DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Debate, protests, and political struggles have left their mark in North Carolina and demonstrate that "we are us" when we utilize our voices.

State agency records not only document the workings of government from within, but preserve citizen voices of praise and protest as well. From petitions submitted to the General Assembly in the earliest years of statehood, covering a wide variety of issues, to materials in the Governor's Papers, the records found in the State Archives reflect the democratic experiment in action.

DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Petition of the people called Quakers

This petition from a group of Quakers in Perquimans County is in response to the 'Oath of Allegiance' Act passed by the General Assembly in the 1776-1777 session. The act required men to "take an affirmation, promising to bear true allegiance to the independent state of North Carolina, and to the powers and authorities, which are or may be established for the good government thereof."

In this petition, this group of Quakers requests that the General Assembly of North Carolina consider their religious beliefs and conscience regarding "the setting up and putting down Kings and Governments" and "flighting with carnal weapons" of "Stronger Security to any state, than any test that can be Required of us."

DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Council on the Status of Women

The first predecessor of the present-day council was the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women, established in 1963 by executive order of Governor Terry Sanford. The commission was one of several programs created during Sanford's administration to examine how the State's resources were being used, and to provide recommendations on how these resources could be better invested in the improvement of individual, family, and social welfare. The Commission on the Status of Women was charged with reviewing and recommending changes in several areas where women were likely to suffer discrimination, including but not limited to, state labor laws, employment policies and practices, educational policies, and legal rights.

DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Council on the Status of Women - Employment Report

"The employment of women typically generates more discussion than the employment of men -- some of it disapproving and taking the form of charges that women who don't need jobs are taking them from men who do; that women's personality quirks make them less satisfactory employees than men; and that, in taking jobs, married women (especially mothers) neglect their family responsibilities out of selfish craving for money and status. These allegations are sometimes made seriously, sometimes in jest; in any case, they challenge us to weight the evidence as to whether or not they are true." - quote from the introduction of this undated report from the Governor's Commission on the Status of Women examining data regarding the employment of women in North Carolina.

DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Speaker Ban Law Protests

DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Speaker Ban Law: Pro-Ban Letter

The governor's office received correspondence from both proponents and opponents of the law. These letters are preserved at the State Archives of North Carolina as part of the Governor Dan K. Moore Papers.

This letter from Harold R. Fussell is written on behalf of Wilming Post No. 10 of The American Legion. Expressing support for Governor Moore's upholding of the law, he goes on to say the following on page 2:

"We would rather lose the accreditation than live with the knowledge that our children would be required by college professors to sit in the presence of persons lecturing on the campuses whose sole purpose would be to espouse the communist propaganda line."

DEMOCRACY & PROTEST

Speaker Ban Law: Anti-Ban Letter

In this anti-Speaker Ban Law, Thomas D. Higgins, a Pennsylvania resident and graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill writes to express his concern about the possibility of this law causing the de-accreditation of UNC.

"I can appreciate that yours is a difficult position, but in the end it is as simple as this -- in the years hence do you prefer to be remembered as one who allowed the deterioration of a great system, or one who championed a cause and successfully met the challenge?"

Democracy & Protest 

Petition of the Female Benevolent Society, 1826

While the rights of women fluctuated over the course of the first century of the United States, North Carolinian women did not sit idly by. Many took part in benevolent societies, groups formed all over the United States that allowed women the opportunity to gather and work for a particular cause, raising money, taking on administrative duties, and writing petitions such as this one. These causes were varied but often connected to religious causes such as orphanages and missions as well as social causes including the abolition of slavery.

This petition from the Female Benevolent Society of James Town, Springfield, and Kennet (modern-day Guilford and Forsyth County area) focuses on the treatment of slaves, particularly female and child slaves. Select the "related page" button to the right to read a transcription and continue to the next exhibit page for the rest of the petition.

Democracy & Protest

Petition of the Female Benevolent Society, 1826

This petition, signed by six women, presents a heartfelt plea to the General Assembly. The women call on the men representing them to consider their own role as fathers when they look at the plight of the enslaved mother. While much of the language denounces the institution of slavery, abolition is not the request these women make. Rather, they make the specific requests asking that laws banning the practice of whipping an unrobed enslaved woman and of separating families by sale.

Were these women unwilling to request abolition, or were they reading the times and asking for more humane treatment under the expectation that requests for abolition would be ignored? We will never know for sure what was going on in their minds, but their petition, preserved at the State Archives, stands the test of time as a testament to the power of North Carolinian women exercising their right to make their minds known to the legislature even as they were denied the right to vote for their representation.

