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PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.
PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.
In the publication of a fourteenth edition it seems proper that something should be said as to changes made in this work. At a session of the North Carolina Board of Education, held November 22d, 1881, it was resolved that "the Board expressly reserve to itself the right to require further revisions" in Moore's School History of North Carolina, the second edition of which was then adopted for use in the public schools. Conforming to this requirement of the State Board of Education, the author ha
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
Constitution of North Carolina Questions on the Constitution...
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HINTS TO TEACHERS.
HINTS TO TEACHERS.
It is well known that any subject can be more thoroughly taught when both the eye and the mind of the pupil are used as mediums for imparting the knowledge; and the teacher of "North Carolina History" will find a valuable help in a wall map of the State hung in convenient position for reference while the history class is reciting. Require the pupils to go to the map and point out localities when mentioned, also places adjoining; trace the courses of the rivers which have a historical interest, a
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CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER I.
The State of North Carolina is included between the parallels 34° and 362° north latitude, and between the meridians 752° and 842° 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 St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico; its eastern is the Atlantic Ocean. Its mean breadth from north to south is about one hundred miles; its extreme breadth is one hundred and eighty-
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CHAPTER II.
CHAPTER II.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION-Continued. The mountains of North Carolina may be conveniently classed as four separate chains: the Smoky, forming the western boundary of the State; the Blue Ridge, running across the State in a very tortuous course, and shooting out spurs of great elevation; the Brushy (which divides, for the greater part of its course, the waters of the Catawba and Yadkin), beginning at a point near Lenoir and terminating in the Pilot and Sauratown Mountains; and an inferior range of much
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CHAPTER III.
CHAPTER III.
A knowledge of the geology of a State affords the key to its soils; since the soils are formed by the disintegration of the underlying rocks, more or less mixed with animal or vegetable matter. The peculiar geological structure of the State furnishes the material for every possible variety of soil. In fact, there is no description or combination unrepresented. There are, first, the black and deep peaty soils of Hyde county and the great swamp tracts along the eastern border of the Tidewater sect
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CHAPTER IV.
CHAPTER IV.
That portion of America now known as the State of North Carolina was once inhabited by Indians. For many ages before Columbus came across the seas in the year 1492, they had held undisputed possession of all the Western Continent, except those Arctic regions where the Esquimaux dwelt. 2. Nearly a century had gone by since the Spaniards had begun their settlements, and yet, north of St. Augustine, in Florida, not a white man was to be found. Cortez and Pizarro had founded great states in Mexico a
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CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER V.
1570. The sixteenth century of the Christian era was one of the most wonderful periods in the world's history. The recent invention of the printing-press had scattered books and knowledge over Christendom, a larger liberty in religions matters had been achieved by the Reformation, and daring navigators sailed with their ships into many regions never before visited by civilized men. 2. The Portuguese and Spaniards sent expeditions to many lands. In America, thousands of men and women were living
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CHAPTER VI.
CHAPTER VI.
1584. When the little ship Hind reached England, and it was known how Sir Humphrey Gilbert and so many of his men had gone down into the depths of that mysterious ocean which was so much dreaded, there was great grief; and, possibly many bitter speeches were made by the people who stayed at home and predicted disaster to the daring enterprise. Raleigh was sorely afflicted at the loss of his brother and men, and had he been weak or selfish this disaster would have unmanned him, and he would have
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CHAPTER VII.
CHAPTER VII.
We cannot easily realize, in our day, what excitement and enthusiasm were felt in England when the two ships returned and exhibited the Indians, the potatoes, the tobacco and other new and strange productions that had been gathered by Amadas and Barlowe, to prove the value and fertility of the newly discovered land. It is strange, but true, that more value was set upon the discovery of the sassafras tree than upon anything else, and wonderful things were expected of its virtues as a tea, a medic
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CHAPTER VIII.
CHAPTER VIII.
It must have been a sore trial to Sir Walter Raleigh when he learned that his colonists had returned to England. He had sent over a ship with abundant supplies, which reached Roanoke only a few days after Sir Francis Drake sailed away with his fleet. Finding no white people upon the island, the ships returned to England. Sir Richard Grenville also touched at the same point, with three other ships, about fifteen days later. The folly, avarice and timidity of agents such as Ralph Lane have, in all
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QUESTIONS.
QUESTIONS.
