Introduction to History of North Carolina
Archeological evidence indicates that North Carolina was inhabited by prehistoric Indians at least as early as 10,000 B.C. The area was continuously occupied through the centuries by various Indian peoples. When Europeans arrived to settle in the late 16th century, there were some 30,000 to 35,000 Indians in North Carolina. The most important tribes were the Hatteras, Chowanoc, Tuscarora, Catawba, and Cherokee.
Important dates in North Carolina1524 Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer sailing for France, visited the North Carolina coast.1585 The English established at Roanoke Island their first colony in what is now the United States.1629 King Charles I of England granted Carolana to Sir Robert Heath.1650? The first permanent settlers came to the Albemarle region from Virginia.1663 King Charles II granted the Carolina colony to eight lords proprietors.1664 North Carolina's first permanent government was established in Albemarle County.1711 The Tuscarora Indians attacked settlements between the Neuse and Pamlico rivers. The colonists defeated the Indians in 1713.1729 North Carolina came under direct royal rule.1765 Colonists in North Carolina began to resist enforcement of the British Stamp Act and other tax laws.1774 North Carolina sent delegates to the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia.1776 The Whigs defeated the Tories at Moore's Creek Bridge. North Carolina adopted its first constitution.1781 British forces withdrew from North Carolina and surrendered in Virginia.1789 North Carolina ratified the Constitution and became the 12th state on November 21.1835 Constitutional changes gave greater representation to the counties of western North Carolina.1861 North Carolina seceded from the Union.1865 General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to General William T. Sherman near Durham.1868 North Carolina was readmitted to the Union.1901 Governor Charles B. Aycock began a campaign to improve North Carolina public schools.1903 The Wright brothers made the first successful powered airplane flight near Kitty Hawk.1915 The state legislature set up a highway commission.1933 The state took over the support of public schools.1949 The people approved a large bond issue for road and public-school construction.1950 Great industrial expansion began.1959 The North Carolina Research Triangle Park, operated by three of the state's universities to serve industry, opened.1960 Four black students launched the sit-in movement at a lunch counter in Greensboro.1971 A new state Constitution went into effect.1972 James E. Holshouser, Jr., became the first Republican to be elected governor of North Carolina since 1896.1989 North Carolina marked the bicentennial of its statehood.Early Settlement
The French and Spanish explored the region of the Carolinas in the early 16th century. The English, however, were the first to colonize. Under the direction of Sir Walter Raleigh, three expeditions were sent to the New World. Explorers located a favorable site for settlement in 1584. In 1585 the colony was established on Roanoke Island. Lack of supplies, poor government, and Indian troubles forced the settlers to return to England. Roanoke was resettled in 1587, but the colony was found abandoned when the supply ship returned in 1591. The fate of the “Lost Colony" was never discovered.
The first permanent colony in North Carolina was founded about 1653 near Albemarle Sound by settlers from Virginia. In 1663 Charles II of England granted the Carolina territory to eight lords proprietors. They planned to establish a utopian government based on a constitution written by the English philosopher John Locke. Unfavorable geographic conditions hampered the colony's development. The settlers had difficulties with the proprietors, with England, with their neighbors in Virginia, and with the Indians.
In 1711 Carolina was divided into North Carolina and South Carolina. A separate governor was appointed for North Carolina. With the aid of South Carolina and Virginia, the colonists defeated the Indians in the Tuscarora War (1711–13).
Royal Colony
In 1729 North Carolina became a royal colony when all but one of the proprietors sold their shares to King George II. During the period of royal rule (1729–75), the population increased, from 30,000 in 1730 to 265,000 in 1775, and spread throughout the colony. The settlers were in constant conflict with the royal governors over economic and political matters. In 1771 the first overt military action against the British took place. The Regulators, a group of disgruntled farmers, were defeated at the Battle of Alamance by militia under William Tryon, the royal governor.
Revolutionary War and Statehood
Troubles with the Crown continued. An assembly met in Charlotte in May, 1775, and adopted the Mecklenburg Resolves. These resolutions suspended royal government in the colony. In February, 1776, British troops were sent to North Carolina to restore royal rule. They were defeated by North Carolina minutemen at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge. In April, 1776, the North Carolina colonial assembly meeting in Halifax approved the Halifax Resolves, which instructed the North Carolina delegates at the Continental Congress to vote for independence. During the Revolutionary War, North Carolina was invaded by British troops (1780–81). North Carolina patriots fought at the important battles of Kings Mountain (1780) and Guilford Courthouse (1781).
In November, 1789, North Carolina ratified the U.S. Constitution; it was next to the last of the original 13 colonies to do so. The state ceded its western lands to the federal government in 1790; this region later became Tennessee. Raleigh was made the capital of North Carolina in 1792. The domination of the government by Tidewater planters was ended when the state constitution was revised in 1835 to give greater representation to the western part of the state, where more than half the population lived.
Civil War and Reconstruction
North Carolina opposed secession prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, but seceded in May, 1861, when it was called upon to furnish troops for the Union army. During the war, North Carolina contributed about 125,000 men to the Confederate cause. It lost more soldiers than any other Southern state. North Carolina was readmitted to the Union in 1868 after it adopted a new constitution and ratified the 14th Amendment.
The state was almost prostrate at the end of the war. Much of its property had been destroyed and its wealth dissipated. Reconstruction was a period of economic and political hardship in North Carolina, although industry in the Piedmont flourished. Conservative Democrats gradually regained control of state government from the Republicans who had come to power following adoption of the 1868 constitution. In 1875 the conservatives proposed amendments to the constitution that would allow the legislature to appoint county officials and thus help to insure that political control remain white and Democratic. The amendments were approved by popular vote in 1876. Home rule was restored in 1877 after the administration of President Rutherford B. Hayes abandoned the Reconstruction program.
Modern Development
During the last two decades of the 19th century, manufacturing, banking, and transportation expanded, but agriculture remained depressed. The early years of the 20th century marked the beginning of a progressive era for North Carolina. Under Governor Charles B. Aycock (1901–05), public education was improved. Regulation of industry was begun. Various economic development projects were started.
After World War I, industrialization and urbanization proceeded rapidly under business-oriented governors. The depression of the 1930's temporarily halted the state's progress, but recovery was stimulated by increased federal and state government assistance to business and agriculture. Beginning in the 1950's under Governor Luther H. Hodges (1954–61), the state sought to diversify its economy, which was heavily dependent on the production of textiles, furniture, and tobacco. Various progressive economic and social measures were enacted under governors Terry Sanford (1961–65) and Robert W. Scott (1969–73).
Throughout the 1960's, compliance with court-ordered desegregation of the public schools was mainly peaceful. In the mid-1970's, North Carolina was severely affected by inflation and recession-caused unemployment. The 1980 census showed that the state's population had increased more than 15 per cent in the preceding 10 years, making North Carolina the 10th most populous state. During the 1980's, the economy was strong. Also, the population grew at nearly the same rate as in the previous decade.
During the 1990's, the state's economy was helped by its technology sector, centered in the Research Triangle area of Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill. While the economy improved in the areas of technology, as well as agricultural production, demand for work in such traditional industries as tobacco and textiles declined. A need for improved government services such as health services and highways followed the increase in the state's population. In 1999, the Charlotte school district discontinued busing minority students into the area to force integration because a federal judge ruled that all instances of intentional discrimination seemed to have stopped. In the same year, Hurricane Floyd caused billions of dollars of damage to the eastern part of the state. It was one of the worst natural disasters in North Carolina's history.