Restrictions to Access

No restrictions. Open for research.

Copyright Notice

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], in the Ernest B. Furgurson Papers #04912, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Provenance

Received from Ernest B. Furgurson of Washington, D.C. in February 1998 (Acc. 98030).

Sensitive Materials Statement

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

• Congressional Club (Washington, D.C.).
• Conservatism--United States--History--20th century.
• Electioneering--North Carolina--History--20th century.
• Furgurson, Ernest B., 1929- .
• Graham, Frank Porter, 1886- .
• Helms, Jesse.
• Legislators--North Carolina.
• Legislators--United States.
• North Carolina--Politics and government--20th century.
• Smith, Willis, 1887-1953.
• United States. Congress. Senate--Elections.

Ernest B. Furgurson was born in 1929 in Danville, Va. He was graduated from Columbia University in 1952 and received a graduate degree the following year. He worked as a reporter in Danville and in Richmond before moving to the Baltimore Sun in 1956. After serving as White House correspondent from 1964 to1968, he began to write his own national affairs column in 1969. He then became chief of the Sun's Washington Bureau.

Fugurson has published Westmoreland: The Inevitable General (1968), Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms (1986), Chancellorsville, 1863: The Souls of the Brave (1992), and Ashes of Glory: Richmond at War (1996).

Material in this collection relates to Jesse Helms, who was born in Monroe, N.C., on 18 October 1921. He attended Wingate Junior College and Wake Forest University. From 1942 to1945, he served in the United States Navy. Helms worked as a journalist, became involved in politics, and obtained a job as political commentator for WRAL in Raleigh, N.C. His editorials were known for their conservative tone. Helms worked on the 1950 United States Senate race in support of Democratic Party candidate Willis Smith. Later, Helms switched his political allegiance to the Republican Party.

In 1972, Helms ran for and won a seat in the United States Senate, defeating Nick Galifianakis. In 1978, he successfully defended his seat against John Ingram. In 1984, in one of the most bitter and heated contests in North Carolina history, Helms retained his seat, defeating Governor James B. Hunt. In 1990 and in 1996, Helms won against Harvey Gantt, who had been mayor of Charlotte, N.C.

This collection consists of materials assembled by Ernest B. Furgurson in the research for his book, Hard Right: The Rise of Jesse Helms. There are many notes, transcripts of interviews with people who knew Jesse Helms, and materials relating to conservative political organizations like the Congressional Club. There are also materials from the 1950 North Carolina United States Senate election campaign that pitted Democrat Willis Smith, for whom Helms worked, against Frank Porter Graham, and from Helms's own Senate races as a Republican beginning in 1972. There are many notes, including transcripts of interviews with people who know Jesse Helms. Furgurson also collected articles about Helms, transcripts of Helms's WRAL editorials, articles and speeches written by Helms, and other material.