Date of Award

5-13-1970

Degree Type

Honors Paper

First Advisor

Herbert R. Blackwell, Ph.D.

Abstract

Henry Carter Stuart was a prominent farmer and wealthy businessman in Southwestern Virginia. He was a politician in the hard fought "Redeem the Ninth" Congressional election of 1910. And, he was elected, unopposed in both the primary and general elections, to the governorship of Virginia in 1913.

Although he reached the highest political office in the State, Virginia history gives Stuart no more than a mere mention. It was because of this lack of recognition that I selected to study Henry Carter Stuart. My purpose was to determine if he had been unfairly accorded the position of relative unimportance, or if Stuart, by virtue of his own action, failed to qualify himself for a place in Virginia history.

Stuart was not the type of person to permit people to know about him or his private and business affairs. His descendants believe that before he died, he destroyed his private letters and papers. Therefore, it was necessary to compile this study through research of his associates, by interviews with is descendants and other people who knew him in the 1920's and 1930's, and through study of the political conditions during the time that Stuart was active in Virginia politics. The man who has received so little recognition of his political record evidentally preferred to leave no record at all.

Therefore, I submit this study of Henry Carter Stuart: Virginia farmer, politician and incidentally, Governor.

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