Zebulon Baird Vance
Zebulon Baird Vance was born on May 13, 1830. See ranking, bio blurb, and everyone else born that day.
About Zebulon Baird 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.