Governor of North Carolina from 1841 to 1845. He is known as the father of modern North Carolina for his support of the newly established Public School system, the extension of Railroad Lines and construction of waterways and turnpikes. The cspan cities tour visited his home, blandwood. We are in blandwood mansion. This is the oldest structure on its original foundation in the city of greensboro. It is a Historic House museum, a National House we can landmark building. It was the home of governor John Motley Morehead in downtown greensboro. Day today, many historians look on governor john motley modernd as the father of North Carolina. He was the governor from 184118 35 1845, he was a popular governor with his ideas of industry and human rights. Earlylitical career began education and law. After he graduated from the academy here in greensboro, he went on to the university of North Carolina and he graduated from there as a lawyer. To the north of the pretty, but quickly found that more business in greensboro. He found his life here as well, turning was her name was eliza lindsay. Official inected the house. When he was in greensboro as an elected official, he worked with the quaker community. Wife had a quaker background and he took on issues of internal improvement in the state and he had taken of issues of slavery, unusual for a politician in the south. He adopted other important thats, like education and really began to form his political platform. The governor was one of the first candidate that ran a statewide candidacy. So he wouldnt travel throughout the entire state of North Carolina and he was a great order orator and he was very personable. Andon by a good margin started his term as governor in 1841. So he operated on a platform with four different areas of. Romoting the state economy one of them was through improving transportation, he did that for example through rail. He approved industry, creating a manufacturing complex and establishing a network of transportation to support that. He thought it was important to expand Educational Opportunities for more citizens in the state. And he wanted North Carolina to be in the arena of new york and philadelphia in terms of design, he did that by attracting architects to come to the state and designed buildings. Aj jesus was one of those architects, he proposed a very fashionor word forward style that related to italy. Lineis home, you saw a like you would see in tuscany. Goes stucco, like in central italy. This was an early example of the tuscan architecture in the u. S. North carolina by the 1830s had winkle state, van it had fallen into a slumber. It was one of the first of the colonies that was losing population as people moved to places like illinois and indiana, especially quakers and other folks moving to the southwest, alabama and mississippi and louisiana. They were going there to expand their fortunes. People were leaving the state, so the governor was challenged at how to provide an opportunity to keep people in North Carolina. One way to do that was to provide manufacturing facilities and armors with a larger market. With a larger market. So while he was running for office, he was challenged because a farmer would raise a great crop, but unless they could sell it at a very high price, they could not be fully crop. Ed for the this solution was to extend the railroad from the coast into the heart of the state. The North Carolina railroad was something that he was not able to accomplish until after he was governor, but he was lobbying for it. He established a new port city for the state, that is morehead city. It enables people in the central part of the state a broader were inonce goods morehead city, they could be placed on a ship and is sent to other cities. The state reacted well to that. He thought it was important people have access to education, not just the highest income residents. He began to lobby for open school systems. He also thought it was important that women have access to education, especially since he had five daughters. Greensboro school in on his own property. That school was an extended Educational Opportunity for women. Offered courses in mathematics, accelerated in more subjects and what was traditionally offered for women. Especially in the south. As he was governor, he maintained his residence, but his family to live in a mansion in raleigh. He probably came here on weekends. He probably had rolled favorite favoritehad several rooms, but one of them was the west parlor. It is like him. The architecture is a bit over the top. The ceiling of the room is cast ajster, it was designed by davis. Flowers, magnolia vines, and ise probably one of the most elaborate rooms. Made to look like finer would wood. Doors areack of the merely mirors. Doors, as that the they were shot, and as the sun was heading was setting, the light would be reflected into the room and provide a warm glow. Fortunately here all of this has been retained. We never lost the original windows or doors. Added some paint around the outside, but that is all. In time, he ended up having five daughters and three sons, so an extended family. Was quite daughter capable and she helped her mom to run the house. She was the first to be married here at blandwood. She did great things in her lifetime. It was a dynamic family. Lots of guests coming here. They love their family dearly. A lot of his accomplishments later in life were driven by his family life. We do have evidence that the governor did enslave people. That is an documentation that we have. Not have a lot of information today, because. Ecords were not retained we have researchers investigating and i hope that we can find more information on the people that were working here and living here, but we do not right now. What we do know is that many of the enslave people were working on a cash crop plantation, about 40 miles north of here, where. Hey did grow cotton he also had sheep, that was in the south. The number of people that were enslaved by the governor was less than average. We think that is likely the influence of his quaker life. Was not comfortable with the idea of lavery and probably influence him in not investing as much in slavery as others in his peer group. So, as the civil war began in the state of North Carolina, the governor was reluctant to see the state of North Carolina join the confederacy. Transportation in that would have connected to a larger system of railroads, that place greensboro in a favorable place. You saw that as a great opportunity, that greensboro would be the buckle of the build from new orleans to new york. By breaking the country in two parts, that began to impact that strategic position that greensboro had. He had opportunities in capital and his wealth did diminish. He was reluctant to see the state leave the country. Elected to, he was attend a peace conference in washington dc to try to find a solution, sadly that failed. For thesaw all options state as other states joined the confederacy, he began to see that there were few were options fewer options and reluctantly he joined with the confederates North Carolina was one of the last of those states to break away from the union. As the war began to come to an , battles moved into the central part of the state. The cabinetvis and led flight enrichment through greensboro. The governor met them, but he was also able to have an open dialogue with Union Generals who came. Visited generals greensboro. They were welcomed by the governor. They could pretty much take what they wanted. He was welcoming to them. The then governor of North Carolina sought to broker a surrender, governor morehead was called to be sort of a broker of that these. A broker of that piece. Bring to generals from the union side, and a general from the confederate room. Together in this governor morehead passed away shortly after the surrender after the surrender, so he was not an active participant in the restoration after the war. Im sure he would have been instrumental. I see him as a governor who was really struggling with the world in which he lived. He lived in a world that acluded slavery, included situation where women were not allowed to own property or vote. In a situation where people could grow crops and make wonderful things, but they did not have a market. I think he was frustrated that these things were true and he began to establish a certain system that would change that. I think that what he started, he was taking a first that step and he would be incredibly pleased to see what he was doing in history, back in the 18 the 1840se 18 , that we took that and have continued momentum that he started
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