Silent Sam Turns 100

This Sunday, June 2, 2013, the Confederate Memorial, better known as Silent Sam, turns 100 years old.    The statue was dedicated with great fanfare and celebration a hundred years ago on June 2, 1913.  Over the recent decades, Silent Sam … Continue reading

This Sunday, June 2, 2013, the Confederate Memorial, better known as Silent Sam, turns 100 years old.    The statue was dedicated with great fanfare and celebration a hundred years ago on June 2, 1913.  Over the recent decades, Silent Sam has become a symbol of controversy, caught between those that believe that it is an enduring symbol of racism and white supremacy and defenders who contend that it is a memorial to those UNC students who died and fought for the Confederate States of America. Could it be both?

Below are digital copies of some documents from the dedication and about UNC’s involvement in the statue’s erection.  Read the text and decide.

Page from Julian S. Carr's dedication speech, June 2, 1913

Page from Julian S. Carr’s dedication speech, June 2, 1913

The next page of Carr's dedication speech

The next page of Carr’s dedication speech

Letter from UNC President Francis P. Venable regarding the design of the Confederate Memorial ("Silent Sam"), February 25, 1910

Letter from UNC President Francis P. Venable regarding the design of the Confederate Memorial (“Silent Sam”), February 25, 1910

UNC’s Alumni Association celebrates 170 years

The Alumni Association of the University was organized on the 31st of May, 1843. The following were present, being the first members: John D. Hawkins, Franklin, Class of 1801. John Hill, Wilmington, Class of 1814. Charles Manly, Raleigh, Class of 1814. Charles Hinton, Wake County, Class of 1814. John M. Morehead, Governor, Greensboro, Class of […]

The Alumni Association of the University was organized on the 31st of May, 1843. The following were present, being the first members:

John D. Hawkins, Franklin, Class of 1801.
John Hill, Wilmington, Class of 1814.
Charles Manly, Raleigh, Class of 1814.
Charles Hinton, Wake County, Class of 1814.
John M. Morehead, Governor, Greensboro, Class of 1817.
William M. Green, Chapel Hill, Class of 1818.
Hugh Waddell, Hillsboro, Class of 1818.
William H. Battle, Chapel Hill, Class of 1820.
William A. Graham, Hillsboro, Class of 1824.
John W. Norwood, Hillsboro, Class of 1824.
J. DeBerniere Hooper, Chapel Hill, Class of 1831.
Cadwallader Jones, Jr., Hillsboro, Class of 1832.
Wm. H. Owen, Chapel Hill, Class of 1833.
Harrison Covington, Richmond County, Class of 1834.
Wm. W. Hooper, Chapel Hill, Class of 1836.
Benjamin I. Howze, Haywood, Class of 1836.
Ralph H. Graves, Chapel Hill, Class of 1836.
Henry K. Nash, Hillsboro, Class of 1836.
Pride Jones, Hillsboro, Class of 1837.
Alpheus Jones, Wake County, Class of 1839.
Thomas D. Meares, Wilmington, Class of 1839.
William S. Green, Danville, Va., Class of 1840.
Benjamin F. Atkins, Cumberland County, Class of 1841.
Robert R. Bridgers, Tarboro, Class of 1841.
John W. Brodnax, Rockingham County, Class of 1841.
Wm. J. Clarke, Raleigh, Class of 1841.
John D. Hawkins, Jr., Mississippi, Class of 1841.
Charles Phillips, Chapel Hill, Class of 1841.
Samuel F. Phillips, Chapel Hill, Class of 1841.
Richard J. Ashe, Hillsboro, Class of 1842.
Stephen S. Green, Chapel Hill, Class of 1842.

Governor Morehead was called to the chair. Messrs. Wm. A. Graham, John D. Hawkins, John Hill, Charles Manly, Wm. M. Green and William H. Battle were appointed a committee to report a constitution to the meeting in 1844 at Commencement. Thomas D. Meares was appointed Secretary.

From Kemp Plummer Battle’s History of the University of North Carolina. Volume I: From its Beginning to the Death of President Swain, 1789-1868. The minutes from that meeting and those from 1844, when the Alumni Association adopted a preamble and charter, are included in a bound volume among the Alumni Association records in University Archives here at Wilson. Take a look at these quick snapshots.

Alumni proceedings
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Law Students Vote for Integrated Dance

“Shall the Law School Association sponsor and pay for a dance this coming spring?” reads a ballot that was distributed to UNC School of Law students in January 1952. The student organization had sponsored a dance for a number of … Continue reading

lawschooldanceclippings

Clipping from the Durham Morning Herald, from NCC Clippings Collection, CR378 UE7, pg 4216.