1. What ships had been sent over to relieve the colony? 2. How did Grenville continue English claims to Roanoke? What was the fate of his settlers? 3. What was Raleigh's next attempt at settlement? Who was appointed Governor? How many people composed the colony? How was this colony better prepared for permanent settlement than any of its predecessors? What became of this colony? 4. Where had White been ordered to make settlement? Point out Hampton Roads on the map. Why did he land at Roanoke Isl
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CHAPTER IX.
CHAPTER IX.
The story of the attempted settlement on Roanoke Island is the story of one of the world's tragedies. Misfortune seemed to be the doom, not only of the colonists, but of many gallant men who sought to aid Sir Walter Raleigh in his enterprise. Sir Humphrey Gilbert, with two of his ships, was the first to perish at sea; Sir Francis Drake and his compeer, Sir John Hawkins, both died of pestilence in the West Indies; and, to the baffled and broken- hearted originator of the scheme, the coming years
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
After the discovery of North Carolina, in 1584, by Amadas and Barlowe, many years had gone by before the period now reached in this narrative. Not only had James succeeded Elizabeth, but Charles had succeeded James and had been beheaded as a traitor to the land he pretended to rule. Cromwell had lived, ruled and died, and Charles II. was on the throne of his fathers, and thus again royal bounties became possible and fashionable. 2. Many men in England had heard of the goodly land which was being
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CHAPTER XI.
CHAPTER XI.
1. King Charles II., who thus bestowed this vast dominion upon a few of his friends, was in marked contrast, as a sovereign, to Queen Elizabeth. He was a gay, dissolute, shameless libertine, who despised all that is valuable in human duties, and spent his life in the paltriest amusements. He could be polite and entertaining in conversation, but abundantly justified Lord Rochester's remark that "he never did a wise thing or said a foolish one." 2. Under instructions from the other Lords Proprieto
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CHAPTER XII.
CHAPTER XII.
After Sir William Berkeley had put Governor Drummond to death in the manner described, Governor Stephens was sent in 1667 to take his place. Stephens was a ruler of ordinary abilities, and probably did his best for the interests of the province, so far as was consistent with a keen regard for instructions from the Lords Proprietors. 1668. 2. The government, in his day, consisted of the Governor, his council of twelve, and twelve members of the House of Assembly, elected by the freeholders. Every
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CHAPTER XIII.
CHAPTER XIII.
1674. Samuel Stephens, upon his death in 1674, was succeeded by George Carteret as Governor of Albemarle. The oldest member of the council was entitled by law to the place, but the members of the House of Assembly succeeded in obtaining the position for their speaker. Governor Carteret found many difficulties in the office he had assumed; and becoming disgusted with the continued opposition of the people to the Fundamental Constitutions and the navigation laws of 1670, he went over to London and
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CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
When John Culpepper had ended his administration the authorities in England sent over John Harvey as Governor. Little is known of him or of his successors, John Jenkins and Henry Wilkinson. There were still misrule and confusion in Albemarle. A few men of wealth, who acted as deputies in the Council for the absent Lords Proprietors, were their advocates and defenders in everything they proposed; but the people still traded with New England vessels and vented their scorn upon the Fundamental Cons
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CHAPTER XV.
CHAPTER XV.
Thomas Carey, who had already reached the positions of Speaker of the House of Assembly and Lieutenant-Governor, was promoted to be Governor in 1705. He had been a leader in opposition to Governor Daniel's church scheme, and for that reason John Archdale and the Quakers had procured his elevation to the latter position. It may be imagined what was their disgust and surprise when it was found that Carey had changed sides and become the willing tool of Lord Carteret. 1705. 2. In 1705 the town of B
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CHAPTER XVI.
CHAPTER XVI.
With the conquest of the Tuscaroras and their allies, a great danger was removed from the settlements in Carolina. Tom Blount and his people were assigned a tract of land as a token of the gratitude of the whites for their refusal to join in the war. This reservation was first located south of Albemarle Sound, but was afterwards changed to the region still known as the "Indian Woods," in Bertie county. 1713. 2. In 1713, Colonel Pollock was relieved of his office as Governor by the arrival of Cha
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CHAPTER XVII.
CHAPTER XVII.
