Cameron A. Morrison (October 5, 1869August 20, 1953) was an American politician and the 55th

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

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

from 1921 to 1925.

Early life and career

He was born in 1869 in

Richmond County, North Carolina Richmond County is a county located on the central southern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 42,946. Its county seat is Rockingham. History Early history The earliest inhabitants of the ...

. In 1898, Morrison participated in the Wilmington insurrection of 1898, a violent coup d'état by a group of white supremacists. They expelled opposition black and white political leaders from the city, destroyed the property and businesses of black citizens built up since the Civil War, including the only black newspaper in the city, and killed an estimated 60 to more than 300 people. The governor of North Carolina, Daniel Lindsay Russell, was forced to flee from Wilmington to Raleigh. Morrison boarded Russell's train in

Maxton, North Carolina Maxton is a town in Robeson and Scotland counties, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,426 at the time of the 2010 U.S. Census. History The Maxton area was first settled in the 18th century. The community was incorporated in 1874 ...

in the company of a small band of Red Shirts and warned Russell that a more hostile band of Red Shirts were waiting at a later stop. He advised Russell to hide in the baggage car to avoid being lynched, which he did. In 1900, he was elected to the

North Carolina Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

for one term.

Governorship

With the backing of Sen. Furnifold Simmons and the help of race-baiting tactics employed by A. D. Watts, Morrison defeated O. Max Gardner in the 1920 Democratic primary for governor. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee

John J. Parker John Johnston Parker (November 20, 1885 – March 17, 1958) was an American politician and United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. He was an unsuccessful nominee for associate justice of the Unite ...

. He came to be called "the Good Roads governor" for his support of a modern highway system. Morrison also pushed for increased funds for public education, while also battling the teaching of the theory of

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

Later career

He was later appointed to serve as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

for the state of

(after the death of Lee S. Overman) between 1930 and 1932, but lost his seat in the Democratic primary runoff to Robert R. Reynolds. Morrison was later elected to one term in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1943 to 1945. He again lost a Democratic primary for a U.S. Senate seat in 1944, to

Clyde R. Hoey Clyde Roark Hoey (December 11, 1877May 12, 1954) was an American Democratic politician from North Carolina. He served in both houses of the state legislature and served briefly in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1919 to 1921. He was Nor ...

. He died in

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

in 1953.

Legacy

A ten-story residence hall on the campus of UNC-Chapel Hill is named in Morrison's honor. His home at Charlotte, Morrocroft, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1983. A library in Charlotte was named after Morrison, but was renamed in 2020 due to Morrison's ties with the Red Shirts and white supremacy. A residence hall at

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...

was also named after Morrison, but the name was removed in 2020.

References

External links

*Cameron Morriso

at NCpedia {{DEFAULTSORT:Morrison, Cameron A. 1869 births 1953 deaths People from Rockingham, North Carolina Democratic Party governors of North Carolina Democratic Party North Carolina state senators 1916 United States presidential electors North Carolina lawyers Politicians from Charlotte, North Carolina Democratic Party United States senators from North Carolina Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Lawyers from Charlotte, North Carolina 20th-century American politicians Wilmington insurrection of 1898 Neo-Confederates American Christian creationists Old Right (United States)