“Shall the Law School Association sponsor and pay for a dance this coming spring?” reads a ballot that was distributed to UNC School of Law students in January 1952. The student organization had sponsored a dance for a number of years, but the issue of whether or not the association would sponsor a Spring dance in 1952 came up for a vote because of a controversy surrounding the five black students that had enrolled in the School of Law the prior summer—since all School of Law students were default members of the Law School Association, which sponsored the dance every year, these five black students had the privilege, as did every other law school student, of attending the dance.

 

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1952 Letter to Dean Brandis (p. 1), from the records of the School of Law, unprocessed

However, the University ruled that there were to be no integrated social functions held on campus, and the Law School Association debated whether the dance should be canceled or desegregated and held off University grounds. A slight majority of those that voted, fifty-six percent, voted to hold the dance despite the fact that black students would be in attendance, while forty-three percent voted to cancel the dance altogether.

The question of the dance, and the associated fears of race mixing and miscegenation that it raised, made headlines  in newspapers across the state. Upon learning that there was a possibility of a desegregated dance, one concerned parent wrote to then-dean of the law school Henry Brandis imploring him to take action against “this socialistic trend” towards equality and posed the question, “Why should North Carolina pave the way for breaking down all traditions?”

1952 Letter to Dean Brandis (p. 2), from the records of the School of Law, unprocessed

Ultimately, the dance was never held because the association could not find an acceptable venue in the area that would permit an integrated dance.

The early 1950s marked a tumultuous time in the University’s history concerning racial desegregation. For more information visit the NCC online guide to  desegregation at UNC, 1930-1950 and Office of the Chancellor: Robert House, collection 40019, box 2, folders ‘Integration: General, 1933-1957′ and ‘Integration: Clippings, 1955-1956.’

The “Hargett Tulip”???

A researcher recently shared this tidbit with us. He found it in the “Scenes” column of the Chapel Hill Weekly, 5 May 1963, page 1: “HUGH LEFLER (the happy debunker) informing his UNC history class that Fred Hargett, not William R. Davie, headed the committee that located the site of the University, and that Davie […]

A researcher recently shared this tidbit with us. He found it in the “Scenes” column of the Chapel Hill Weekly, 5 May 1963, page 1:

“HUGH LEFLER (the happy debunker) informing his UNC history class that Fred Hargett, not William R. Davie, headed the committee that located the site of the University, and that Davie Poplar is really a tulip tree. So, technically, according to Dr. Lefler, ‘The Davie Poplar is really the Hargett Tulip.’”

Strutting with some barbecue

Fifty-nine years ago today, Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars wowed an audience at UNC’s Memorial Hall with this tune. Thanks to our friends at the State Archives for bringing this to our attention!

Fifty-nine years ago today, Louis Armstrong and his All-Stars wowed an audience at UNC’s Memorial Hall with this tune.


Thanks to our friends at the State Archives for bringing this to our attention!

Football Banned!

When football arrived on southern college campuses in the late 1870s, it was not without controversy. Some in the South resented the sport’s northern roots, while many others–especially religious leaders–feared that it put players and spectators in unnecessary physical and … Continue reading

When football arrived on southern college campuses in the late 1870s, it was not without controversy. Some in the South resented the sport’s northern roots, while many others–especially religious leaders–feared that it put players and spectators in unnecessary physical and moral danger. In 1890, the administration of UNC was starting to agree, and after just two seasons of intercollegiate football, the Board of Trustees banned competition with other schools, citing the disorder and injury the game encouraged.

A football game in the early 1900s (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Image Collection #P0004, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archive)

A football game in the early 1900s (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Image Collection #P0004, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archive)

UNC organized its first intramural football teams in the 1880s, and by the end of that decade football was one of the most popular sports on campus. In 1888, UNC competed against Wake Forest in the first documented intercollegiate football game in the South. Spectators reported that the game was disorderly and confused, as neither team had a firm grasp on the rules of the game, and UNC lost 6 to 4. Competition was largely unregulated–there were almost no limits as to who could join the team on the field, and games sometimes dissolved into fights. Within the span of a year, three students suffered serious injuries on the football field–the team’s captain, Steve Bragaw, broke his leg in a game against Trinity (now Duke), and in the following season, student George Graham broke his collar bone and another student broke his wrist. In 1889, the university called for all games to be played on college grounds, hoping that greater supervision might rein in the disorder. When this failed, the faculty recommended a ban, and it was passed by the Board of Trustees on February 20, 1890.

The Board explained that while intercollegiate games were said to encourage exercise, foster inter-institutional relationships, and encourage “the boys of the country” to pursue a college education, the “necessary evils” of the sport “over balanced the benefits.” The Board argued that the sport’s impact on exercise was limited as only a few actually played, while many more neglected their studies to sit and watch. Citing player injuries, they argued that the game was physically dangerous and expressed fear that “the furious rivalry engendered by contests in presence of numerous spectators” encouraged brutality, conflict, and “hatreds” between schools. They not only feared for the students’ physical safety but also their morality, citing the “great deal of betting” that accompanied intercollegiate contests and expressing worry that the ” unusual excitement” caused by games might encourage “drinking and rowdyism.”

