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Colonial North Carolina

Showing results: 16 to 30 out of 66

State of Franklin Encyclopedia

The State of Franklin existed from 1784 to 1789 in what is now upper East Tennessee. It was situated on lands that North Carolina ceded to the federal government, yet the State of Franklin was not recognized by North Carolina or by the federal government. This lack of recognition was due not only to factionalism among the Franklinites but also to factors surrounding North Carolina’s cession of its western lands.

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Joseph Hewes (1730-1799) Encyclopedia

lthough Joseph Hewes was a native of New Jersey, he was one of three North Carolinians to sign the Declaration of Independence.  His business experience, education and honorable character enabled the Tar Heel to serve North Carolina vigilantly in public service for thirteen years. 

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Highland Scots Encyclopedia

Countless Highland Scots migrated to North Carolina during the colonial period and lived primarily in the Upper Cape Fear region during the late 1770s.  Immediately the Highland Scots contributed to some of the greatest events in the state's history.  As evidenced by the modern-day Highland Games, these Scots and their families migrated to other parts of the state, where aspects of their culture are alive and well today.

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Hillsborough Confrontation (1768) Encyclopedia

After a sheriff seized a horse for delinquent payment of taxes, Piedmont farmers used traditional means of protest to call for government to perform its proper role.  In the end, however, the Hillsborough Confrontation of 1768 failed to restore the colonial government to its proper function and started a series of events that included the Hillsborough Riot of 1770 and the Battle of Alamance. 

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Hillsborough Riot (1770) Encyclopedia

During the 1760s and 1770s, the Regulators of North Carolina's Piedmont region worked to fight abuses they perceived to be rampant in the government of the time. Their methods, however, were controversial. 

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The History of the Dividing Line Encyclopedia

The particular never escaped the observant eye of the landed Virginian, William Byrd II. While traveling through North Carolina, the colony’s natural and man-made environments amazed the Virginia gentleman.

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House in the Horseshoe Encyclopedia

The story of the House in the Horseshoe, and the men who fought there during an American Revolution skirmish, reveals the nature and influence of the war in the North Carolina backcountry. One of the first “big” houses built in the frontier lands of North Carolina, the House in the Horseshoe still has bullet holes from the fighting that took place in 1781.

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Robert Howe (1732-1786) Encyclopedia

In 1732, Robert Howe was born in Brunswick County, North Carolina.  He emerged as the colonies’ highest-ranking officer during the Revolutionary War.  Althought he supported Royal Governor Tryon in the 1760s, Howe like many others soon grew disenchanted with the English crown and evinced a strong patriotism by the mid-1770s.

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Herman Husband (1724-1795) Encyclopedia

Born in Maryland in 1724, Herman Husband was a successful farmer and an influential leader during the Regulator Rebellion in pre-Revolutionary North Carolina.  Husband represented Alamance farmers' interests and protested what he considered corrupt government and exploitation.

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James Iredell, Sr. (1751-1799) Encyclopedia

James Iredell (1751-1799) was a leader of the North Carolina Federalists during the state ratification debates of the federal Constitution.  Following ratification, President George Washington appointed the North Carolinian to the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served until his death in 1799.  His best-known opinion is his dissent in Chisholm v. Georgia (1793) that provided the basis for the subsequent adoption of the Eleventh Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

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Joara Encyclopedia

During the late-sixteenth century, Joara was the most dominant, and possibly the largest, town in what is now modern-day Piedmont and western North Carolina.  Located in Burke County, twelve miles north of Morganton, on Upper Creek, Joara was, according to historians, “the northeastern edge of the Mississippian cultural world.” Its economic and political prominence and its location prompted Spanish explorer Juan Pardo to construct Fort San Juan near the Indian town.

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Andrew Johnson (1808-1875) Encyclopedia

Suddenly thrust into the presidency after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln in April 1865, Johnson had to complete the task of ending the Civil War and also launch the effort to bind up the nation’s wounds by establishing stability and order throughout the country, particularly in the Rebel states. Given the climate of the times, every move he made was subjected to scrutiny and, quite often, criticism and attack, especially by certain Republican leaders of Congress.  He vigorously defended both the Constitution, as he interpreted it, and the office of the president from incessant attacks by Congressional leaders. Yet, the legislative branch gained the upper hand early in the battle and eventually sought to oust Johnson from office.

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Johnston Riot Act Encyclopedia

Enacted on January 15, 1771, the Johnston Riot Act breached English Common Law and enlarged governmental power in order to intimidate Regulators from ceasing their protests.  It, however, enraged the defenders of liberty and incited more protests.  

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Samuel Johnston (1733-1816) Encyclopedia

Samuel Johnston, one of early North Carolina’s most durable politicians, served as governor during the debate over the ratification of the United States Constitution.  In addition to his support for the Constitution, Johnston  was known as a governor, in the words of one historian, who displayed “cautious restraint with regard to fiscal and monetary affairs.”

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John Alexander Lillington (c.1725-1786) Encyclopedia

Namesake of the town of Lillington (the county seat of Harnett County), John Alexander Lillington served as a colonel during the American Revolution and earned fame as a military hero.  Many credit him for the Patriot victory at the Battle of Moore's Creek Bridge.

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