William Bull

Background

William Bull was the second son of Lieutenant-Governor William Bull, and of Mary (Quintyne) Bull, and was born on September 24, 1710 at Ashley Hall, South Carolina.

Education

William studied medicine at Leyden and was the first native-born American to receive the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

Career

After his return to South Carolina he did not practise his profession but devoted himself to agriculture and politics. His own ability, combined with the advantages of wealth and social position, made him important in the colony. He was a member of the Commons House in 1736-49, and was speaker, 1740-42 and 1744-49.

In the war with Spain he was captain of one of the South Carolina companies. In 1748 he was appointed to the Council and served with distinction until he became lieutenant-governor in 1759. While in this position, he acted five times as governor, 1760-61, 1764-66, 1768, 1769-71, 1773-75, a total of eight years.

In his relations with the Indians he showed moderation, but when forced to action against them he was energetic and determined. He was sent as commissioner to an Indian conference at Albany, in 1752, where peace was concluded between the Catawbas of South Carolina and the Iroquois of New York, allies of the English but at war with each other.

He tried to avert the Cherokee war in 1759, counseling patience and further conferences with the Indians. His advice was not taken by Governor Lyttleton, and for more than two years South Carolina was embroiled in Indian warfare. Once Bull took part in an active campaign, and after he had replaced Lyttleton as acting governor in 1760, he secured British and colonial aid, and finally in 1761 subdued the Indians.

At the time of the Stamp Act, he had the stamps landed at Fort Johnson at Charleston and prevented a clash with the mob in its first attempt to destroy the paper. When the tea ships arrived at Charleston, he acted with his usual dispatch and, before a hostile populace expected the move, he ordered the Collector to seize the tea and store it. In the summer of 1774 despite his efforts South Carolina advanced rapidly toward colonial union.

Delegates were appointed by the people of Charleston to the First Continental Congress.

A sympathetic House would have confirmed this action had not Bull kept it prorogued. Finally a meeting was contrived for an early hour in the morning, and, before the governor could order the House prorogued, the Charleston election was ratified, and £1, 500 were appropriated for the delegates' expenses. By the summer of 1774 practically all power had passed out of the Governor's hands into those of the Provincial Congress, and when Bull was replaced by Lord William Campbell in 1775, his public career closed and royal authority ended in South Carolina.

Bull retained the love and respect of the people, and his extensive estates were exempted from the act confiscating the property of royalists. He left the colony with the British troops in 1782 and spent the remaining nine years of his life in London.

Achievements

• William Bull was the first native-born American to receive the Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Leyden, in 1734. On his return to South Carolina he turned to agriculture and politics, serving many years in the legislature, including several as speaker, and gaining appointment as brigadier general of the militia in 1751. Becoming lieutenant governor in 1759, he was acting governor for a total of eight years, during the period from 1760 to 1775. While acting governor in 1761, Bull secured the outside support that led to the Cherokee expedition, led by James Grant, that temporarily subdued the Indians. He handled the Regulator crisis, from 1769 to 1771, with diplomacy and intelligence, avoiding the violence that disrupted North Carolina.

Views

While Bull was primarily concerned with politics but he was also interested in education. He contributed £150 to the College of Philadelphia (forerunner of the University of Pennsylvania) and in 1770 recommended that the colony establish public schools and a college for higher education, thus foreshadowing a public school system.

His plan for free schools was lost because the colony was becoming absorbed in opposition to England. Bull's last four administrations as acting governor occurred during the critical period, 1764-75, and his tact and ability were tried to the utmost.

Born and reared in the colony, he had a true understanding of colonial prejudices, but he was loyal to the British government and vainly endeavored to stem the growing revolutionary sentiment.

Connections

He had married on August 17, 1746, Hannah, daughter of Othneal Beale.

Father:

William Bull

Mother:

Mary (Quintyne) Bull

Wife:

Othneal Beale

References

• The Oligarchs in Colonial and Revolutionary Charleston: Lieutenant Governor William Bull II and His Family