Robert W. Scott
Bob Scott | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 67th Governor of North Carolina | |
| In office January 3, 1969 – January 5, 1973 | |
| Lieutenant | Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr. |
| Preceded by | Dan K. Moore |
| Succeeded by | James Holshouser |
| 25th Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina | |
| In office January 8, 1965 – January 3, 1969 | |
| Governor | Dan K. Moore |
| Preceded by | Harvey Cloyd Philpott |
| Succeeded by | Hoyt Patrick Taylor Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Walter Scott June 13, 1929 Haw River, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Died | January 23, 2009 (aged 79) Haw River, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Jessie Osborne (1951–2009) |
| Relations | W. Kerr Scott (Father) |
| Children | 5 (including Meg) |
| Education | North Carolina State University (BS) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1953–1955 |
Robert Walter "Bob" Scott (June 13, 1929 – January 23, 2009) was an American politician who served as the 67th Governor of North Carolina from 1969 to 1973. He was born and died in Haw River, North Carolina.
The son of North Carolina Governor W. Kerr Scott, and grandson and nephew of state legislators, Scott was a dairy farmer.
Lieutenant governor
1964 campaign and election
In the 1964 Democratic primary runoff for the office of Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina, Scott won 371,605 votes to Clifton Blue's 356,400 votes, thus securing the Democratic nomination. As in the first primary, he was aided by courthouse political machines. Scott subsequently attended the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.[1] He expressed reservations about President Lyndon B. Johnson's decision to choose Senator Hubert Humphrey as his running mate in the vice-presidential spot on the national Democratic ticket, but in September agreed to chair the Rural Americans for Jonhson-Humphrey political action committee.[2] In this capacity Scott frequently critized Republican presidential candidate Barry Goldwater's policies in favor of reducing price supports for crops and opposing government spending on rural development, saying that his choices would harm the South's economy. Though it was uncommon for a presidential candidate to criticize a lieutenant gubernatorial candiate, Goldwater responded by attacking Scott's connections with alleged socialists.[3]
In the November election Scott defeated the Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, Clifford Bell, earning 61 percent of the votes. Democrat Dan K. Moore was elected Governor of North Carolina, and Johnson was reelected President.[4]
Tenure
When Scott became Lieutnant Governor he was the first person to hold the office since the previous incumbent, Harvey Cloyd Philpott, had died on August 19, 1961. The office held legislative powers, as its holder presided over the North Carolina Senate and had the responsibility of appointing legilsators to committees and referring bills to them. The Lieutenant Governor was also ex officio a member of the State Board of Education.[4] Scott commuted daily from his home in Haw River to Raleigh for work. In lieu of his own firm program, Scott generally supported Moore's policies, though the two came from different ideaological factions in the Democratic Party and never shared a close personal relationship. Scott backed Moore's initatives for a road construction bond issue and reform of state courts. Scott also supported Moore's quiet attempts to reform the controversial Speaker Ban Law, which was designed to prevent alleged communists from speaking at state universities.[5] Scott's uncle, state legislator Ralph Scott, was a leading progressive critic of Moore and accused him of not doing enough to repeal the speaker law. Scott, seeking to portray himself as a centrist, publically distanced himself from his uncle and defended Moore's leadership.[6] Scott presided over the Senate when the General Assembly was called to a special session to redraw North Carolina's legislative districts, as stipulated by federal court decisions related to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in Baker v. Carr and the doctrine of one man, one vote.[7]
Scott largely used his time as Lieutenant Governor to prepare for a future gubernatorial bid. He delivered 203 speeches in 1965 and 245 the following year. He avoided contrversial issues in his orations, and was concerned by the growing white backlash in the South in response to federal support for civil rights.[7] In June 1968, a cross was burned on Scott's lawn in Haw River.[8]
Governor
Scott was elected governor in 1968. In May 1969, during his term as governor, racial violence at North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, a predominantly black campus in Greensboro, resulted in one student death, and the injury of a National Guardsman, five Greensboro police officers and two students.[9]
On June 26, 1972 Scott created the Executive Cabinet, an advisory body consisting of the members of the North Carolina Council of State, the appointed secretaries of the state's executive departments, and miscenalleous members appointed by the governor.[10]
Later life
Constitutionally barred from seeking another term, Scott later served as co-chairman of the Appalachian Regional Commission and as President of the North Carolina Community College System, from 1983 until 1995. He unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1980, losing in the Democratic primary to Jim Hunt.[11]
His daughter, Meg Scott Phipps served as North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture from 2001 to 2003.
Scott was honored in 2008 by the North Carolina Society for preserving state archives and historic artifacts and his efforts to increase awareness of the state's history.[12]
Scott died in 2009 at the age of 79[13] and is buried in Hawfields Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Mebane, North Carolina.
His father's farm and birthplace, the Kerr Scott Farm, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.[14]
References
- ^ Christensen 2019, p. 143.
- ^ Christensen 2019, pp. 143–144.
- ^ Christensen 2019, p. 144.
- ^ a b Christensen 2019, p. 145.
- ^ Christensen 2019, pp. 145–146.
- ^ Christensen 2019, pp. 146–147.
- ^ a b Christensen 2019, p. 147.
- ^ Christensen 2019, p. 148.
- ^ Christensen, Rob. "Former Gov. Bob Scott dies", Archived 2009-02-28 at archive.today The News & Observer, January 23, 2009
- ^ Fleer 1994, p. 111.
- ^ "NC Governor -- D Primary, 1980". Retrieved 2009-01-23.
- ^ Abernethy, Michael D. (June 29, 2008). "Scott honored for preservation work". Henderson Times News.
- ^ "Former governor Bob Scott dies". News and Observer. 2009-01-23. Archived from the original on January 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-23.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
Works cited
- Christensen, Rob (2019). The Rise and Fall of the Branchhead Boys: North Carolina’s Scott Family and the Era of Progressive Politics. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9781469651057.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Fleer, Jack D. (1994). North Carolina Government & Politics. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803268852.
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External links
- News & Observer profile
- NC Spin profile
- UNC-TV: Biographical Conversations with Bob Scott
- Oral Histories of the American South Interviews with Robert W. (Bob) Scott:
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