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{{Refimprove|date=April 2019}}
{{short description|American politician}}
{{short description|American politician}}
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{{More citations needed|date=April 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = William Bradley Umstead
| name = William Bradley Umstead
| image = Governor William B. Umstead.jpg
| image = Governor William B. Umstead.jpg
| alt = Black and white photograph of a white man with dark hair, wearing a suit and glasses
| imagesize =
| jr/sr = unknown <!-- deleting this value causes the title to disappear -->
| alt =
| jr/sr = <!--Can be repeated up to eight times by appending 2, 3, etc--> This code has been disabled per Template talk:Infobox Officeholder.
| state = [[North Carolina]]
| state = [[North Carolina]]
| term_start = December 18, 1946
| term_start = December 18, 1946
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| predecessor2 = [[W. Kerr Scott]]
| predecessor2 = [[W. Kerr Scott]]
| successor2 = [[Luther H. Hodges]]
| successor2 = [[Luther H. Hodges]]
| order3 = Member of the<br>[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[North Carolina]]'s [[North Carolina's 6th congressional district|6th]] district
| order3 = Member of the<br />[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br />from [[North Carolina]]'s [[North Carolina's 6th congressional district|6th]] district
| term_start3 = March 4, 1933
| term_start3 = March 4, 1933
| term_end3 = January 3, 1939
| term_end3 = January 3, 1939
Line 29: Line 30:
| death_place = [[Durham, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Durham, North Carolina]], U.S.
| restingplace = Mount Tabor Church Cemetery
| restingplace = Mount Tabor Church Cemetery
[[Durham, North Carolina]]
[[Rougemont, North Carolina]]
| restingplacecoordinates =
| birthname =
| nationality =
| party = [[Southern Democrats|Democratic]]
| party = [[Southern Democrats|Democratic]]
| spouse = Merle Holland Davis
| spouse = [[Merle Davis Umstead|Merle Holland Davis]]
| relations =
| children = 1
| children = 1
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] <br /> [[Duke University|Trinity College]]
| alma_mater = [[The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] <br /> [[Duke University|Trinity College]]
| occupation =
| allegiance = United States
| cabinet =
| branch = United States Army
| committees =
| portfolio =
| religion =
| signature =
| signature_alt =
| website =
| footnotes =
| allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}}
| branch = {{army|United States}}
| serviceyears = 1917–1918
| serviceyears = 1917–1918
| rank = [[File:US-O2 insignia.svg|8px]] [[First Lieutenant]]
| rank = [[First Lieutenant]]
| battles = [[World War I]]
| battles = [[World War I]]
| caption = William B. Umstead, 1952
}}
}}


'''William Bradley Umstead''' (May 13, 1895{{spaced ndash}}November 7, 1954) was an [[United States of America|American]] politician who served as a [[United States Senators|United States Senator]] and the [[List of Governors of North Carolina|63rd]] [[Governor of North Carolina]] from 1953 to 1954.
'''William Bradley Umstead''' (May 13, 1895{{spaced ndash}}November 7, 1954) was an American politician who served as a [[United States Senators|United States Senator]] and the [[List of Governors of North Carolina|63rd governor of North Carolina]] from 1953 to 1954.


