Excerpt from Public Letters and Papers of Thomas Walter Bickett, Governor of North Carolina, 1917-1921 Thomas Walter Bickett, War Governor of North Carolina, was born in Monroe, N. C., February 28, 1869, the' son of Thomas Winchester and Mary Covington Bickett from whom he inherited the wit and sentiment of the Irish and the sturdy stability of the English. He spent four years at Wake Forest, receiving the ab. Degree in 1890. After two years of teaching in Winston - Salem, he entered the law school of the University of North Carolina and in February, 1893, received his license to practice law. Two years later, he settled in Louisburg and in 1898 married Miss Fannie Yar borough, daughter of Col. William H. Yarborough. Three children were born to them and of these one, William Yarborough Bickett, survives. Serving his first public office as a representative from Franklin County in the General Assembly of 1907, he introduced and piloted to passage a bill appropriating a half million dollars for the care of the insane. It was the largest appropriation made by North Carolina for such a cause up to that time and was the beginning of an increasing interest on the part of the State in behalf of its defectives. The Democratic State Convention, meeting in Charlotte, nominated him for Attorney General in 1907 after his brilliant speech Offering Col. Ashley Home, of Clayton, for the gubernatorial nomination. During his eight years in this office, he won all the five cases for the State in the United States Supreme Court and made sure his elevation to the Governorship. He was nominated for Governor in the first Statewide Primary in 1916 and in 1917 was inaugurated. The World War, though it shattered many of his plans for domestic reform, gave Opportunity for new tasks Of leadership which brought to him and the State unqualified commendation and praise. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Writing North Carolina History is the first book to assess fully the historical literature of North Carolina. It combines the talents and insights of eight noted scholars of state and southern history: William S. Powell, Alan D. Watson, Robert M. Calhoon, Harry L. Watson, Sarah M. Lemmon, and H. G. Jones. Their essays are arranged in chronological order from the founding of the first English colony in North America in 1585 to the present. Traditionally North Carolina has not received the same scholarly attention as Virginia and South Carolina, despite the excellent resources available on Tar Heel history. This study, derived from a symposium sponsored by the North Carolina Division of Archives and History in 1977, asks questions and describes methodologies needed to redress past neglect. Besides providing a comprehensive evaluation of what has been written about North Carolina, the essayists offer perspectives on how historians have interpreted the state's history and what directions future historians need to take. Particularly important, the book provides a bibliography and suggests opportunities for future historical investigation by discussing topics, themes, and source materials that remain untapped or underused. North Carolina's unique and colorful culture, folklore, geography, politics, and growth demand new and creative historical analysis. Collectively the authors and editors of Writing North Carolina History offer a welcome, necessary guide to the study of Tar Heel history. Originally published in 1979. A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.