Upon the death of Governor Eden in 1722, Colonel Thomas Pollock, as President of His Majesty's Council for North Carolina, assumed the place of Governor, but he died in a short while and was succeeded by William Reed. That year Bertie precinct was erected west of Chowan River, and court houses were, for the first time, ordered to be built. Not only the General Assembly, but courts and all public affairs, up to this time, had been held in private houses. 2. North Carolina then comprised three cou
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CHAPTER XVIII.
CHAPTER XVIII.
During the government of North Carolina by Gabriel Johnston, there was still much trouble from the buccaneers. These were pirates who chiefly infested the West Indies, where they were sometimes congregated by thousands at a single place. They were daring enough to invade cities and countries, and caused great terror and danger to all honest people within their reach. 2. In 1748 a fleet of the pirates, under the pretext of a war between England and Spain, sailed into the mouth of the Cape Fear Ri
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CHAPTER XIX.
CHAPTER XIX.
King George selected Major Arthur Dobbs, as Governor of North Carolina; and at New Bern, on November 1, 1754, he entered upon the discharge of his duties. He was a man of high temper, and very obstinate in support of his views, but devoted to whatever he believed his duty demanded. His greatest fault was filling public offices with members of his own family and a disposition to make jobs for his own benefit. 2. Governor Dobbs soon visited the new county of Rowan, which was established in 1753, a
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CHAPTER XX.
CHAPTER XX.
Some months before the death of Governor Dobbs there had come over from England a handsome, polished and genial officer who wore the uniform of the Queen's Guards. This was Lieutenant- Colonel William Tryon, recently appointed Lieutenant-Governor of North Carolina. He succeeded Governor Dobbs, and left a name that will never be forgotten in North Carolina. 2. Governor Tryon was accompanied by his wife and her sister, Miss Esther Wake. They were ladies of great attractiveness, and were destined t
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CHAPTER XXI.
CHAPTER XXI.
In the middle and western counties of North Carolina in the period referred to, there was collected a large increase of population. Immigrants had come in large companies from Scotland, Ireland, England and Germany. Fully two hundred thousand inhabitants were by that time to be found east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. They were separated by that great barrier from the Cherokees, who latterly had well respected this line of separation. 2. A great portion of the western settlers had recently come t
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CHAPTER XXII.
CHAPTER XXII.
James Hasell, as President of the Council, assumed the conduct of affairs until the arrival of the new Governor. This new Governor, Josiah Martin, was born 22d April, 1737, and had been a Lieutenant-Colonel in the British Army, which position he was obliged to resign on account of his health. He then sought civil employment and was appointed Governor of North Carolina. He was a far more honorable man than Tryon. He had no unworthy favorites, as Tryon had, and concocted no selfish schemes for his
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CHAPTER XXIII.
CHAPTER XXIII.
1774. By this time the propriety of holding a general or Continental Congress, composed of delegates or representatives duly chosen by the several colonies, had suggested itself to men of sagacity in every portion of the country. Wherever made, the suggestion at once found a lodgment in public favor, and by the time summer had come it was a generally accepted fact that such a congress would be held, and the time and place of its session pretty well agreed upon. During the month of June, 1774, ea
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CHAPTER XXIV.
CHAPTER XXIV.
After the meeting of the first Provincial Congress, at New Bern, there were, to all observers of intelligence throughout the world, evident signs of an approaching rupture between the Royal Government and the people of North Carolina. Each day widened the breach between them and rendered more difficult an arrangement of the troubles. 2. In the regular course of events, if North Carolina would continue to keep abreast of her sister colonies in the movement for the preservation of the inherent rig
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CHAPTER XXV.
CHAPTER XXV.
It had been seen at New Bern that Colonel Harvey's days were numbered, and Samuel Johnston had been empowered, in case of the Moderator's death, to order an election for another Congress to meet at Hillsboro whenever he should deem it necessary. Accordingly (Colonel Harvey having died) the Congress met, at the call of Mr. Johnston, in Hillsboro, on the 20th of August, 1775, and a memorable Congress it was. Samuel Johnston was its President. 2. When Governor Martin left New Bern royal authority w
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CHAPTER XXVI.
CHAPTER XXVI.
1776. The new year, 1776, found Governor Martin still lingering on board the Cruiser in the Cape Fear River. He was closely watched by Colonel James Moore, who kept his Command (the First North Carolina Regiment) in that vicinity. In February came the news that the Scotch Highlanders and Regulators were gathering at a place called, at that day, "Cross Creek," and now the town of Fayetteville. This place and in this connection will be remembered as the home of the beautiful heroine, Flora McDonal
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CHAPTER XXVII.
