page_title: North Carolina General Assembly of 1860–1861
section_title: House of Commons
hierarchical_section_title: North Carolina General Assembly of 1860–1861 / Members / House of Commons
caption_attribution_description: Matt Whitaker Ransom (1826&#8211;1904) was a Democratic United States Senator from the state of North Carolina between 1872 and 1895.
context_page_description: The North Carolina General Assembly of 1860–1861 met in Raleigh, North Carolina in regular session from November 19, 1860 to February 25, 1861. They met in extra sessions from May 1, 1861 to May 13, 1861 and from August 15, 1861 to September 23, 1861. This General Assembly decided that each county should vote for special delegates who would decide whether North Carolina should secede from the Union. On May 20, 1861, those special delegates convened in Raleigh and voted unanimously that the state would no longer be a part of the United States of America.
context_section_description: There were, per the North Carolina Constitution amended in 1825, 120 representatives in the House of Commons.   Some counties had more representatives based on the county population.  William T. Dortch was elected Speaker of the House of Commons.   He served until he left to become the North Carolina Senator for the Congress of the Confederate States of America from 1862 to 1865.  Nathan Neely Fleming was elected as Speaker after he departed.  Edward Cantwell served as clerk.  Eighty-two of the representatives were Southern Democrats.
caption: Rep. Matt Whitaker Ransom
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