Eleanor Finch
North Carolina, one of the original 13 colonies, has a long and complex history. The first European settlement in the region was established by English explorer Walter Raleigh in 1587 and named Roanoke. This colony, also known as The Lost Colony, disappeared, and Raleigh's subsequent expeditions to the area failed to discover what happened to the settlers. In 1663, King Charles II granted the land south of Virginia, which he called Carolina, to a group of his friends and political supporters known as the Lords Proprietors. The colony of Carolina was officially established in 1663, and in 1669, it was divided into two provinces: Albemarle province in the north and Clarendon province in the south. North Carolina became a separate colony in 1729 and played a significant role in the American Revolution, with its citizens signing the Declaration of Independence and instructing its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown. The state ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1789 and rewrote its constitution in 1835 to give more power to legislators and the governor and expand voting rights for white men.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of becoming a colony | 1587 (founding of Roanoke), 1663 (official) |
| First European settlement | The "lost colony of Roanoke," founded by English explorer and poet Walter Raleigh |
| First English person born in North America | Virginia Dare, settler John White's granddaughter |
| Native American groups | Cape Fear, Cheraw, Cherokee, Chowanoke, Croatoan, Meherrin, Saponi, Tuscarora, and Waccamaw |
| Year of becoming a separate colony | 1729 |
| Year of becoming a state | 1789 |
| Year of rewriting the constitution | 1835 |
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What You'll Learn
North Carolina's ratification of the US Constitution
North Carolina was one of the original 13 colonies and played a significant role in the American Revolution. The colony was established in 1585 when Sir Walter Raleigh sent a group of settlers to the area, who founded a colony on Roanoke Island, naming it Virginia. The colony was short-lived due to difficulties in obtaining food, and the settlers abandoned the island and returned to England. Another group of settlers arrived in 1587, but they also struggled with food shortages, and their leader, John White, returned to England for supplies. When White returned in 1590, all the colonists had disappeared, leaving only the word "Croatoan" carved on a post and the letters "Cro" on a tree. This became known as the "Lost Colony of Roanoke".
In the early 1700s, the colony of Carolina, which included present-day South Carolina and Tennessee, was divided into two provinces: Albemarle Province in the north and Clarendon Province in the south. The first permanent settlements in North Carolina were established by farmers and traders from Virginia in the Albemarle Sound area in the 1650s. In 1663, King Charles II granted the land south of Virginia, which he named "Carolina", to a group of his friends and political supporters known as the Lords Proprietors. They ruled the land from the Virginia border to Florida and drafted the Fundamental Constitutions of Carolina, which provided a plan for the government of the colony.
North Carolina adopted its first state constitution in 1776, during the American Revolution, which established property requirements for voters and elected officials but gave limited power to the executive branch. The colony was heavily involved in resisting British taxation, and their opposition to the Stamp Act led to the rise of the Sons of Liberty. North Carolina was the first state to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress in 1776.
Following the American Revolution, North Carolina became a major exporter of cotton and tobacco and developed an extensive slave plantation system. In 1789, North Carolina ratified the US Constitution, becoming the 12th state in the Union. However, it was one of the last holdouts to ratify the Constitution, as it had already gone into effect and the government had been established. In 1835, the state rewrote its constitution to give more power to legislators and the governor and to make it easier for white men to vote.
North Carolina was a battleground during both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. In 1861, the state seceded from the Union, joining the Confederacy, and sent more recruits to fight than any other rebel state. After the war, North Carolina was readmitted to the Union in 1868.
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The Lost Colony of Roanoke
The Roanoke Colony, also known as the Lost Colony, was established by Sir Walter Raleigh on Roanoke Island in 1585. Raleigh sent a group of settlers to the area, and they established a colony on Roanoke Island, naming it Virginia. However, difficulties in obtaining food led many settlers to abandon the island and return to England. A second expedition, led by John White, arrived in 1587 and set up another settlement. This attempt became known as the Lost Colony due to the unexplained disappearance of its population.
When White returned to England, he intended to bring more supplies in 1588. However, the Anglo-Spanish War delayed his return to Roanoke until 1590. Upon his return, White found the settlement fortified but abandoned. The only clue to the colonists' whereabouts was the cryptic word "CROATOAN" carved into the palisade, leading White to believe that they had relocated to Croatoan Island. Despite subsequent searches, no definitive answer has been found to explain the disappearance of the Lost Colony of Roanoke.
Another theory suggests that the lost colonists lived peacefully with a tribe beyond Powhatan territory for twenty years before an unprovoked attack led to their massacre. According to this account, seven English survivors—four men, two boys, and one woman—fled up the Chowan River and later came under the protection of a chieftain named "Eyanoco". While the specific tribe that hosted the Roanoke colonists was never identified, it is believed that they may have relocated to Chesapeake and were massacred in the same attack.
The mystery of the Lost Colony of Roanoke has intrigued historians and researchers for centuries, and it continues to be a subject of fascination and exploration. Despite the lack of a definitive answer, the story of the Lost Colony remains a significant part of the early history of North Carolina and the United States.
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Resistance to British rule
The North Carolina colony was the direct result of British colonization efforts in the New World. The first European settlement in what is now North Carolina was the "Lost Colony of Roanoke," founded by English explorer and poet Walter Raleigh in 1587. However, the colony mysteriously disappeared, and no one knows what happened to the settlers.
In the mid-1600s, Europeans, particularly farmers and traders from Virginia, began settling in the area that would become North Carolina. In 1663, King Charles II gave the region south of Virginia, which he called Carolina, to a group of his friends and political supporters known as the Lords Proprietors. The Lords Proprietors ruled the land from the Virginia border to Florida and imposed an ineffective government that was resisted by the settlers for years.
