About Zebulon Vance
Zebulon Baird Vance (May 13, 1830 – April 14, 1894) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 37th and 43rd governor of North Carolina, a U.S. senator from North Carolina, and a Confederate officer during the American Civil War. A prolific writer and noted public speaker, Vance became one of the most influential Southern leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era periods. As a leader of the New South, Vance favored the rapid modernization of the Southern economy, railroad expansion, school construction, and reconciliation with the North. A Philosemite, he frequently spoke out against antisemitism. A progressive at his time, Vance was also a slave owner and is now regarded as a racist by some modern historians and biographers. His account of the search, published in the Spectator in July 1857, is considered the most complete record of the tragic event. Vance stopped working as joint editor of the Spectator after a year, but became half-owner of the newspaper.
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