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

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 of

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 So ...

, from 1832 to 1835. He was born in

Buncombe County, North Carolina Buncombe County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is classified within Western North Carolina. The 2020 census reported the population was 269,452. Its county seat is Asheville. Buncombe County is part of the Asheville ...

; 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 (Ancient Greek: Ἀκαδημία) was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic p ...

near

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

and briefly attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, where he was a member of the

Dialectic Society Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing ...

. Swain left his university studies in 1821 after only 4 months to study law with Chief Justice

John Louis Taylor John Louis Taylor (March 1, 1769 – January 29, 1829) was an American jurist and first chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. Born in London, England, he is the only foreign-born Chief Justice in state history. He was brought to Amer ...

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. 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, canal ...

, 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 United States; it is the highest legal document for the state and subjugates North Carolina law. All U.S. st ...

. 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, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

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

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

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

Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...

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), achieving recognition for his com ...

, 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 of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a Dem ...

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 North Carolina's capital, Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, near the North Carolina State Capitol in the city's Historic Oakwood neighborhood. Historic Oakwood Cemetery contains two special areas ...

Raleigh, N.C. Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southea ...

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, in New York City, New York. He c ...

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 {{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 American politicians American slave owners