Why was Rep. J. Williams Thorne expelled in 1875?
Dome is researching the previous legislative expulsions in preparation for this afternoon's meeting by the Select Committee etc. etc. on Rep. Thomas Wright.
According to a draft history by legislative researchers, Rep. Thorne was expelled from the House on Feb. 24, 1875, for advocating a "most sacrilegious doctrine, subversive of the principles of the Constitution of the State of North Carolina and of sound morality and the Constitution of the United States."
A 1995 article by the News & Observer contains this telling note: "Legislative staffers believe the pamphlet was a Darwinist tract."
Readers with good leads on this interesting story can e-mail us at dome@newsobserver.com.
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