Richard Dobbs Spaight (March 25, 1758September 6, 1802) was an American

Founding Father The following list of national founding figures is a record, by country, of people who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e. ...

, politician, planter, and signer of the

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, who served as a

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U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 10th congressional district from 1798 to 1801. Spaight previously served as the eighth

governor of North Carolina The governor of North Carolina is the head of government of the U.S. state of North Carolina. The governor directs the executive branch of the government and is the commander in chief of the military forces of the state. The current governor, ...

from 1792 to 1795. He ran for the North Carolina State Senate in 1802, and

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U.S. Congressman John Stanly campaigned against him as unworthy. Taking offense, Stanly challenged him to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and ...

on September 5, 1802, in which Stanly shot and mortally wounded Spaight, who died the following day.

Biography

Spaight was the father of North Carolina Governor Richard Dobbs Spaight, Jr., and the grandfather of U.S. Representative

Richard Spaight Donnell Richard Spaight Donnell (September 20, 1820 – June 3, 1867) was a Congressional Representative from North Carolina; born in New Bern, North Carolina; was the grandson of United States Founding Father Richard Dobbs Spaight. Early life A scion ...

Early life

Spaight was born in New Bern,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, the son of the secretary of the Crown in the colony and grand-nephew of North Carolina Governor Arthur Dobbs. Orphaned at the age of eight, he was sent to live with his Dobbs relatives at

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in Northern Ireland and later followed his cousin Richard Dobbs to the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Spaight returned to North Carolina, serving as aide-de-camp to Major General Richard Caswell at the Battle of Camden Court House.

Political career

The North Carolina General Assembly elected Spaight a delegate to the Confederation Congress between 1782 and 1785; he then served in the North Carolina House of Commons from 1785 to 1787, and was named

speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hunger ...

. In 1787, he was a delegate to the

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that drafted the U.S. Constitution, and he signed the document when he was 29 years old. Under the

North Carolina Constitution 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 ...

of 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 with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

at a ball in Washington's honor at the Governor'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 Carolina and 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 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 ...

and the newly chartered

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 S ...

. Spaight served as 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 of Nathan 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 of

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

. He lost his bid for re-election to Congress but returned to state government, serving in the North Carolina Senate beginning in 1801.

Death and legacy

Spaight died on September 6, 1802, following injuries sustained in a duel with John Stanly, 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 in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

, is named in honor of Richard Spaight. Most of the main streets in downtown Madison are named after signers of the United States Constitution.

References

Bibliography

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External links

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Richard Dobbs Spaight
at The Historical Marker Database (HMdb.org)
Richard Dobbs Spaight
at the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

Richard Dobbs Spaight
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations ...

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