== Early life and education ==
== Early life and education ==
Umstead was born in the northern [[Durham County, North Carolina|Durham County]] town of [[Bahama, North Carolina|Bahama]] in 1895. In 1916, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] where, like several of North Carolina's UNC-alumni Governors before him, he was a member of the [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies|Philanthropic Society]]. Reflecting on his time as a Phi, in 1948 Umstead (then a U.S. Senator) asserted in an article to the [[The Daily Tar Heel|Daily Tar Heel]] "If I had in my hand everything I learned in the halls of [the Philanthropic Society] and in my left hand everything I learned in the University, I wouldn't swap my experiences in debating for other things I've learned here in the University."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Handbook of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.pdf|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/11BmH8QdAOwlPMzT-iMelfkxtmU9wBno_/view?fbclid=IwAR0t0Ggh4YKx1SX-n3SkA6jNCsRMmXHMUhdPsdR70AXaK1heHTgGlR1USSs&usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Google Docs}}</ref>
Umstead was born in the northern [[Durham County, North Carolina|Durham County]] town of [[Bahama, North Carolina|Bahama]] in 1895. In 1916, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from the [[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill]] where, like several of North Carolina's UNC-alumni Governors before him, he was a member of the [[Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies|Philanthropic Society]]. Reflecting on his time as a Phi, in 1948 Umstead (then a U.S. Senator) asserted in an article to the [[The Daily Tar Heel|Daily Tar Heel]] "If I had in my hand everything I learned in the halls of [the Philanthropic Society] and in my left hand everything I learned in the University, I wouldn't swap my experiences in debating for other things I've learned here in the University."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Handbook of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.pdf|url=https://drive.google.com/file/d/11BmH8QdAOwlPMzT-iMelfkxtmU9wBno_/view?usp=embed_facebook|access-date=2020-09-08|website=Google Docs}}</ref>


== Career ==
== Career ==
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He later entered law school at Trinity College (now [[Duke University]]). Umstead was a prosecutor for most of his legal career and served as the elected solicitor (today called [[district attorney]]) for a five-county district from 1927 to 1933.
He later entered law school at Trinity College (now [[Duke University]]). Umstead was a prosecutor for most of his legal career and served as the elected solicitor (today called [[district attorney]]) for a five-county district from 1927 to 1933.


He served from 1933 to 1939 in the [[United States House of Representatives]], choosing not to seek re-election in 1938. Umstead was chairman of the [[North Carolina Democratic Party]] for several years until he was appointed to fill a vacant [[United States Senate]] seat in 1946.{{cn|date=April 2022}} After President [[Harry Truman]] proposed civil rights legislation in 1948, Umstead suggested he not seek reelection and told a state Democrat official that he would not support his candidacy.{{sfn|Christensen|2010|p=128}} Defeated for a Senate term of his own in 1948, Umstead ran for governor in [[1952 North Carolina gubernatorial election|1952]] and won.
He served from 1933 to 1939 in the [[United States House of Representatives]], choosing not to seek re-election in 1938. Umstead was chairman of the [[North Carolina Democratic Party]] for several years until he was appointed to fill a vacant [[United States Senate]] seat in 1946.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} After President [[Harry Truman]] proposed civil rights legislation in 1948, Umstead suggested he not seek reelection and told a state Democrat official that he would not support his candidacy.{{sfn|Christensen|2010|p=128}} Defeated for a Senate term of his own in 1948, Umstead ran for governor in [[1952 North Carolina gubernatorial election|1952]] and won.


Umstead spent several weeks preparing his inaugural address. He was inaugurated as Governor of North Carolina on January 8, 1953 at the [[Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts|Memorial Auditorium]]. He delivered an hour-long speech outlining his extensive legislative program,{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=120}} including a 10 percent salary increase for public school staff retroactive to 1 July 1952, passage of a bill requiring [[vehicle inspection]]s and establishment of a drivers' education program in every public high school, bond issues to construct facilities for the treatment and education of the mentally ill and to build schools, and a statewide referendum on the legalization of liquor sales.<ref name= stewart>{{cite web| url = https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/umstead-william-bradley| title = Umstead, William Bradley| last = Stewart| first = A. W.| date = 1996| website = NCPedia| publisher = NC Government & Heritage Library| access-date = December 18, 2020}}</ref> He also criticized his predecessor's road construction program, saying it placed a large financial burden upon the state.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=120}} Umstead was exhausted by the days' ceremonies and was feeling ill, but he stood to greet visitors at the [[North Carolina Executive Mansion|Executive Mansion]] for four hours and attended a ball in the evening.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=120–121}}
Umstead spent several weeks preparing his inaugural address. He was inaugurated as Governor of North Carolina on January 8, 1953, at the [[Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts|Memorial Auditorium]]. He delivered an hour-long speech outlining his extensive legislative program,{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=120}} including a 10 percent salary increase for public school staff retroactive to 1 July 1952, passage of a bill requiring [[vehicle inspection]]s and establishment of a drivers' education program in every public high school, bond issues to construct facilities for the treatment and education of the mentally ill and to build schools, and a statewide referendum on the legalization of liquor sales.<ref name= stewart>{{cite web| url = https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/umstead-william-bradley| title = Umstead, William Bradley| last = Stewart| first = A. W.| date = 1996| website = NCPedia| publisher = NC Government & Heritage Library| access-date = December 18, 2020}}</ref> He also criticized his predecessor's road construction program, saying it placed a large financial burden upon the state.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=120}} Umstead was exhausted by the days' ceremonies and was feeling ill, but he stood to greet visitors at the [[North Carolina Executive Mansion|Executive Mansion]] for four hours and attended a ball in the evening.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=120–121}}