CHAPTER XXVII.
The Hillsboro Congress of August, 1775, formally inaugurated a war of resistance to British oppressions, but to the Halifax Congress of April, 1776, was left the crowning glory of being the first in all the colonies to declare for absolute independence of the mother country and for foreign alliances. 2. It was quickly seen when the new Congress met at Halifax, on the 4th of April, 1776, that great progress had been made in public sentiment. At Hillsboro professions of loyalty and of a desire for
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CHAPTER XXVIII.
CHAPTER XXVIII.
After the public avowal by the people of North Carolina, through their newly organized Congress at Halifax, in April, 1776, of a fixed purpose to secure, by force of arms, absolute independence from the mother country, and of her desire to enter into foreign alliances to accomplish that end, there was no reason for any longer delay in establishing a permanent form of government for the colony. Hitherto, pride of consistency in form at least, to say nothing of a considerate regard for tender cons
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CHAPTER XXIX.
CHAPTER XXIX.
A. D. 1777 to 1779. All of the North Carolina Continentals were with General Washington early in the new year 1777. They reached him in a great emergency. His army had just been driven from New York across the State of New Jersey, and such had been his losses by battle and otherwise, that when he reached the Delaware River he could hardly muster five thousand men. 2. Sir William Howe, the British Commander-in-Chief, had twenty- nine thousand trained soldiers available, and when Lord Cornwallis,
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CHAPTER XXX.
CHAPTER XXX.
The capture of Savannah caused uneasiness in all the Southern States. It was seen at once that Georgia was but a starting point in a general scheme of transferring hostilities from the north. Early in 1779, General John Ashe reached Charleston with two or more brigades of militia. These were hurried off, at the importunate demand of the Governor of South Carolina, to attack the British at Augusta. 2. General Ashe remonstrated, saying his men were not yet ready for active service in the field; he
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CHAPTER XXXI.
CHAPTER XXXI.
When the great disaster at Charleston became known to the North Carolina Tories, and they fully realized that British troops were close at hand, the spirit that had seemed crushed at Moore's Creek began to revive. They had suffered indignities from the Whigs on account of their support of the King, and they now determined on swift and bloody revenge. 2. John Moore, who was Lieutenant-Colonel in Hamilton's Regiment, returned to his former residence in Lincoln county and assembled, early in June,
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CHAPTER XXXII.
CHAPTER XXXII.
The disaster at Camden left North Carolina without defence against invasion by the British under Lord Cornwallis. But the spirit of Governor Nash and his people was high, and they did not for a moment relax their efforts for the support of the war. In a short time five thousand Continental and militia troops were in motion for the neighborhood of Charlotte. 2. Generals Jethro Sumner and William L. Davidson were put in command of two camps, where the raw levies were drilled and equipped for the f
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CHAPTER XXXIII.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
General Greene soon became aware that his great trouble would be in obtaining food in sufficient quantities to feed an army large enough to meet the British in open field. Generals Gregory and Jones were ordered back to their homes, and their brigades were disbanded because of this poverty of resources in that section of the country. General Morgan was sent west of the Catawba River; another camp was established at Cheraw, and the militia of Rowan and Mecklenburg, under General Davidson, were al
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CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHAPTER XXXIV.
When the British commander found that General Greene was completely beyond his reach, he marched to Hillsboro and there erected the Royal standard. In consequence of his proclamations and the retreat of General Greene across Dan River, several hundred Tories collected under Colonel John Pyle and started to join Lord Cornwallis. General Greene sent Lieutenant Colonel Henry Lee across Dan River to observe them. 2. Pyle and his Tories supposing Lee's force to be British troops, drew near, uttering
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CHAPTER XXXV.
CHAPTER XXXV.
