North Carolina: The State in the Confederation

1. North Carolina: The State in the Confederation

2. North Carolina’s Constitution • In November of 1776, North Carolina’s Provincial Congress met in Halifax to write a state constitution, which became known as the Constitution of 1776. • The delegates started with a list of citizens rights, designed to prevent any opportunity for tyranny. • These included freedom of the press, freedom of worship, the right to bear arms, the right to a jury trial, and other measures.

3. The North Carolina Constitution • When the authors reached the issue of how state leaders should be chosen, however, sharp disagreements broke out. • Everyone agreed that political power should be in the hands of citizens, but they disagreed over whether some people deserved more of that power than others. • None of the delegates thought women or enslaved blacks should vote or have political power. • But they disagreed about the rights of free men.

4. The North Carolina Constitution • Some of the state’s wealthier men, many of them planters from the east, wanted people with money to continue to have the most power. • They believed that wealthy, educated men, made the best leaders. • As a result, they wanted to limit voting to men who owned a lot of property. • These men were known as Conservatives.

5. North Carolina’s Constitution • Other delegates, known as Radicals, thought all free adult men should be able to vote, regardless of how much money they had. • This included free blacks, and Indians living off of Tribal lands. • Although many of the Radicals were western farmers, some came from the east. • In the end, these groups compromised.

6. North Carolina’s Constitution • They decided that the state’s legislature should be divided into two parts: A House of Commons and a Senate. • They called the legislature the General Assembly. • The rules for elections gave both groups- Radicals and Conservatives- something that they wanted:

7. North Carolina’s Constitution • Each county would elect two representatives to the House and one to the Senate. • All free men over 21 who paid taxes could vote for members of the house. • Only men who owned at least fifty acres of land could vote for senators. • Men who ran for a House seat had to own at least 100 acres of land. Men who ran for Senate had to own 300 acres. • The House and Senate members would elect the governor.

8. North Carolina’s Constitution • The delegates left one important thing out of the constitution- they did not include any way for citizens to amend, or change, it. • This lack of flexibility caused problems in the future. • The North Carolina Constitution was adopted on December 18, 1776. • The delegates to the Constitution chose Richard Caswell to be the state’s first governor.