Umstead spent most of the following day getting his office in order, and on January 10 he went to work in his Durham law firm before retiring to his home near Bahama in the evening. He called a doctor when he could not fall asleep due to a cough, and after midnight he was taken to [[Watts Hospital]] in Durham. Once there, his doctor discovered that he had suffered a heart attack and was close to developing pneumonia. His doctor released a statement saying that the governor had suffered "a mild attack of heart trouble" and was quickly improving, hoping to be released in 12 to 15 days. Leaders in the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] were unsure if they should proceed with their session while Umstead was hospitalized, but he insisted they begin their work while at the same time giving no instructions to the presiding officer of the Senate, [[Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Luther H. Hodges]].{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=121}} The two men had tense relations since their campaigns, when Umstead sought to distance himself from Hodges. Umstead also gave Hodges no indications of his legislative agenda,{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=121–122}} and ignored him throughout his term.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=148}}
Umstead spent most of the following day getting his office in order, and on January 10 he went to work in his Durham law firm before retiring to his home near Bahama in the evening. He called a doctor when he could not fall asleep due to a cough, and after midnight he was taken to [[Watts Hospital]] in Durham. Once there, his doctor discovered that he had suffered a heart attack and was close to developing pneumonia. His doctor released a statement saying that the governor had suffered "a mild attack of heart trouble" and was quickly improving, hoping to be released in 12 to 15 days. Leaders in the [[North Carolina General Assembly]] were unsure if they should proceed with their session while Umstead was hospitalized, but he insisted they begin their work while at the same time giving no instructions to the presiding officer of the Senate, [[Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina|Lieutenant Governor]] [[Luther H. Hodges]].{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=121}} The two men had tense relations since their campaigns, when Umstead sought to distance himself from Hodges. Umstead also gave Hodges no indications of his legislative agenda,{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=121–122}} and ignored him throughout his term.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=148}}