When Lord Cornwallis left Wilmington, on his way to Virginia, there were no British troops left in North Carolina except about four hundred regulars and some Tory recruits, which constituted the garrison of Wilmington. Major James H. Craig was in command there, having captured the place in the preceding January. 2. He had been trained to arms, and when General Burgoyne surrendered at Saratoga, was his Adjutant-General. He was skillful as a soldier, but utterly unscrupulous as to the means he use
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CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
1. On the 19th of October, 1781, as has been previously stated, Lord Cornwallis surrendered himself and his army to General Washington, at Yorktown, in Virginia. The timely arrival of the friendly French fleet under Count Rochambeau enabled Washington to lay siege to Cornwallis and force him to surrender. 2. The English commander, who was a skillful soldier, complained that he had been forced, by the orders of his superior officer and against his own judgment, into a position from which he could
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CHAPTER XXXVII.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
1. During the years that followed upon the close of the Revolution the people of North Carolina were busied with the restoration of their ravaged fields and the development of the new system of self-rule inaugurated by the Convention of Halifax in 1776. There were many good and wise men in America who had no confidence in the perpetuity or effectiveness of a polity which rested upon the wisdom and virtue of the masses for its enforcement. 2. Samuel Johnston and the leading lawyers of that day we
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CHAPTER XXXVIII.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
1. The new State of North Carolina now became divided and excited as to her position in the confederation of States. Each day was demonstrating more clearly the failure of the confederation. Its poverty and weakness were exciting the contempt of all civilized nations, and the General Congress amounted to little more than an arena for the display of jealousy and selfishness on the part of the individual States. 2. In North Carolina, as elsewhere, the people were divided as to what should be done
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CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
1. When North Carolina had thus taken her place in the Federal Union, and the whole system of State and National polity became perfected in America, many hearts beat with gratitude to God for the promises of a glorious future. The magnificent realm won by the blood of heroes was at last guarded by a system of laws so wise and effective that peace and prosperity were soon to make it one of the greatest of civilized lands. 2. This example of freedom achieved in the wilds of America was speedily fe
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CHAPTER XL.
CHAPTER XL.
1. In the last days of the eighteenth century men became more and more plainly divided into two political parties. Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia, a man of decided genius and consummate ability, was the leader of those who maintained that the government of the United States should be strictly limited to the powers expressly granted in the Federal Constitution and prohibited from the use of any of those reserved to the individual States. 2. Alexander Hamilton, of New York, another very able and pa
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CHAPTER XLI.
CHAPTER XLI.
General Davie ceased to be Governor to become one of three Commissioners to Paris. He had been appointed Major-General to command North Carolina's contingent, when it seemed that war with France was inevitable; but that danger had happily passed, and he was sent over to arrange the vexed questions growing out of the Berlin and Milan decrees. * *These decrees were Napoleon's efforts to retaliate for British blockade measures against France. The great conqueror forbade all Europe from commercial i
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CHAPTER XLII.
CHAPTER XLII.
The Republic of America was wisely ruled during the eight years of Mr. Jefferson's administration as President. He was not only the greatest of political philosophers, but a consummate party leader. Under his management the Federalists were so completely won over that even ex-President John Adams was found among the electors who voted for Jefferson's re-election. 2. Vermont, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee were added to the list of States, and the vast territory known as "Louisiana" was purchased f
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CHAPTER XLIII.
CHAPTER XLIII.
James Turner, of Warren; Nathaniel Alexander, of Mecklenburg; David Stone, of Bertie, and Benjamin Smith, of Brunswick, had served in turn as Governors of North Carolina during the years of growth and expansion described in the last chapters. William Hawkins, of Granville, was chosen to the same high office in 1812, and, as Commander-in-Chief of all the State's forces, felt unusual responsibility in prospect of war even then begun between Great Britain and the United States. 1813. 2. It was the
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CHAPTER XLIV.
CHAPTER XLIV.
When hostilities ceased it seemed a great thing to the people of North Carolina once more to enjoy the full benefits of trade and commerce. British cruisers had made all foreign commodities very scarce and costly. Salt had been made on the seacoast in limited quantities, but of inferior quality. It was, therefore, gratifying to the people to see the stores again filled with goods of every description. 2. When this period of its history had been reached, the State was divided into sixty-two count
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CHAPTER XLV.
CHAPTER XLV.
1821. In the decade following the enactment of the Missouri Compromise there was prodigious material growth in every section of the American Union. In North Carolina the real prosperity of the people was imperceptible, by reason of the heavy emigration to the South and West. Not only population, but wealth, was continually withdrawing to more profitable fields of labor and speculation. 2. While the Northern and Western sections of the Union were receiving the thousands who came every year from E
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CHAPTER XLVI.
CHAPTER XLVI.
1. While the Republic of the United States was so divided and agitated as to matters of policy touching the interests of all the Union, there were, at the same time, many issues of local importance confined to North Carolina. 2. The old habit of annually changing the place for holding the sessions of the Legislature had first brought about a feeling of sectionalism between the eastern and western counties. Western men had first learned to combine in securing Hillsboro rather than New Bern for th
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CHAPTER XLVII.
