Richard Dobbs Spaight

State: North Carolina

Age at Convention: 29

Date of Birth: March 25, 1758

Date of Death: September 6, 1802

Schooling: Scotland’s University Glasgow 1778

Occupation: Politician, Public Security Interests, Planter and Slave Holder, Educator

Prior Political Experience: North Carolina Lower House 1779, 1781-1783, 1785-1787, Speaker of Lower House 1785, Confederation Congress 1783-1785

Committee Assignments: None

Convention Contributions: Arrived May 25, and except for one week in Mid-July he was present through the signing of the Constitution. Although he rarely spoke he was an ardent supporter of the movement to build a stronger federal government. William Pierce stated that “Mr. Spaight is a worthy Man, of some abilities, and fortune.”

New Government Participation: Attended the ratification convention of North Carolina, and supported the ratification of the Constitution. Served as a U. S. Representative for North Carolina (1798 – 1801)

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Biography from the National Archives:Spaight was born at New Bern, NC of distinguished English-Irish parentage in 1758. When he was orphaned at 8 years of age, his guardians sent him to Ireland, where he obtained an excellent education. He apparently graduated from Scotland’s Glasgow University before he returned to North Carolina in 1778.

At that time, the War for Independence was in full swing, and Spaight’s superior attainments soon gained him a commission. He became an aide to the state militia commander and in 1780 took part in the Battle of Camden, SC. The year before, he had been elected to the lower house of the legislature.

In 1781 Spaight left the military service to devote full time to his legislative duties. He represented New Bern and Craven County (1781-83 and 1785-87); in 1785 he became speaker. Between terms, he also served in the Continental Congress (1783-85).

In 1787, at the age of 29, Spaight joined the North Carolina delegation to the Philadelphia convention. He was not a leader but spoke on several occasions and numbered among those who attended every session. After the convention, he worked in his home state for acceptance of the Constitution.

Spaight met defeat in bids for the governorship in 1787 and the U.S. Senate 2 years later. From then until 1792, illness forced his retirement from public life, during which time he visited the West Indies, but he captured the governorship in the latter year (1792-95). In 1793 he served as presidential elector. Two years later, he wed Mary Leach, who bore three children.

In 1798 Spaight entered the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democratic-Republican and remained in office until 1801. During this time, he advocated repeal of the Alien and Sedition Acts and voted for Jefferson in the contested election of 1800. The next year, Spaight was voted into the lower house of the North Carolina legislature; the following year, to the upper.

Only 44 years old in 1802, Spaight was struck down in a duel at New Bern with a political rival, Federalist John Stanly. So ended the promising career of one of the state’s foremost leaders. He was buried in the family sepulcher at Clermont estate, near New Bern.

Related:

* indicates delegates who did not sign the Constitution

Connecticut

William Samuel Johnson –  Roger Sherman –  Oliver Ellsworth (Elsworth)*

Delaware

George Read –  Gunning Bedford, Jr. –  John Dickinson –  Richard Bassett –  Jacob Broom

Georgia

William Few –  Abraham Baldwin –  William Houstoun*  -  William L. Pierce*

Maryland

James McHenry –  Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer –  Daniel Carroll –  Luther Martin*  -  John F. Mercer*

Massachusetts

Nathaniel Gorham –  Rufus King –  Elbridge Gerry*  -  Caleb Strong*

New Hampshire

John Langdon –  Nicholas Gilman

New Jersey

William Livingston –  David Brearly (Brearley)  -  William Paterson (Patterson)  -  Jonathan Dayton –  William C. Houston*

New York

Alexander Hamilton –  John Lansing, Jr.*  -  Robert Yates*

North Carolina

William Blount –  Richard Dobbs Spaight –  Hugh Williamson –  William R. Davie*  -  Alexander Martin*

Pennsylvania

Benjamin Franklin –  Thomas Mifflin –  Robert Morris –  George Clymer –  Thomas Fitzsimons (FitzSimons; Fitzsimmons)  -  Jared Ingersoll –  James Wilson –  Gouverneur Morris

South Carolina

John Rutledge –  Charles Cotesworth Pinckney –  Charles Pinckney –  Pierce Butler

Rhode Island

Rhode Island did not send delegates to the Convention.

Virginia

John Blair –  James Madison Jr. –  George Washington –  George Mason*  -  James McClurg*  -  Edmund J. Randolph*  -  George Wythe*

Other:

The Founding Fathers: A Brief Overview