Umstead remained in the hospital for 27 days and returned to the Executive Mansion under the condition that he stay in bed and work limited hours. He had his brother John and former Speaker of the House W. Frank Taylor direct most of his legislative program. Small groups of legislators would visit him in his bedroom to discuss his plans.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=123–124}} He never fully recovered from his heart attack and remained unwell.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=149}} In June 1953 U.S. Senator [[Willis Smith]] died. The media immediately began speculating about who Umstead would appoint to serve the remaining 18 months of Willis' term.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=126–127}} Umstead said little publicly other than that his choice would be of someone with agricultural concerns and respect North Carolina's traditional east-west balance in representation in government. North Carolina's other senator, [[Clyde Hoey]], hailed from the western portion of the state, so it was assumed that Umstead would nominate an easterner. On July 10 Umstead made the surprise appointment of [[Alton Lennon]] to the office, a lawyer from Wilmington who had worked on Umstead's Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. Umstead's friends suggested that the governor had made the decision simply to get over with it, while observers speculated that Lennon was intended to be a [[dark horse]] candidate who could prevail through the next Senate election by being attached to Umstead's popularity.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=127}}
Umstead remained in the hospital for 27 days and returned to the Executive Mansion under the condition that he stay in bed and work limited hours. He had his brother John and former Speaker of the House W. Frank Taylor direct most of his legislative program. Small groups of legislators would visit him in his bedroom to discuss his plans.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=123–124}} He never fully recovered from his heart attack and remained unwell.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=149}} In June 1953 U.S. Senator [[Willis Smith]] died. The media immediately began speculating about who Umstead would appoint to serve the remaining 18 months of Willis' term.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=126–127}} Umstead said little publicly other than that his choice would be of someone with agricultural concerns and respect North Carolina's traditional east–west balance in representation in government. North Carolina's other senator, [[Clyde Hoey]], hailed from the western portion of the state, so it was assumed that Umstead would nominate an easterner. On July 10 Umstead made the surprise appointment of [[Alton Lennon]] to the office, a lawyer from Wilmington who had worked on Umstead's Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. Umstead's friends suggested that the governor had made the decision simply to get over with it, while observers speculated that Lennon was intended to be a [[dark horse]] candidate who could prevail through the next Senate election by being attached to Umstead's popularity.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=127}}


Hoey died on May 12, 1954, thus presenting Umstead with the chance to fill a second U.S. Senate vacancy, an opportunity not afforded to a governor in the United States since 1936.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=133–134}} Shortly thereafter the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] issued its decision in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', ruling that the racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Umstead was angered by the decision, feeling the court had overstepped its bounds and undercut state's rights to spend their own money, but he believed in the [[rule of law]] and felt obligated not to dismiss the ruling out of hand. He also thought a charged public response would be undignified and politically risky.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=135–136}} In June, 1954, Umstead appointed [[Sam Ervin]] to fill Hoey's vacancy.
Hoey died on May 12, 1954, thus presenting Umstead with the chance to fill a second U.S. Senate vacancy, an opportunity not afforded to a governor in the United States since 1936.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=133–134}} Shortly thereafter the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] issued its decision in ''[[Brown v. Board of Education]]'', ruling that the racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Umstead was angered by the decision, feeling the court had overstepped its bounds and undercut state's rights to spend their own money, but he believed in the [[rule of law]] and felt obligated not to dismiss the ruling out of hand. He also thought a charged public response would be undignified and politically risky.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|pp=135–136}} In June 1954, Umstead appointed [[Sam Ervin]] to fill Hoey's vacancy.


== Death ==
== Death ==
Umstead's health declined over the course of his term, worsened by his insistence on his strenuous amount of work. On the afternoon of November 4 Umstead, feeling ill, retired from his office to his bed in the Executive Mansion. His doctor ordered him to be taken to Watts Hospital, while the governor's office released a statement saying a severe cold had disturbed Umstead's heart. Umstead packed a briefcase full of documents so he could continue to work while hospitalized, but his health did not improve and he did not open the briefcase while at Watts. He died there at 9:10 AM on November 7 with his wife and daughter at his side. A funeral was held two days later and immediately afterwards Hodges was sworn-in as Governor of North Carolina.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=149}} Umstead is buried in the Mount Tabor Church Cemetery in Mangum Township near Bahama.<ref name= stewart/>
Umstead's health declined over the course of his term, worsened by his insistence on his strenuous amount of work. On the afternoon of November 4 Umstead, feeling ill, retired from his office to his bed in the Executive Mansion. His doctor ordered him to be taken to Watts Hospital, while the governor's office released a statement saying a severe cold had disturbed Umstead's heart. Umstead packed a briefcase full of documents so he could continue to work while hospitalized, but his health did not improve and he did not open the briefcase while at Watts. He died there at 9:10 AM on November 7 with his wife and daughter at his side. A funeral was held two days later and immediately afterwards Hodges was sworn in as Governor of North Carolina.{{sfn|Covington|Ellis|1999|p=149}} Umstead is buried in the Mount Tabor Church Cemetery in [[Mangum Township]] in [[Rougemont, North Carolina|Rougemont]], near Bahama.<ref name= stewart/>