CHAPTER XLVII.
There had been many changes effected among the people of North Carolina by the lapse of time when the year 1836 came in. Bartlett Yancey, the two Drs. Caldwell and Archibald Henderson were all dead, and their places filled by other men. Cotton was becoming more and more widely cultivated, and, year by year the value of slave property was increasing by reason of the profits realized in the cultivation of this great Southern staple. 2. The Dismal Swamp Canal was at last ready for traffic between t
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CHAPTER XLVIII.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
It will be remembered that in 1767 the first school was incorporated by the Legislature of North Carolina, by the act in favor of the academy at New Bern. In this, and subsequent legislation for schools at Edenton and elsewhere, it had provided that the teachers should all be communicants of the Church of England. This stipulation was, of course, part of the English Church and State system of government. 2. When, just previous to the outbreak of the Revolutionary war, the founders of the "Queen'
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CHAPTER XLIX.
CHAPTER XLIX.
1. When the year of our Lord 1842 had come, peace and prosperity were in all portions of North Carolina. Society was still divided into three classes. These were: the white people, the slaves and the free negroes. The latter class had originated by manumission, and were numerous in some of the eastern counties. They had lost the right of suffrage by the action of the State Convention of 1835. 2. This action on the part of the Convention was due in some degree, doubtless, to the constant agitatio
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CHAPTER L.
CHAPTER L.
Governor Dudley was opposed by ex-Governor John Branch, of Halifax, as the candidate of the Democratic party in 1838. Governor Branch had been in the Cabinet of General Jackson, and upon his defeat in this contest, retired from public life in North Carolina to receive the appointment of territorial Governor of Florida. In the Gubernatorial contest, two years later, John Motley Morehead, of Guilford, as the nominee of the Whigs, likewise defeated the Democratic leader, Judge Romulus M. Saunders.
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CHAPTER LI.
CHAPTER LI.
No single year in human records has been more prolific of change and social advancement than that which witnessed the overthrow of King Louis Phillipe in France and the general upheaval of all Europe. It seemed that the spirits of the sixteenth century had revisited the earth, and that men were everywhere resolved on revolution or amendment. 1848. 2. North Carolina formed no exception to this general impulse of Christendom. A wise and patriotic disregard of old sectional and party traditions fir
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CHAPTER LII.
CHAPTER LII.
1. The female seminaries of Salem, Raleigh and Greensboro were supplemented, in 1843, in the establishment, by the Chowan and Portsmouth Baptist Associations, of another female school of high grade, at Murfreesboro. This useful and popular institution soon gained reputation and attracted patronage from many of the Southern States. The Edgeworth Seminary at Greensboro was a similar institution under Presbyterian rule. It was a worthy rival of its compeers in the education of Southern girls. The U
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CHAPTER LIII.
CHAPTER LIII.
The election of General Franklin Pierce to the Presidency, in 1852, was considered by many as a rebuke to those who had been so clamorous in the North against the compromise of 1850. He was a warm supporter of the rights of the individual States, and the knowledge of this fact brought repose to the minds of Southern men. 2. North Carolina had just entered upon a career of rapid development in her mineral resources. The incorporation of a clause extending the right of suffrage in the State Consti
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CHAPTER LIV.
CHAPTER LIV.
1860. After seventy years of party struggles touching the relations of the General Government to the individual States, the Presidential contest of 1860 opened with such notes of violence and public confusion, that it was at once seen that at last the supreme crisis had come. 2. The only issue apparently before the American people was that of slavery in the Territories. The Democrats were divided into two fragments. Those supporting Judge Douglas for the Presidency advocated "Squatter Sovereignt
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CHAPTER LV.
CHAPTER LV.
The people of North Carolina loved the Union of States that had been in such large part constructed by the heroism and wisdom of their own fathers. They well knew its value to themselves under an unbroken Federal Constitution; they knew, too, the danger incurred in the attempt to absolve them selves from further Federal connections. But they knew, also, their rights under the Constitution, and were fully determined neither to surrender them nor to aid in the subjugation of their sister States. A
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CHAPTER LVI.
CHAPTER LVI.