During the 1700s, the Cherokee people in North Carolina were forced to cede large portions of their land to American colonists, leading to frequent armed conflicts. In the early 1700s, North Carolinians also began to organize themselves into groups to defy government policies, such as the Regulators in 1768, who were suppressed by the governor's militia.
As hostility towards British rule grew, North Carolinians united, forcing the flight of the royal governor in 1775. North Carolina was one of the original 13 colonies and played a significant role in the American Revolution, with five battles fought on its soil. North Carolina was the first state to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress, and three of its citizens signed the Declaration of Independence. During the war, North Carolinians fought against both the British army and the Cherokee, who had sided with the British. Their most significant victory was at Kings Mountain in 1780, just across the state border in South Carolina.
After the war, North Carolina adopted its first state constitution in 1776, which established property requirements for voters and elected officials but gave little power to the executive branch. North Carolina became the 12th state in the Union when its General Assembly ratified the U.S. Constitution on November 21, 1789, although it was one of the last holdouts to do so.
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North Carolina's first state constitution
North Carolina was one of the original 13 colonies, and its first state constitution was created in 1776, after the American Declaration of Independence. The constitution was drafted by North Carolina's Fifth Provincial Congress, under the leadership of Speaker Richard Caswell, to reaffirm the rights of the people and establish a government compatible with the ongoing struggle for American independence.
The 1776 constitution affirmed the principle of the separation of powers and identified the three branches of government: executive, legislative, and judicial. It established property requirements for voters and elected officials, but it gave little power to the executive branch. The house of commons was to be elected by all free men owning at least 50 acres of land, and senators were elected by freeholders with at least 50 acres of land in the county. To hold office, one had to be a Protestant Christian, and there were land requirements of 100 acres for the position of senate. This restricted who could run for office, limiting the power of the people.
The constitution also introduced townships, which each county was required to create, making North Carolina the only southern state to do so. It featured a weak executive branch, with most of the power going to the legislature. The governor, the first being Richard Caswell, was voted in by the legislature, not the people, and served a one-year term, renewable up to three consecutive terms, with limited powers and no veto power. The constitution was passed like law after only 3 days of debate in the congress.
The 1776 constitution remained in place until 1835, when significant amendments were made at the Convention of 1835 to strengthen the political system. The governor's position was strengthened by providing for his popular election for a two-year term, and the number of members of the House and Senate were fixed at 120 and 50, respectively.
In 1868, a new constitution was adopted to bring North Carolina back into the Union after the Civil War. This constitution abolished slavery and provided for universal male suffrage, but it was later amended to discriminate against African Americans. The current constitution of North Carolina was ratified in 1971, reorganizing the state government to meet the requirements of the modern economy and society.
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North Carolina's role in the Civil War
North Carolina played a significant role in the Civil War, both in terms of manpower and resources. The state joined the Confederacy with some reluctance, influenced by the presence of Southern Unionist sentiment. Despite this, North Carolina contributed the most recruits to the Confederate Army out of all the rebel states, with around 130,000 North Carolinians serving. The state also provided substantial financial support and supplies, including food provisions, to the Confederate cause.
North Carolina's contribution to the Confederate war effort was not without internal strife and division. The state was largely a divided one, with significant pockets of Unionism, particularly in the Appalachian Mountains in the western region. Draft-dodging, desertion, and tax evasion were common, especially in the Union-friendly western areas. The home guard, made up of older men, often used violent tactics to curb illegal behaviour on the home front, including torture. Civilians also experienced violence at the hands of roving bands of deserters, leading to a strained relationship between the Confederacy and civilians.
The state was a key source of manpower for the Union Army as well, with approximately 8,000 men enlisting, including 5,000 African Americans as part of the United States Colored Troops. The XVIII Corps, based in North Carolina, was among the largest in the Union Army.
North Carolina became a crucial battlefront in the Civil War, with a total of 85 engagements taking place within the state. The first phase of military action in the state began with the Union assault on Hatteras in the fall of 1861 and continued through the Burnside Expedition of spring 1862, resulting in Union control of eastern North Carolina. In 1864, the Confederates launched an offensive in North Carolina, retaking Plymouth and holding it for six months. The Union Army, however, successfully seized Fort Fisher in 1865. In the final days of the war, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army marched into North Carolina, defeating the Confederates in several key battles and occupying much of the state. The surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston's army at Bennett Place in April 1865 marked the end of the war in the Eastern Theater.
Following the Civil War, North Carolina was placed under the leadership of Major General John M. Schofield, who provided temporary aid to the state. President Andrew Johnson then appointed William W. Holden as the provisional governor, allowing North Carolina to set up a convention to rejoin the Union, which required the state to abolish slavery and take an amnesty oath.
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Frequently asked questions
The North Carolina Colony was the first English settlement in the New World, founded in 1587 by English explorer and poet Walter Raleigh. It was originally called the “Lost Colony of Roanoke” and was located on Roanoke Island.
The North Carolina Colony played a significant role in the American Revolution. It was one of the original 13 colonies and the first state to instruct its delegates to vote for independence from the British crown during the Continental Congress. The colony became a battleground during the Revolutionary War, with five battles fought on its soil. The Battle of King's Mountain in 1780 was a major victory for the colonists, defeating the British attempt to secure the southern colonies.
The North Carolina Colony became a separate colony from South Carolina in 1729 when it was sold to the Crown and became a Royal English colony. It adopted its first state constitution in 1776, which established property requirements for voters and elected officials but gave limited power to the executive branch.
The North Carolina Colony influenced the state's constitution, particularly in the early decades of its existence as a state. The state constitution was rewritten in 1835 to address the lack of government action, with the aim of granting more power to legislators and the governor, as well as expanding voting rights for white men.
