Augustus Summerfield Merrimon was born in North Carolina in 1830 and began his career in public service during the early 1860s. He served briefly in the Confederate Army before transitioning to legal and judicial roles. Post-Civil War, Merrimon held positions as a solicitor and state superior court judge. His professional trajectory included a decade-long tenure in the U.S. Senate, where he was known for his partisan stance and involvement in significant political investigations. Merrimon also served as an associate justice and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court.

Augustus Summerfield Merrimon's political career is marked by a contentious blend of judicial rigor and partisan fervor. His judicial service, culminating in his tenure as Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court, contrasts sharply with his aggressive partisan stance as a U.S. Senator. Merrimon's approach to civil rights issues, particularly his defense of white supremacist actions during Reconstruction, reveals a deeply ideological rigidity that defies contemporary norms. This tension between his judicial impartiality and his partisan activism creates a complex portrait of a politician who navigated the post-Civil War landscape with calculated precision.