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UNC’s football team in 1891, the first season after the ban was lifted (The Hellenian, North Carolina Collection)

Ten months later, a group of students led by football players George Graham, Samuel Blount, Alexander Stronach, Drew Patterson, and Perrin Busbee circulated a petition to end the ban. The faculty formed a committee to discuss the issue (an early incarnation of the Faculty Athletics Committee) and an agreement was reached. Intercollegiate sports were revived, but under the governance of an advisory committee. This committee, originally composed of a faculty member, a graduate student, and an undergraduate, would be instrumental in the administration and regulation of campus athletics in the coming years. UNC’s 1891 season was discouraging, as the team came away with a 0-2 record. However, over the next few years, the Tar Heels developed into one of the best teams in the South, winning the 1895 Southern Intercollegiate Athletics Association championship and going undefeated in 1898. For two of UNC’s rivals, however, the controversy over football continued. In 1895, both Wake Forest and Trinity, motivated in large part by their religious affiliations, banned the sport. Trinity did not field another team until 1920, while Wake Forest returned to the field in 1907.

UNC class of 1943 20th reunion

This coming Saturday, May 11th, “University History Lives in Wilson Library” from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. during our annual open house for Reunion Weekend.  For the past few years, materials from special collections relating to the featured classes are on … Continue reading

This coming Saturday, May 11th, “University History Lives in Wilson Library” from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. during our annual open house for Reunion Weekend.  For the past few years, materials from special collections relating to the featured classes are on display in the Pleasants Family Assembly Room, including a projection show of images running on continuous loop that I create using scans from negatives in the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Photographic Laboratory Collection drawn from the 50th reunion year.  This year’s show honors the class of 1963.

While going through the negatives made during the 1963 commencement weekend, I saw images for other classes that also held their reunions . . . 1953 . . . scan it, nice bold banner . . . 1943 . . . . skip it, ordinary group shot . . . 1938 . . . 1933 . . . wait! . . . 1943?  I pulled out the 1943 negative from its envelope and grabbed a magnifying loupe.  Yep, Hugh and Julie Morton in attendance.

UNC class of 1943 in 1963

Class of 1943 reunion attendees in front of the University Faculty Club, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1 June 1963. This building is now know as Jackson Hall. Hugh and Julia Morton are second and third persons from the left in the back row. Photograph by Don Needham and Barney Young. (UNC Photo Lab Collection, 24311)

Detail of Hugh and Julia Morton

Detail from the above photograph highlighting Hugh and Julia Morton.

The Alumni Review April-May issue (which must have been a few months late) used the photograph with the caption title “Emphasis Was Placed on Low-Pressure, Family Type of Reunion for ’43.”  The event’s focus was “an enjoyable supper on June 1 at the Monogram Club dinning room.”  According the caption, by comparison, the “Pearl Harbor generation” classes of 1941, 1942, and 1943 held a joint reunion in 1962 at the Hope Valley Country Club in Durham.

An interesting biographical comment turned up in the column, “Some Notes from the ’43 Reunion”:

Hugh Morton of Wilmington, realtor, owns and operates Grandfather Mountain, known as “Carolina’s Top Scenic Attraction,” and also does some photographic work. . . .”

Some photographic work, indeed.

4 May 1863: ” [Commencement] came off without much excitement, eight graduates; the number in peace time was between eighty & ninety.”

Item description:  Letter, May 4, 1863 from John Steele Henderson to his mother.  Henderson describes the significant loss of UNC’s student body due to the war.  While he shares his experience speaking at Commencement, Henderson express more concern with securing a pair of shoes. … Continue reading

Item description:  Letter, May 4, 1863 from John Steele Henderson to his mother.  Henderson describes the significant loss of UNC’s student body due to the war.  While he shares his experience speaking at Commencement, Henderson express more concern with securing a pair of shoes. … Continue reading

4 May 1863: ” [Commencement] came off without much excitement, eight graduates; the number in peace time was between eighty & ninety.”

Item description:  Letter, May 4, 1863 from John Steele Henderson to his mother.  Henderson describes the significant loss of UNC’s student body due to the war.  While he shares his experience speaking at Commencement, Henderson express more conc…

Item description:  Letter, May 4, 1863 from John Steele Henderson to his mother.  Henderson describes the significant loss of UNC’s student body due to the war.  While he shares his experience speaking at Commencement, Henderson express more concern with securing a pair of shoes. … Continue reading