Political History
Showing results: 1 to 15 out of 18
"Is Anything Free?: Debates Regarding Internal Improvements in Antebellum North Carolina" Commentary
Some things never change. The particulars may do so, yet the essence remains. Modern-day political ideas in North Carolina, for example, are rooted in the state’s past. One example is public-funded roads.A Duel to End All Duels: Richard Dobbs Spaight Vs. John Stanly Commentary
Political debate often brings out the worst in people. Thankfully dueling is now outlawed, but the personal pettiness that saturates the political process makes me long for the spirit of the good ol’ days to be placed in a modern-day boxing ring, where the disgruntled can find satisfaction and then get on with the business of genuine debateAfrican American Innovation During Difficult Economic and Discriminatory Times Commentary
On November 10, 1898, a disgraceful event in North Carolina occurred: as part of the White Supremacy campaign of the 1890s, Democratic leaders in Wilmington overthrew leading black and white Republicans and Populists to regain control of Wilmington’s government. What happened in Wilmington, many assert, “suppressed the political, social, educational and economic development and aspirations of African-Americans in this state for over ninety years.” Although innovative blacks worked in unfair circumstances during the late 1800s and early 1900s, such assumptions reveal a 1960s Revisionist focus on failure instead of an emphasis on black agency and fortitude that reveals how African Americans remarkably achieved success during difficult times.An Overlooked Jeffersonian Argument: Thomas H. Hall and Internal Improvement Legislation Commentary
“My present purpose . . . is to present a figure seldom heard of nowadays but one deserving a lasting place in the history of North Carolina.” In 1911, journalist Louis D. Wilson so described Thomas H. Hall, a Congressman from Edgecombe County, North Carolina. Almost 100 years later, Wilson’s statement still rings loudly.The Antifederalists: North Carolina's Other Founders Commentary
It is tempting to dismiss the Anti-Federalists, for the U.S. Constitution that they opposed is practically a sacred document to most modern Americans. Under that Constitution, the United States increased in population, wealth, and territory to become, by the late twentieth century, the world’s only superpower. The Anti-Federalists contributed to what now seems to be a preordained drama. Their story, however, suggests that history might have taken another, and not unthinkable, path.Edenton Tea Party: An American First Commentary
Many Americans have heard of the Boston Tea Party of 1773. Far less can tell of the Edenton Tea Party of 1774. I can count a few, but I have some fingers left.Graham Brothers Commentary
The Graham brothers, James and William, were leaders of the state and national Whig parties during the antebellum era. A Senator and Governor, the younger William, once described as the handsomest man in all of North Carolina, influenced politics more than his older brother. The political biographies of both, however, reveal the history of the Whig Party in the Tar Heel State and explore what issues Whigs deemed most important.A Tar Heel in Cloak: George Watts Hill, Interventionism, and the Shadow War Against Hitler Commentary
Scion of a distinguished North Carolina family (“Durham’s first family”), George Watts Hill played a key role in the secret war against Hitler. For his effective work and efficient administration, the Italian and French governments respectively awarded him the Cross of War Merit and the Legion of Merit.
Josiah Bailey and the Creation of a Post-World War II Conservatism Commentary
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt had many fans, but North Carolina Senator Josiah Bailey, an author of the Conservative Manifesto of 1937, was not one. In a letter to anti-New Dealer Senator Peter G. Gerry of Rhode Island, Bailey wrote, “Our President is not actuated by principle, but by fears. He will try to head off anything in order that he may stay at the head.”Nathaniel Macon: American Patriot and Defender of Liberty Commentary
The “foremost leading public man of North Carolina” during the early republic era (1789-1830) is only a blip on the radar screen of modern historiography. So, let me introduce him and tell how he embodied the “Old Republican” values. (During this time, republicanism was the idea that a citizenry should be virtuous and maintain a proper balance between liberty and power.)Limits of Liberalism Commentary
North Carolina's conservatism in the 1930s contradicts the state's progressive image, or rather, the myth of its progressivism, born of developments before and after the 1930s. The conservative opposition to the New Deal created momentum for a postwar conservatism and a viable two-party competition in the state. Genuine liberalism, New Deal or otherwise, one could argue, has yet to capture the Tar Heel state.Nothing Says It Better Than A Good Quote Commentary
Many times, nothing proves a point better than a good quote. Anything else—a paraphrase or an explanation--only dampens a literary passage’s verve or weakens an argument’s persuasiveness.So with brief contextual background, here are four quotes from North Carolinians regarding the importance of liberty and the imperative to defend it against corrupt government.
Gordon Wood: Revolutionary Characters Commentary
On March 27, 2007, Pulitzer Prize winner Gordon Wood discussed his recent book, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, at a North Carolina History Project Headliner Luncheon. His entire lecture can be viewed here.Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different Commentary
On March 27, 2007, Pulitzer Prize winner Gordon Wood dicussed his recent book, Revolutionary Characters: What Made the Founders Different, at a North Carolina History Project Headliner Luncheon.