James Carter, war profiteer

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 12:14:45 -0500

James Carter was expelled for war profiteering.

According to "The Varieties of Political Experience in Eighteenth-Century America" by Richard R. Beeman, Carter spent time in a debtors prison in Maryland before moving to North Carolina in the 1740s, settling on the site of present-day Salisbury.

After Rowan County was established in 1753, Carter became "the most powerful political figure" in the area, serving as a (possibly corrupt) justice of the peace, a (corrupt) major in the county militia and a (corrupt) land surveyor.

Serving a clientele eager, even desperate, to gain title to land, Carter was among those surveyors who overcharged for his surveys, refused to publicize his fees, and sometimes sold patents to different individuals for the same tracts.

Carter was elected to the state House in 1754. He was expelled in 1757 when it was discovered that he and several partners had embezzled money provided for guns and bullets during the French and Indian War.

Who has been expelled from the legislature?

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 16:05:23 -0500

Answer:

At least 13 people were kicked out of the legislature between 1757 and 1880.

Below, the year of their expulsion, their names, districts and alleged crimes.

1757: Rep. James Carter, of Rowan County, for embezzlement.

1758: Rep. Francis Brown, of Currituck County, for perjury.

1770: Rep. Herman Husband, of Orange County, for libel.

1779: Rep. William Gilbert, of Tryon County, for fraud.

1784: Rep. Edward Clay, of Caswell County, for theft.

1786: Sen. Benjamin McCullock, of Halifax County, for a military pay scandal.

1786: Rep. Henry Montfort, of Warren County, for a military pay scandal.

1787: Rep. John Bonds, of Nash County, for a military pay scandal.

1809: Rep. John Clary, of Perquimans County, for fornication with his stepdaughter.

1816: Sen. John Roberts, of Carteret County, for fraud.

1835: Rep. Robert Potter, of Granville County, for brandishing a gun during a fight.

1875: Rep. J. Williams Thorne, of Warren County, for publishing a "blasphemous" pamphlet.

1880: Rep. Josiah Turner Jr., of Orange County, for calling other legislators names.

In 2007, two House committees decided to consider expelling Rep. Thomas Wright of Wilmington.