Richard Dobbs Spaight

This article is about the eighth governor of North Carolina. For his son, the 27th governor, seeRichard Dobbs Spaight Jr.

Richard Spaight
Portrait byEllen Sharples,c. 1800–1810.
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Carolina's10thdistrict
In office December 10, 1798 – March 3, 1801
Preceded by	Nathan Bryan
Succeeded by	John Stanly
8thGovernor of North Carolina
In office December 14, 1792 – November 19, 1795
Preceded by	Alexander Martin
Succeeded by	Samuel Ashe
Personal details
Born	Richard Dobbs Spaight (1758-03-25)March 25, 1758 New Bern,North Carolina,British America
Died	September 6, 1802(1802-09-06)(aged 44) New Bern, North Carolina,U.S.
Political party	Federalist(before 1799) Democratic-Republican(1799–1802)
Spouse	Mary Leech ​ (m.1788)​
Children	3, includingRichard
Education	University of Glasgow
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	North Carolina Militia
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	American Revolutionary War •Battle of Camden Court House

Richard Dobbs Spaight(March 25, 1758 – September 6, 1802) was an AmericanFounding Father,politician,planter,and signer of theUnited States Constitution,who served as aDemocratic-RepublicanU.S. RepresentativeforNorth Carolina's 10th congressional districtfrom 1798 to 1801. Spaight was the eighthgovernor of North Carolinafrom 1792 to 1795. He ran for theNorth Carolina Senatein 1802, andFederalistU.S. CongressmanJohn Stanlycampaigned against him as unworthy. Taking offense, Stanly challenged him to aduelon September 5, 1802, in which Stanly shot and mortally wounded Spaight, who died the following day.

Biography

Spaight was the father of North Carolina GovernorRichard Dobbs Spaight Jr.and the grandfather of U.S. RepresentativeRichard Spaight Donnell.

Early life

Spaight was born inNew Bern, North Carolina,the son of the secretary of the Crown in the colony and grand-nephew of North Carolina GovernorArthur Dobbs.Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to live with his Dobbs relatives atCarrickfergusin Northern Ireland and later followed his cousin Richard Dobbs to theUniversity of Glasgow.During theAmerican Revolutionary WarSpaight returned to North Carolina, serving asaide-de-campto Major GeneralRichard Caswellat theBattle of Camden.

Political career

Scene at the Signing of the Constitution of the United States

Richard Dobbs Spaight, No. 17.

The North Carolina General Assembly elected Spaight a delegate to theCongress of the Confederationbetween 1782 and 1785; he then served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1785 to 1787 and was namedspeaker of the House.In 1787, he was a delegate to thePhiladelphia Conventionthat drafted the U.S. Constitution, and he signed the document when he was 29 years old.

Under theNorth Carolina Constitutionof 1776, Spaight was nominated for governor in 1787 but was defeated by a majority in the General Assembly; he was nominated for the United States Senate in 1789 and was again defeated. In 1788, he was a member of the state convention, which voted not to ratify the Constitution, although Spaight supported ratification. On March 24, 1788, he married Mary Leach, who had the distinction of being the first lady to dance withGeorge Washingtonat a ball in Washington's honor at theGovernor's Palace, New Bern,in 1791.

Spaight retired from politics for several years because of ill health; he returned to the state House of Representatives in 1792. Also, in 1792, he was elected the first native-born governor of North Carolinaand was re-elected by the General Assembly for two further one-year terms. During his term as governor, sites were chosen for the new state capital ofRaleighand the newly charteredUniversity of North Carolina.Spaight was chair of the university's board of trustees during his term as governor. He stepped down as governor in 1795, having served the constitutional limit of three one-year terms.

Spaight was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1798, filling the unexpired term ofNathan Bryan;he was elected to a two-year term in 1799, serving until 1801, and though elected as a Federalist, his views on states rights led him to become associated with the Democratic-Republican Party ofThomas Jefferson.He lost his bid for re-election to Congress but returned to state government, serving in the North Carolina Senate beginning in 1801.

Slavery

See also:History of slavery in North Carolina

Spaight was part of theplanter classand an extensive enslaver. According to census records, he enslaved 71 people in 1790 and 83 people in 1800. At the time of his death in 1802, he was enslaving 89 people.As a delegate to theConfederation Congress,Spaight led the successful effort to eliminateThomas Jefferson's proposed ban on slavery from theNorthwest Ordinance of 1784.

Death and legacy

Spaight died on September 6, 1802, following injuries sustained in a duel with John Stanly, leading to a death soon to come. the Federalist congressman who had defeated him in the election of 1800 for the House of Representatives. Spaight is buried at "Clermont," near New Bern, North Carolina. Spaight Street inMadison, Wisconsin,is named in honor of Richard Spaight. Most of the main streets in downtown Madison are named aftersigners of the United States Constitution.

Coat of arms of Richard Dobbs Spaight

Crest A dove Escutcheon Argent, on a fess Gules 3 pheons

Bibliography

• Sobel, Robert;Raimo, John, eds. (1978).Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Volume III: Montana-Pennsylvania.Westport, CT:Meckler Books.OCLC3204818.
• Watson, Alan D. (1987).Richard Dobbs Spaight.New Bern, North Carolina: Griffin & Tilghman.OCLC17445571.
• Wheeler, John H.(1880).Sketch of the Life of Richard Dobbs Spaight of North Carolina.Baltimore: William K. Boyle.OCLC4724626.RetrievedMarch 30,2021– viaInternet Archive.

External links

• Richard Dobbs SpaightatFind a Grave
• Richard Dobbs Spaightat The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org)
• Richard Dobbs Spaightat theNational Governors Association
• Richard Dobbs SpaightatThe Political Graveyard
• Richard Dobbs Spaight Gravesite PreservationonYouTube
• United States Congress."Richard Dobbs Spaight (id: S000693)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Works by or about Richard Dobbs SpaightatInternet Archive