History
Originally inhabited by a number of native tribes, including the Cherokee,
North Carolina was the first American territory the English attempted to
colonize. Sir Walter Raleigh, for whom the state capital is named, chartered
two colonies on the North Carolina coast in the late 1580s, both ending in
failure. The demise of one, the "Lost Colony" of Roanoke Island, remains one
of the great mysteries of American history.
By the late seventeenth century, several permanent settlements had taken
hold in the Carolina territory, which encompassed present-day South Carolina
and Tennessee as well. In 1712, North Carolina became a separate colony. It
reverted to a royal colony seventeen years later. In April 1776, the colony
became the first to instruct its delegates to the Continental Congress to
vote for independence from the British crown.
On November 21, 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution to become the
twelfth state in the Union. Between the American Revolutionary War and the
American Civil War, North Carolina worked to establish its state and local
governments. In 1840, it completed the state capitol building in Raleigh,
still standing today. In mid-century the state's rural and commercial areas
were further connected by construction of a 129 mile (208 km) wooden plank
road, known as a "farmer's railroad," from Fayetteville in the east to
Bethania (northwest of Winston-Salem).
In 1860 North Carolina was a slave state with a population of slightly less
than 1 million, approximately one-third of whom were enslaved. There were
also about 30,000 free blacks residing in the state. Somewhat divided on
whether to support the North or the South in the Civil War, North Carolina
was the last state to secede from the Union in 1861. Governor Ellis, leader
of the state at the war's beginning in 1861, famously declared in response
to President Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops to suppress the "rebellion"
that "you can get no troops from North Carolina." However, under his
leadership and that of his successor, Governor Zebulon Baird Vance of
Asheville, elected in 1862, the Tar Heel State did provide 125,000 troops to
the Confederacy, more than any other Confederate state. Approximately 40,000
of those troops never returned home, dead of battlefield wounds, disease and
privation. Although few major engagements took place in North Carolina
itself, her troops served in virtually all the major battles of the Army of
Northern Virginia. The largest battle that occurred in North Carolina was at
Bentonville, a futile attempt by Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston to slow
Union Gen. Sherman's advance into the Carolinas in the spring of 1865. Gen.
Johnston surrendered one of the largest Confederate armies near Durham in
late April 1865, weeks after Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox,
but the final surrender in North Carolina came at Waynesville in Western
North Carolina in May, when remnants of Thomas' Cherokee Legion laid down
their arms.
Over the past century, North Carolina has grown to become a leader in
agriculture and industry. The state's industrial output--mainly textiles,
chemicals, electrical equipment, paper and paper products--ranked eighth in
the nation in the early 1990s. Tobacco, one of North Carolina's earliest
sources of revenue, remains vital to the local economy. Recently, technology
has become a driving force in the state, especially with the creation of the
Research Triangle Park between Raleigh and Durham in the 1950's.
North Carolina has had three constitutions:
1776: This one was ratified December 18, 1776, as the first constitution of
the independent state. The Declaration of Rights was ratified the preceding
day.
1868: This was framed in accordance with the Reconstruction Acts after North
Carolina was readmitted into the Union. It was a major reorganization and
modification of the original into fourteen articles.
1971: This is a minor consolidation of the 1868 constitution and subsequent
amendments.
Law and Government
The capital of North Carolina is Raleigh and its governor is Mike Easley (Democrat).
Its two U.S. senators are John Edwards (Democrat) and Elizabeth Dole
(Republican).
Executive branch
The governor, lieutenant governor, and eight elected department heads form
the North Carolina Council of State; together with ten appointed department
heads, they form the North Carolina Cabinet. The state's current governor is
Democrat Mike Easley.
Legislative branch
The North Carolina General Assembly consists of two houses, a 50-member
Senate and a 120-member House of Representatives. For the 2003-2004 session,
the current President Pro Tempore is Democrat Marc Basnight; House co-speakers
are Democrat James B. Black and Republican Richard T. Morgan.
Judicial branch
The Supreme Court of North Carolina is the state's highest appellate court.
Numbering seven justices, its current members are:
I. Beverly Lake, Chief Justice
Sarah Parker
Robert F. Orr
Mark Martin
George L. Wainwright, Jr.
Robert H. Edmunds, Jr.
