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

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 1921 to 1925.

Early life and career

He was born in 1869 in

Richmond County, North Carolina Richmond County is a County (United States), county located on the central southern border of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its county seat is Rockingham, North Carolina, Rockingham. The county was formed in 1779 from a portion of Anson Cou ...

. In 1898, Morrison participated in the

Wilmington insurrection of 1898 Wilmington may refer to: Places Australia *Wilmington, South Australia, a town and locality **District Council of Wilmington, a former local government area **Wilmington railway line, a former railway line United Kingdom *Wilmington, Devon *Wi ...

, 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 Daniel Lindsay Russell Jr. (August 7, 1845May 14, 1908) was an American politician who served as the 49th governor of North Carolina, from 1897 to 1901. An attorney and judge, he had also been elected as state representative and to the United S ...

, 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 2,110 at the 2020 census. History The Maxton area was first settled in the 18th century. The community was incorporated in 1874 under the name ...

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 house, 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 Senate ...

for one term.

Governorship

With the backing of Sen.

Furnifold Simmons Furnifold McLendel Simmons (January 20, 1854April 30, 1940) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1887, to March 4, 1889, and U.S. senator from the state of North ...

and the help of

race-baiting Incitement to ethnic or racial hatred is a crime under the laws of several countries. Australia In Australia, the Racial Hatred Act 1995 amends the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, inserting Part IIA – Offensive Behaviour Because of Race, Colou ...

tactics employed by A. D. Watts, Morrison defeated O. Max Gardner in the

1920 Events January * January 1 ** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20. ** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...

Democratic primary for governor. In the general election, he defeated Republican nominee John J. Parker. Morrison was inaugurated on January 12, 1921. He came to be called "the Good Roads governor" for his support of a modern highway system. Morrison also presided over various reforms and pushed for increased funds for public education, while also battling the teaching of the theory of

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

Later career

He was later appointed to serve as a

United States senator The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress. Party affiliation Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...

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 is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

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

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

in 1953.

Personal life

Morrison was married twice. His first wife, Lottie May Tomlinson, gave birth to four children but only one, Angelia Lawrance Morrison, survived infancy. Tomlinson died in 1919. In 1924, while serving as governor, Morrison married a second time to Sara Virginia Ecker Watts, the widow of George Washington Watts. Their wedding ceremony was held at Harwood Hall. With his second wife, Morrison built Morrocroft, a large estate in Charlotte. In his will, or possible before he passed away, Governor Morrison gave the back section of his personal home for the black congregation of Sharon Road Methodist Church. The land currently hosts unmarked graves of the black partitioners.

Legacy

A ten-story residence hall on the campus of the

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

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 Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

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 White supremacy is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White supremacy has roots in the now-discredited doctrine ...

. 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 university, public, Historically black colleges and universities, historicall ...

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

References

External links

*Cameron Morriso

at

NCpedia The State Library of North Carolina is an institution which serves North Carolina libraries, state government employees, genealogists, and the citizens of North Carolina. The library is the main depository for North Carolina state publications a ...

{{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 Red Shirts members Wilmington massacre conspirators American Christian creationists 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives