively opposed the secession movement in the legislature, voting against the bill to submit the question of a convention to the voters, against all the bills for military preparation, and, after the call for troops, against the call of a convention. Resolved to have no part in secession, he refused to be a candidate for the convention, but his mind was definitely made up to support the South and he did so in all sincerity. In 1862 he was elected state treasurer, and in handling an almost impossible task displayed financial capacity of a high order. Though he hated the war, he took no part in the peace movement, but, foreseeing the outcome, was happy when peace finally came. The provisional governor, W. W. Holden, continued him as treasurer, but he resigned in the autumn of 1865 to accept nomination for governor from a group of old Union men who distrusted Holden. Worth was elected, and was reelected in 1866, serving until 1868 when, congressional reconstruction having taken place, he was removed by order of General Canby, commanding the second military district. Throughout his term of office he gave President Johnson and his policy whole-hearted support. His position was one requiring the soundest judgment and the greatest care and tact. Unfriendly elements had to be reconciled, a faction bitterly hostile to the Governor — and to every one opposed to their ideas — had to be watched, a suspicious administration in Washington had to be reassured, and a watchful and hostile North had to be satisfied. All of these ends but the last he accomplished, and that was beyond the power of any Southern man mindful of the people he represented. Worth, unlike most of his supporters, favored the ratification of the new constitution submitted in 1866, but he strongly opposed the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment. Though bitter in his hatred of congressional reconstruction, he established friendly relations with Gen. Daniel E. Sickles, who first commanded the second district, and was thus able in many respects to mitigate the harshness of military rule. After his removal from the governorship in 1868 his health failed rapidly, and he died on September 5, 1869, in Raleigh.