Charles B. Aycock
Goldsboro, Wayne County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Charles B. Aycock. Governor of North Carolina, 1901-1905. Crusader for universal education. His law office is 2 blocks S.W.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
Charles B. Aycock served as governor of North Carolina from 1901 to 1905 and became known statewide as a crusading champion of public schooling, earning the label 'the education governor.' His campaign to expand universal education left a lasting mark on the state's school system in the early twentieth century. His former law office stands a couple of blocks from this marker in Goldsboro.
Why it matters
Aycock embodied the Progressive Era's faith that public education could remake a poor, largely rural state — even as that same period entrenched the racial disfranchisement his politics also advanced.
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Related people
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Themes & tags
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