Oral history interview with James E. Holshouser Jr., January 31, 1998
Subtitle: interview C-0328-1, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Fleer, Jack D., interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2008
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Governors; Legislators; Politics and government; Political campaigns; Republican Party (N.C.)
Other titles: Interview C-0328-1, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with James E. Holshouser Jr., January 31, 1998; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: When he was elected governor of North Carolina in 1972, James E. Holshouser Jr. was the first Republican chief executive of that state since 1896. He did not spend his young life striving to be a record-setting politician; though he grew up in a civically active family, his political aspirations at Davidson College and the University of North Carolina School of Law did not go beyond membership in the Young Republicans. As a lawyer, however, he felt that he was in a unique position to help his community, a sense that eventually motivated him to seek office when court reform, an issue that interested him, was slated to come before the legislature. In this, the first of four interviews with Holshouser in this collection, Holshouser remembers his early political career as a member of the struggling Republican minority in the state legislature and how that experience--one which demanded consensus-building, compromise, and party organization--helped him win the governorship. In addition to recalling his campaign for governor, Holshouser describes his philosophy as governor, including his sense of obligation to his public; the Republican Party in the 1960s and early 1970s; his thoughts on how money and media have changed politics; and his beliefs about the decline of party discipline. This interview will be useful for students and researchers interested not just in the political story behind a historic governorship, but also the office of governor in North Carolina and the rhythms of state politics.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 19, 2008).

Interview participants: James E. Holshouser Jr., interviewee; Jack Fleer, interviewer.

Duration: 03:07:33.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Kristin Shaffer.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 268 kilobytes, 343 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series C, Notable North Carolinians, interview C-0328-1, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 77 p.

Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.