1862. By the fortune of war in the Revolution, as again in 1812, the State was nearly always left with a small proportion of her own troops to defend the home of their birth. So, also, when the spring opened in 1862, though fully forty thousand men of the State were under arms, they were to be found in Virginia and South Carolina, except a small force left at Wilmington and Roanoke Island. 2. This condition of affairs did not result, however, from any indifference on the part of the general gove
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CHAPTER LVII.
CHAPTER LVII.
Amid the exultation that filled the hearts of the people of North Carolina for the victories around Richmond, there was grief in many families for heroes fallen in the discharge of duty. Colonels Stokes, Meares, Campbell and C. C. Lee, like a great host of their compatriots, were gone to come no more. It seemed that the superior numbers and resources of the United States forces were to prove powerless before the fiery onsets of the Confederate troops. 2. In the month of August, 1862, Zebulon B.
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CHAPTER LVIII.
CHAPTER LVIII.
1863. When the year 1863 had come upon the American States in their bloody and wasting quarrel, there was nothing to indicate any solution of the great controversy. Many bloody battles had been fought, thousands of homes were saddened in the loss of brave and true men, and yet both sides were as intent as ever upon carrying on indefinitely the terrible and costly struggle. 2. Mr. Lincoln and the government at Washington said there should be no peace until the seceded States returned to their all
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CHAPTER LIX.
CHAPTER LIX.
In spite of the great Federal success in acquiring territory in North Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi and elsewhere, and notwithstanding the increasing hardships everywhere felt, the government and people of the Confederate States were still undismayed and hopeful when the spring of 1863 permitted the vast armies of the United States to resume active military operations. No thought of submission was entertained by the Confederate soldiers, and among the people at home only in rare instances wer
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CHAPTER LX.
CHAPTER LX.
1864. The fourth year of the great war opened on North Carolina with grief in almost every family; still, with diminished hopes and increased exertions for the general defence, they looked forward to a campaign which they well understood was to be decisive of their fortunes. Perhaps not even General Washington was so trusted and beloved by the American people in the Revolution as was General Robert E. Lee by those of the South in the closing years of the struggle. 2. In his genius and capacity t
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CHAPTER LXI.
CHAPTER LXI.
In 1864 Colonel Vance was re-elected Governor of North Carolina. At his first election he was personally very popular, was a soldier in the field, had been in actual battle, had been by no means a strong "Union" man in the earlier portions of the year 1861, and, indeed, in May of that year, was in camp at the head of his company. Mr. Johnston, his opponent, was a secessionist, but neither popular nor a soldier, and comparatively but little known to the mass of the people, except in his own immed
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CHAPTER LXII.
CHAPTER LXII.
1. With the fall of Fort Fisher the fate of Wilmington was sealed. With the Federal troops in such a position the port was most effectually closed. The last connection of the beleaguered Confederacy with the outer world was thus broken, and North Carolina, with beating heart, listened to the approaching footsteps of countless invaders. General Lee, who had been made General-in-Chief of all the Southern armies, selected General Joseph E. Johnston to command in North Carolina. 2. General Bragg's f
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CHAPTER LXIII.
CHAPTER LXIII.
When General Johnston became aware of General Lee's retreat, he was informed that his next duty would be to effect a junction of his forces with those withdrawn from Petersburg. In accordance with this object a movement was begun at Raleigh, April 10th. The army, Governor Vance accompanying it, having passed the capital, ex-Governors Graham and Swain, accompanied by Surgeon-General Warren, met General Sherman at the head of his vast army a few miles from Raleigh and asked him to protect the city
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CHAPTER LXIV.
CHAPTER LXIV.
1. When the bulk of the vast armies that had effected the overthrow of the Confederacy was marched northward and disbanded, the full extent of the ruin that had been wrought was at last realized. So many Federal troops had been collected in North Carolina that their subsistence and depredations had consumed nearly all the food in the State, and the utmost scarcity was disclosed in broad districts contiguous to the line of march and occupation by General Sherman's great armies. 2. Grief for the r
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CHAPTER LXV.
CHAPTER LXV.
President Andrew Johnson, as has already been stated, was born and reared in the city of Raleigh. He went to Tennessee after reaching manhood, and, though blessed with small advantages as to early culture, devoted himself to political life. He is said to have mastered the rudiments of education with his wife's help. His native ability soon gave him position as a politician and eventually great popularity and control over the Tennessee people. 2. He soon relaxed in the severity of his feelings to
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CHAPTER LXVI.
