Oral history interview with James E. Holshouser Jr., June 4, 1998
Subtitle: interview C-0328-4, 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; Politics and government; Political leadership; Republican Party (N.C.)
Other titles: Interview C-0328-4, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with James E. Holshouser, Jr., June 4, 1998; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Elected to the governorship of North Carolina in 1972, James E. Holshouser Jr., was the first Republican chief executive of that state since 1896. In this interview, the fourth in a series of four interviews with the former governor, Holshouser looks back on his political career, answers some broad questions about his impressions of his administration's successes and failures, and the operation of state government. Holshouser seems most proud of the "little things" he accomplished, including preventing the damming of the New River--which flows near his hometown in western North Carolina--and the creation of an ombudsman's office. He also reflects, however, on his efforts to build a two-party system in the state--a job that in essence required shoring up the Republican Party, since the Democratic Party had enjoyed decades of dominance. While Holshouser and others managed to make the Republican Party a force in North Carolina even as it struggled through the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s, its new strength brought new complications, such as the rise of the religious right and the libertarian wing of the party. Holshouser believes in the Republican Party, but ends this interview wondering about these factions and what they signify for the party's future.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 19, 2008).

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

Duration: 01:09:41.

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. 108 kilobytes, 127 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series Series C, Notable North Carolinians, interview C-0328-4, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 28 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.