Banner Elk, NC
W: 828-262-6009
H: 828-963-5190
campbllke@appstate.edu
Travel Regions: 2-5
Karl Campbell is an Assistant Professor of History at Appalachian State University. He received his M.A. and Ph.D. in History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Campbell has presented numerous lectures and presented papers on the subject of the late Senator Sam Ervin of North Carolina, as well as on the Civil Rights Movement in NC.. His book, The Last of the Founding Fathers: Senator Sam Ervin and the Road to Watergate is under contract by UNC Press. He is a member of the North Carolina Historical Markers Commission and a founding member of the North Carolina Freedom Monument Project.
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Senator Sam Ervin: Just A Country Lawyer
Sam Ervin is most often remembered as the affable, Bible-quoting, old country lawyer who chaired the Senate Watergate Hearings in 1973. The Senator's moonshiner stories from "down home" in North Carolina, his quaint verses ranging from Shakespeare to Aesop's Fables, and his earnest lectures in defense of constitutional government and individual rights during the Watergate scandal endeared him to many Americans and contributed to the downfall of President Richard Nixon. But, for most of his twenty years in the Senate, Ervin applied these same rhetorical devices to a quite different purpose. Between 1954 and 1974, North Carolina's famous country lawyer served as Jim Crow's most talented legal defender. His reputation as the Senate's leading constitutional authority--which served him so well during the Watergate Hearings--rested primarily on his performance as the South's constitutional expert during the congressional debates on civil rights. In this presentation, Dr. Campbell will address the central paradox of the Senator's career: How could such a champion of constitutional rights for all Americans be such a consistent opponent of civil rights for African Americans? Dr. Campbell will also discuss Senator Sam's contributions to contemporary political debates such as school prayer, national security, and civil liberties.
The "North Carolina Way": Civil Rights and Wrongs in the Twentieth Century
For much of the twentieth century, North Carolina enjoyed a reputation as the most progressive state in the American South. In 1949, the preeminent political scientist V. O. Key labeled the state a "progressive plutocracy" and praised its leaders for following a relatively moderate path in support of public education, economic development, and harmonious race relations. Yet by the end of the century, many scholars referred to North Carolina's reputation as a "progressive myth," especially in the area of civil rights. Several critics suggested that it was the least changed of the old Confederate states. How should we view the history of civil rights in North Carolina? Dr. Campbell will provide an overview of Tar Heel race relations from the Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 to the recent court ruling ending busing in the Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools.
Requirements for Programs: lectern
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