Edward Thomas Brady
Geography
Main article: Geography of North Carolina
See also List of North Carolina counties; List of cities in North Carolina;
List of unincorporated communities in North Carolina.
The State of North Carolina is included between the parallels 34° and 36°30'
north latitude, and between the meridians 75°30' and 84°30' west longitude.
Its western boundary is the crest of the Smoky Mountains, which, with the
Blue Ridge, forms a part of the great Appalachian system, extending almost
from the mouth of the Saint Lawrence River to the Gulf of Mexico; its
eastern is the Atlantic Ocean. Its mean breadth from north to south is about
one hundred miles (160 km); its extreme breadth is one hundred and eighty-eight
miles (303 km). The extreme length of the State from east to west is five
hundred miles (800 km). The area embraced within its boundaries is fifty-two
thousand two hundred and eighty-six square miles (135,000 km˛).
Major geographic features include the Blue Ridge Mountains in the west, the
Piedmont region of the central portion of the state, the Coastal Plain, and
Cape Fear, Cape Hatteras, and the Outer Banks off the eastern coast. These
regions are roughly divided by their elevation, with the Coastal Plain
extending to areas below 400 feet above sea level; the Piedmont encompassing
those areas between 400 and 1,500 feet; and the Mountain region referring to
areas from 1,500 feet to the highest Appalachian peaks at more than 6,000
feet.
Economy
The state's 1999 total gross state product was $259 billion, placing it 12th
in the nation. Its 2000 Per Capita Personal Income was $27,194, 30th in the
nation. North Carolina's agricultural outputs are poultry and eggs, tobacco,
hogs, milk, nursery stock, cattle, and soybeans. Its industrial outputs are
tobacco products, textile goods, chemical products, electric equipment,
machinery, and tourism. North Carolina is also the largest film making state
outside of California. Movie Studios are located in Shelby, Raleigh-Durham,
Charlotte, and the most the most popular, EUE Screen Gems Studios in
Wilmington. Some of the film/telelvision credits filmed there include:
Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, Cape Fear, Maximum Overdrive, and The Crow.
Demographics
According the 2000 census, North Carolina's population was 8,049,313.
Important cities and towns
Asheville
Cary
Chapel Hill
Charlotte
Durham
Fayetteville
Gastonia
Greensboro
Greenville
High Point
Jacksonville
Raleigh (state capital)
Rocky Mount
Wilmington
Winston-Salem
Small towns/areas with interesting names:
Climax, North Carolina (in Guilford County, near Greensboro)
Lizard Lick, North Carolina (in Wake County, near Raleigh)
Soul City, North Carolina (in Warren County)
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina (in Dare County)
Education
Colleges and universities
Barber-Scotia College
Barton College
Belmont Abbey College
Bennett College
Brevard College
Campbell University
Catawba College
Chowan College
Davidson College
Duke University
Elon University
Gardner-Webb University
Greensboro College
Guilford College
High Point University
Johnson C. Smith University
Lees-McRae College
Lenoir-Rhyne College
Livingstone College
Louisburg College
Mars Hill College
Meredith College
Methodist College
Montreat College
Mount Olive College
North Carolina Wesleyan College
Peace College
Pfeiffer University
Piedmont Baptist College
Queens College
Roanoke Bible College
St. Andrews Presbyterian College
St. Augustine's College
Salem College
Shaw University
University of North Carolina System:
Appalachian State University
East Carolina University
Elizabeth City State University
Fayetteville State University
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina School of the Arts
North Carolina State University
University of North Carolina at Asheville
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
University of North Carolina at Pembroke
University of North Carolina at Wilmington
Western Carolina University
Winston-Salem State University
Wake Forest University
Warren Wilson College
Wingate University
Professional sports teams
Carolina Panthers, National Football League
Carolina Hurricanes, National Hockey League
Charlotte Bobcats, National Basketball Association 2004
Charlotte Sting, Women's National Basketball Association
Carolina Courage, Women's United Soccer Association (playing in Chapel Hill)
Minor League Baseball teams
Charlotte Knights (playing in South Carolina)
Durham Bulls
Kinston Indians
Winston-Salem Warthogs
Burlington Indians
Carolina Mudcats
Kannapolis Intimidators
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Asheville Tourists
Hickory Crawdads