The [[William B. Umstead Bridge]] in [[Dare County, North Carolina]] was named in his honor in 1957.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/safety/Teppl/TEPPL%20All%20Documents%20Library/Sorted%20by%20County.pdf|title=North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities |publisher= [[North Carolina Department of Transportation]] |access-date=June 21, 2015}}</ref> In 1966, the state of North Carolina named the [[William B. Umstead State Park]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]] in his honor, as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of William B. Umstead State Park|url=http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/wium/history.php|publisher=N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation}}</ref>
The [[William B. Umstead Bridge]] in [[Dare County, North Carolina]] was named in his honor in 1957.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/safety/Teppl/TEPPL%20All%20Documents%20Library/Sorted%20by%20County.pdf|title=North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities|publisher=[[North Carolina Department of Transportation]]|access-date=June 21, 2015|archive-date=December 29, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229090753/https://connect.ncdot.gov/resources/safety/Teppl/TEPPL%20All%20Documents%20Library/Sorted%20by%20County.pdf}}</ref> In 1966, the state of North Carolina named the [[William B. Umstead State Park]] in [[Raleigh, North Carolina]] in his honor, as well.<ref>{{cite web|title=History of William B. Umstead State Park|url=http://www.ncparks.gov/Visit/parks/wium/history.php|publisher=N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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== Works cited ==
== Works cited ==
* {{cite book| last = Christensen| first = Rob| title = The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics : The Personalities, Elections, and Events That Shaped Modern North Carolina| publisher = The University of North Carolina Press| edition = second| date = 2010| location = Chapel Hill| isbn = 978-0-8078-7151-5}}
* {{cite book| last = Christensen| first = Rob| title = The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics: The Personalities, Elections, and Events That Shaped Modern North Carolina| publisher = The University of North Carolina Press| edition = second| date = 2010| location = Chapel Hill| isbn = 978-0-8078-7151-5}}
* {{cite book|last1=Covington|first1=Howard E., Jr|last2=Ellis|first2= Marion A.|title=Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions|publisher=Duke University Press|location=Durham|year=1999|isbn=9780822323563|url=https://archive.org/details/terrysanfordpoli00covi|url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|last1=Covington|first1=Howard E. Jr|last2=Ellis|first2= Marion A.|title=Terry Sanford: Politics, Progress, and Outrageous Ambitions|publisher=Duke University Press|location=Durham|year=1999|isbn=978-0-8223-2356-3|url=https://archive.org/details/terrysanfordpoli00covi|url-access=registration}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commonscat|William B. Umstead}}
* [https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ecu-icons/umstead East Carolina University Icons Gallery profile]
* [https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ecu-icons/umstead East Carolina University Icons Gallery profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208125327/https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/ecu-icons/umstead |date=2015-12-08 }}


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{{USSenNC}}
{{USSenNC}}
{{Governors of North Carolina}}
{{Governors of North Carolina}}

{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


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[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1895 births]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:1954 deaths]]
[[Category:Governors of North Carolina]]
[[Category:American segregationists]]
[[Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of North Carolina]]
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[[Category:United States senators from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]
[[Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from North Carolina]]
[[Category:North Carolina Democrats]]
[[Category:North Carolina Democratic Party chairs]]
[[Category:North Carolina Democratic Party chairs]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives]]
[[Category:Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Democratic Party state governors of the United States]]
[[Category:People from Durham County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:People from Durham County, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Military personnel from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Military personnel from North Carolina]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War I]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
[[Category:United States Army officers]]
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[[Category:20th-century United States senators]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives]]

