David Lowry Swain (January 4, 1801August 27, 1868) was the 26th

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the U.S. state of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, from 1832 to 1835.

Early life

He was born in

Buncombe County, North Carolina Buncombe County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina C ...

; his father, George Swain, was a farmer and a member of the

North Carolina General Assembly The North Carolina General Assembly is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Government of North Carolina, state government of North Carolina. The legislature consists of two chambers: the North Carolina Senate, Senate and the North Ca ...

. He received his early education at

New Academy The Academy (), variously known as Plato's Academy, or the Platonic Academy, was founded in Athens by Plato ''circa'' 387 BC. The academy is regarded as the first institution of higher education in the west, where subjects as diverse as biolog ...

near

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

and briefly attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

, where he was a member of the Dialectic Society. Swain left his university studies in 1821 after only four months to study law with Chief Justice John Louis Taylor of the

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

; he was admitted to the bar in 1823.

Career

The citizens of Buncombe County chose Swain as their representative in the

from 1824 to 1830; he was appointed to the state Superior Court as a judge, serving from 1830 to 1832. Swain resigned as a judge to accept the vote of the

to serve as governor; at the time he was the youngest governor in state history, and the first to belong to the Whig Party. As governor, Swain was a promoter of

internal improvements Internal improvements is the term used historically in the United States for public works from the end of the American Revolution through much of the 19th century, mainly for the creation of a transportation infrastructure: roads, turnpikes, can ...

, including railroads and education, although he received little support form the legislature. In 1835, he was a leading delegate to the state constitutional convention; his last act as governor was to issue the proclamation declaring the ratification of 1835's extensive amendments to the

Constitution of North Carolina The Constitution of the State of North Carolina governs the structure and function of the state government of North Carolina, one of the U.S. states; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. (Like all U. ...

. After serving the constitutional limit of three one-year terms, Swain was named president of the

in 1835; he held this post for 33 years and promoted the growth of the institution. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, Swain was drawn back into North Carolina politics; he represented the state at an 1861

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

convention, but declined a position in the Confederate Senate in 1863. In 1865, Swain helped negotiate the surrender of

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

to the forces of General

William Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), earning recognition for his comm ...

, and, following the end of the war, advised

U.S. president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. The 16th vice president, he assumed the presidency following the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a South ...

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *''Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Union ...

policies. Although Swain had attempted, facing serious challenges, to keep the University of North Carolina open during the course of the war, by 1868, the school was suffering financially, and, at the request of a new board of trustees appointed by the state legislature, he resigned. On August 11, 1868, he was thrown from a buggy pulled by a horse that General Sherman had given him. Though confined to bed due to shock and weakness, Swain appeared to be recovering, but he succumbed to his injuries on August 27. He was buried in the garden of his home in Chapel Hill, but was later reinterred in the

Historic Oakwood Cemetery Historic Oakwood Cemetery was founded in 1869 in Raleigh, North Carolina, the state capital of North Carolina, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Historic Oakwood Cemetery contains two special ar ...

in Raleigh, N.C.

Legacy

* Swain County, formed in 1871, was named in his honor.

References

* ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978'',

Robert Sobel Robert Sobel (February 19, 1931 – June 2, 1999) was an American professor of history at Hofstra University and a well-known and prolific writer of business histories. Biography Sobel was born in the Bronx. He completed his B.S.S. (1951) an ...

and John Raimo, eds. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. ()

External links

''Early Times in Raleigh, addresses delivered by the Hon. David L. Swain, 1867''
Raleigh: Walter, Hughes & Co., 1867.
Inventory of the David L. Swain Papers, 1807–1877
in the

Southern Historical Collection The Southern Historical Collection is a repository of distinct archival collections at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which document the culture and history of the American South. These collections are made up of unique primary mat ...

UNC-Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolling students in 1795 ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swain, David 1801 births 1868 deaths People from Buncombe County, North Carolina North Carolina National Republicans North Carolina Whigs Governors of North Carolina North Carolina state court judges Burials at Historic Oakwood Cemetery People of North Carolina in the American Civil War Leaders of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly American slave owners

Early life

Career

Legacy

References

Further reading

External links