CHAPTER LXVI.
There was in North Carolina great indignation at the result of the enforced changes wrought in the polity of the State by means of the various congressional enactments. Strangers from other States, and men entirely unused to legislation, had effected many alterations in our government and laws. It was to be expected that such things, done in such manner, would prove distasteful to a proud race that had so lately withstood so stoutly on the field of battle, and so long, such superior numbers. 2.
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CHAPTER LXVII.
CHAPTER LXVII.
THE RESULTS OF RECONSTRUCTION—Continued. On the 21st of May, John W. Stephens, then a Senator from Caswell county, was secretly murdered in an unused room in the courthouse at Yanceyville. A large concourse filled the house when the deed was committed, the occasion being a Democratic political gathering, and Stephens was seen and talked to at the meeting, being there as a spectator. Strange to say, however, it is a mystery to this day as to who committed the crime. 2. It was insisted by Governor
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CHAPTER LXVIII.
CHAPTER LXVIII.
The election of 1870 resulted in a great triumph for the people. Opponents of the administration were elected to the Legislature in overwhelming majorities, and a determination to bring Governor Holden to trial for his crimes against the Constitution and liberties of the people was at once apparent. 2. Nothing can be more important; in a civilized government than protection to the liberties of the people. Nothing is truer than that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," Even in the royal g
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CHAPTER LXIX.
CHAPTER LXIX.
In the years that had passed since the close of the war between the States, the people of North Carolina had been continually looking forward to the hour when the State should be fully restored to its old relations with the Federal government. In the consummation of the reconstruction policy, inaugurated and carried out by Congress, this had been partially attained, but, in the provisions of the Constitution adopted in 1868, there were many particulars that were unsuited to the habits of the peo
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CHAPTER LXXI.
CHAPTER LXXI.
1876. In this state of advancement as to her material interests, North Carolina again became excited in 1876 over the choice of new men for Chief-Magistrates, both of the Republic and of the State. 2. After eight years of service as President of the United States, General Grant was retired to private life, and Governor Brogden, who had succeeded Governor Caldwell upon the death of the latter in 1874, was also near the end of his service as Governor of North Carolina. No Gubernatorial election wa
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CHAPTER LXXII.
CHAPTER LXXII.
1879. The Raleigh & Gaston Railroad originally connected the two places that gave name to the route. It was necessary in reaching Raleigh from the Albemarle region to go to Weldon, and then, by the Petersburg Railroad, the junction in Greenville county, Virginia, gave access by a short line to Gaston. It was not until about 1853 that the Raleigh & Gaston route was extended directly down the Roanoke River to Weldon. This was a great facility to both trade and travel on this import
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CHAPTER LXXIII.
CHAPTER LXXIII.
1880. It would seem natural that the connection of Sir Walter Raleigh with the history of North Carolina should have added to the literary tendencies of a people blessed with such a godfather. He was so full of genius and devotion to letters that a special impetus ought thereby to have been given to the cultivation of a similar spirit among those who were to inhabit the land of his love. But, though Hariot, Lawson, and quaint Dr. Brickell were moved by such a spirit, the muses have not made the
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CHAPTER LXXIV.
CHAPTER LXXIV.
As was intended by the men who framed the Constitution of North Carolina at Halifax in 1776, the University of the State has long held the leadership of such institutions in the Commonwealth. The unfortunate and inexcusable interference of politicians with its management during the years of reconstruction only resulted in its temporary eclipse. The public refused it patronage when the new managers had installed a strange faculty in the seats of Governor Swain and his long honored coadjutors; but
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CHAPTER LXXV.
CHAPTER LXXV.
In the financial prostration consequent upon the late war, a large debt was due from North Carolina to creditors who held the bonds of the State. That portion of these bonds which had been issued before the war was considered an honorable burden, that should be discharged by such payment as might be fixed by agreement between the State and the bondholders. 2. In this way a compromise was effected, and new bonds have been issued, which embrace a large portion of what was honestly due from the Sta
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APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
The Constitution of North Carolina is an important instrument to the people of the State. It contains all the fundamental principles of our State government, and ought to be carefully read and studied by every citizen of North Carolina. In order that the boys and girls who study this history may more thoroughly understand the meaning and provisions of the State Constitution, a series of "Questions" has been prepared with great care by a distinguished citizen of the Commonwealth who is well acqua
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