EDUCATION

For others, we are “us” when we make sure that the next generation will have the tools necessary to succeed. In North Carolina, the question of access to education varied, and barriers to education separated people along many lines. The State Archives preserves records documenting the public education efforts taking place across the state every day. And exploring these documents helps in showing how education brought “us” closer.

EDUCATION

Should We Finance Education?  

The 1776 State Constitution adopted a provision for public schools, but principal funding needed to come from parents, community members, and direct charges for attending the school. By 1800, this lack of general and accessible education left an imprint on North Carolina’s literacy, economy, and general growth of the state. In 1817, Archibald D. Murphey proposed the foundations for the public-school fund. Part of his plan was implemented in 1825 as part of the Literary Fund. Still, the fund remained inadequately funded until the federal surplus of $1.5 million in 1836. This led to the Education Act of 1839, opening thousands of schools by 1840. The apathy towards education in the state is reflected in the fact that, by 1840, 1 out of 4 white men and women could not read or write.

Education

Expanding Women's Education 

The earliest examples of equal education efforts for women in North Carolina came from the Moravian community in present-day Winston-Salem. However, it was not the norm across the state. Before the Civil War, improvements had been made, but primarily for white women of middle-to-upper-class status. Roughly 12 higher education colleges (which mean our present-day high schools and junior colleges) were created. After the Civil War, the 1868 State Constitution provided tuition-free schools for all children from six to twenty-one through taxes. This funding greatly helped women’s education efforts in all socioeconomic backgrounds. By 1920, the rates of literacy had greatly improved among women of all races, going from 16.8% in 1900 to 36.2%.

EDUCATION

Segregation and the Rosenwald Schools

While general education improved for all the state’s children going into the 20^th century, legal segregation created a distinction in the quality of education among white and non-white students, particularly in funding. Often, tax resources and wealth went to white schools, providing them with a better and more up-to-date learning environment. Internal community groups and outside organizations, such as the Rosenwald School funds, tried to fill in the gaps. Desegregation became a major cornerstone for the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s, as access to quality education helped in building stronger citizens. During this time, education improvements also expanded for children with learning disabilities.

EDUCATION

High School Graduation Lists

One of the highlights of our education records are lists of most high school graduates starting in the 1920s through 2004. We continue to collect graduation lists, so if you’ve graduated from a public high school in North Carolina like basketball icon Michael Jordan, YouTube legends Rhett and Link, or rapper J. Cole, your name (and your story) either is or will soon be a part of the State Archives. 

IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION

The question of “when are we ‘us’” is something that can be explored, but not fully answered, as the American political and social experiment continues and others from across the world immigrate to join in. 

IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION

Immigration to N.C. 

Immigration to North Carolina was small. The 18th century saw the largest boom of immigrants to the state from Europe and enslaved Africans. With the end of the African slave trade in 1808, immigration numbers staggered in the state, as state leaders gave little money to improving education, industrial advancements, or poverty rates. Many who immigrated to the country after the Revolutionary War settled in places that at least offered jobs in the rapidly growing industrialization found in the country. Tobacco and textile mills represented early industrialization that brought some immigration to N.C., but mining in the 1820s did for a time as well. 

IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION

A Merging of Cultures

The mixing of Native, European, and African cultures helped shape the state in various ways, with some not as obvious as others. For example, the log cabins, which are often associated with mountain communities, show a German influence on the Scots-Irish who settled in western N.C. A mixture of food from the Americas and other countries represented another example. Foods like cornbread, BBQ, and even the official state vegetable, the sweet potato, show a mixture of different groups creating something new.

IMMIGRATION & NATURALIZATION 

Industrialization and the early 20^th Century

After the Civil War, North Carolina experienced a growth in industrialization, most notably in textile, furniture, and tobacco processing. However, new waves of immigrants did not start coming until the 1890s, and even then, it was slow. Factory owners found cheap labor from the newly freed black community and the poor whites, although mass migration out of the state continued. In addition, a new national wave of xenophobia for primarily eastern and southern Europeans created an unwelcoming environment. However, as the 20th century continued and North Carolia's economy changed again, more immigrants came to the Research Triangle Park area for the fields of science and technology.    

Looking for "Us" 

Conclusion 

The Constitution, when written, purposely contained the amendment clause. Creating an amendment is no easy task, but the writers understood that if the nation were to grow and thrive, the Constitution needed the ability to change with the times. After all, even as the ink dried on the document, questions were already rising about the role of women in this new nation, how many people should have the ability to vote, and what does a citizen look like. 250 years later, we ask ourselves that same question who is a citizen, when are we us? But if we study this question from multiple angles, we will be a step closer to that answer.