Latest revision as of 22:44, 7 December 2024

William Bradley Umstead
Black and white photograph of a white man with dark hair, wearing a suit and glasses
William B. Umstead, 1952
United States Senator
from North Carolina
In office
December 18, 1946 – December 30, 1948
Appointed byR. Gregg Cherry
Preceded byJosiah Bailey
Succeeded byJ. Melville Broughton
63rd Governor of North Carolina
In office
January 8, 1953 – November 7, 1954
LieutenantLuther H. Hodges
Preceded byW. Kerr Scott
Succeeded byLuther H. Hodges
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 6th district
In office
March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939
Preceded byJ. Bayard Clark
Succeeded byCarl T. Durham
Personal details
Born(1895-05-13)May 13, 1895
Mangum Township, Durham County, North Carolina, U.S.
DiedNovember 7, 1954(1954-11-07) (aged 59)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Resting placeMount Tabor Church Cemetery Rougemont, North Carolina
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseMerle Holland Davis
Children1
Alma materThe University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Trinity College
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service1917–1918
RankFirst Lieutenant
Battles/warsWorld War I

William Bradley Umstead (May 13, 1895 – November 7, 1954) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator and the 63rd governor of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954.

Early life and education

[edit]

Umstead was born in the northern Durham County town of Bahama in 1895. In 1916, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where, like several of North Carolina's UNC-alumni Governors before him, he was a member of the Philanthropic Society. Reflecting on his time as a Phi, in 1948 Umstead (then a U.S. Senator) asserted in an article to the Daily Tar Heel "If I had in my hand everything I learned in the halls of [the Philanthropic Society] and in my left hand everything I learned in the University, I wouldn't swap my experiences in debating for other things I've learned here in the University."[1]

Career

[edit]

Umstead taught high school history for approximately one school year before joining the United States Army after the American entry into World War I in April 1917. He served as an officer and saw combat in France; Umstead was discharged in 1919 as a first lieutenant. He served with the 317th Machine Gun Battalion of the 81st "Wildcat" Division.[2]

He later entered law school at Trinity College (now Duke University). Umstead was a prosecutor for most of his legal career and served as the elected solicitor (today called district attorney) for a five-county district from 1927 to 1933.

He served from 1933 to 1939 in the United States House of Representatives, choosing not to seek re-election in 1938. Umstead was chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party for several years until he was appointed to fill a vacant United States Senate seat in 1946.[citation needed] After President Harry Truman proposed civil rights legislation in 1948, Umstead suggested he not seek reelection and told a state Democrat official that he would not support his candidacy.[3] Defeated for a Senate term of his own in 1948, Umstead ran for governor in 1952 and won.

Umstead spent several weeks preparing his inaugural address. He was inaugurated as Governor of North Carolina on January 8, 1953, at the Memorial Auditorium. He delivered an hour-long speech outlining his extensive legislative program,[4] including a 10 percent salary increase for public school staff retroactive to 1 July 1952, passage of a bill requiring vehicle inspections and establishment of a drivers' education program in every public high school, bond issues to construct facilities for the treatment and education of the mentally ill and to build schools, and a statewide referendum on the legalization of liquor sales.[5] He also criticized his predecessor's road construction program, saying it placed a large financial burden upon the state.[4] Umstead was exhausted by the days' ceremonies and was feeling ill, but he stood to greet visitors at the Executive Mansion for four hours and attended a ball in the evening.[6]

Umstead spent most of the following day getting his office in order, and on January 10 he went to work in his Durham law firm before retiring to his home near Bahama in the evening. He called a doctor when he could not fall asleep due to a cough, and after midnight he was taken to Watts Hospital in Durham. Once there, his doctor discovered that he had suffered a heart attack and was close to developing pneumonia. His doctor released a statement saying that the governor had suffered "a mild attack of heart trouble" and was quickly improving, hoping to be released in 12 to 15 days. Leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly were unsure if they should proceed with their session while Umstead was hospitalized, but he insisted they begin their work while at the same time giving no instructions to the presiding officer of the Senate, Lieutenant Governor Luther H. Hodges.[7] The two men had tense relations since their campaigns, when Umstead sought to distance himself from Hodges. Umstead also gave Hodges no indications of his legislative agenda,[8] and ignored him throughout his term.[9]

