Jonathan Worth (November 18, 1802 – September 5, 1869) was the 39th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1865 to 1868, during the early years of Reconstruction.
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Early life
Jonathan Worth was born on November 18, 1802, in Randolph County, North Carolina to Dr. David Worth and Eunice Worth (née Gardner). A native of Guilford County, Worth settled in Randolph County and made his fame and fortune there as an attorney and legislator. A Quaker and protégé of Judge Archibald Murphey, Worth championed the cause of free public schools for white students (a position he abandoned during Reconstruction to avoid providing public education to black students), and, though he belonged to the greatly outnumbered Whig party, gained much stature for his practicality and vision.
In 1830, he ran for a seat in the North Carolina House of Representatives from Randolph County, motivated in large part by a failing law practice. His major shortcoming, he had decided, was his deficiency as a public speaker. His peers at the Bar persuaded him there was no better way to improve his oratory and achieve better rhetoric than to become a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, which thrives on "talk".
He served two terms in the House, took a break from public service to build a lucrative law practice, was elected to the North Carolina Senate, and then ran twice for Congress, both times unsuccessfully.