Moore, Maurice

MOORE, MAURICE. (1735–1777). North Carolina jurist and Patriot. North Carolina. Born in New Hanover County, North Carolina, Maurice Moore was the brother of General James Moore, brother-in-law of General John Ashe, and father of Justice Alfred Moore. He became a prominent politician at a young age, entering the assembly in 1757, where he sat nearly every year until 1774. His support of the royal government led to his appointment to Governor William Tryon's council in 1760 (he served a year) and to an associate judgeship. His pamphlet attacking the Stamp Act on the grounds that there was no American representation in Parliament led to his suspension as judge, but he was reinstated in 1768 and served until the court ceased to function in 1772.

Although he initially sympathized with the Regulators, Moore served as a colonel in Tryon's expedition against them in 1768 and was a judge in the Regulator trials of 1768 and 1771 (after the battle of Alamance). Having become bitterly hated by the Regulators, he switched sides again, becoming their champion and calling for leniency. In the Revolutionary politics that led to war with Great Britain, Moore served on important committees of the Third Provincial Congress in 1775, but was considered to be too conservative to become a leader. His brother's victory over the Loyalists at Moores Creek Bridge destroyed all chances for the course he advocated: reconciliation on the basis of political conditions in 1763. Although elected to the Fifth Provincial Congress of November 1776, he did not attend. Equally suspected by both Patriots and Loyalists, Moore retired from politics and died early in 1777 at his home in Brunswick.

SEE ALSO Moore, James.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Price, William S. Jr., ed. Not a Conquered People: Two Carolinians View Parliamentary Taxation. Raleigh, N.C.: North Carolina State University Graphics, 1975.

                                 revised by Michael Bellesiles