Umstead remained in the hospital for 27 days and returned to the Executive Mansion under the condition that he stay in bed and work limited hours. He had his brother John and former Speaker of the House W. Frank Taylor direct most of his legislative program. Small groups of legislators would visit him in his bedroom to discuss his plans.[10] He never fully recovered from his heart attack and remained unwell.[11] In June 1953 U.S. Senator Willis Smith died. The media immediately began speculating about who Umstead would appoint to serve the remaining 18 months of Willis' term.[12] Umstead said little publicly other than that his choice would be of someone with agricultural concerns and respect North Carolina's traditional east–west balance in representation in government. North Carolina's other senator, Clyde Hoey, hailed from the western portion of the state, so it was assumed that Umstead would nominate an easterner. On July 10 Umstead made the surprise appointment of Alton Lennon to the office, a lawyer from Wilmington who had worked on Umstead's Senate and gubernatorial campaigns. Umstead's friends suggested that the governor had made the decision simply to get over with it, while observers speculated that Lennon was intended to be a dark horse candidate who could prevail through the next Senate election by being attached to Umstead's popularity.[13]

Hoey died on May 12, 1954, thus presenting Umstead with the chance to fill a second U.S. Senate vacancy, an opportunity not afforded to a governor in the United States since 1936.[14] Shortly thereafter the Supreme Court of the United States issued its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, ruling that the racial segregation of public schools was unconstitutional. Umstead was angered by the decision, feeling the court had overstepped its bounds and undercut state's rights to spend their own money, but he believed in the rule of law and felt obligated not to dismiss the ruling out of hand. He also thought a charged public response would be undignified and politically risky.[15] In June 1954, Umstead appointed Sam Ervin to fill Hoey's vacancy.

Death

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Umstead's health declined over the course of his term, worsened by his insistence on his strenuous amount of work. On the afternoon of November 4 Umstead, feeling ill, retired from his office to his bed in the Executive Mansion. His doctor ordered him to be taken to Watts Hospital, while the governor's office released a statement saying a severe cold had disturbed Umstead's heart. Umstead packed a briefcase full of documents so he could continue to work while hospitalized, but his health did not improve and he did not open the briefcase while at Watts. He died there at 9:10 AM on November 7 with his wife and daughter at his side. A funeral was held two days later and immediately afterwards Hodges was sworn in as Governor of North Carolina.[11] Umstead is buried in the Mount Tabor Church Cemetery in Mangum Township in Rougemont, near Bahama.[5]

The William B. Umstead Bridge in Dare County, North Carolina was named in his honor in 1957.[16] In 1966, the state of North Carolina named the William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, North Carolina in his honor, as well.[17]

References

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  1. ^ "Handbook of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies.pdf". Google Docs. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Governor William Bradley Umstead".
  3. ^ Christensen 2010, p. 128.
  4. ^ a b Covington & Ellis 1999, p. 120.
  5. ^ a b Stewart, A. W. (1996). "Umstead, William Bradley". NCPedia. NC Government & Heritage Library. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  6. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, pp. 120–121.
  7. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, p. 121.
  8. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, pp. 121–122.
  9. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, p. 148.
  10. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, pp. 123–124.
  11. ^ a b Covington & Ellis 1999, p. 149.
  12. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, pp. 126–127.
  13. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, p. 127.
  14. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, pp. 133–134.
  15. ^ Covington & Ellis 1999, pp. 135–136.
  16. ^ "North Carolina Memorial Highways and other Named Facilities" (PDF). North Carolina Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2012. Retrieved June 21, 2015.
  17. ^ "History of William B. Umstead State Park". N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.

Works cited

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to William B. Umstead.
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of North Carolina
1952 		Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from North Carolina's 6th congressional district
March 4, 1933-January 3, 1939 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 2) from North Carolina
December 18, 1946– December 30, 1948
Served alongside: Clyde Roark Hoey 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of North Carolina
January 8, 1953– November 7, 1954 		Succeeded by
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