“ The first sanction of independence by any body representing the whole province was given by the fourth Provincial Congress on the 12th of April 1776, and the same body immediately proceeded to the consideration of a new and permanent form of government. Their labours ended, however, in another provincial government by a Council of Safety, and the drafting of North Carolina's first state constitution was left to a constitutional convention which assembled at Halifax on the 12th of November. ”

“ Throughout the colonial era the establishment of small estates was a part of the territorial policy of the government of North Carolina, 640 acres being the largest normal grant to any one person; as a consequence of this policy land holdings have always been much smaller here than in most of the other parts of the South, and since the Civil War the rise in the percentage of improved land, the development of truck farming, and the growth in number of negro holdings, have been accompanied by a further decrease in the average size of farms from 316 acres in 1860 to 101.3 acres in 1900. ”

“ The fundamental points of difference between North Carolina and South Carolina were exemplified in the slavery conflict. South Carolina led the extreme radical element in the South and was the first state to secede. North Carolina held back, worked for a compromise, sent delegates to the Washington Peace Convention in February 1861, and did not secede until the 20th of May 1861, after President Lincoln's call for troops to preserve the Union. ”

“ In the Piedmont Plateau Region oaks, hickories and elms are the most common. In the Mountain Region at the bases of the mountains are oaks, hickories, chestnuts and white poplars: above these are hemlocks, beeches, birches, elms, ashes, maples and limes; and still higher up are spruce, white pine and balsam; and all but comparatively few of the higher mountains are forest-clad to their summits. All of the species of pine and of magnolia, and nearly all of the species of oak, of hickory and of spruce, indigenous to the United States, are found in North Carolina. ”

“ The Coastal Plain Region is the only part of the state that has any lakes, and these are chiefly shallow bodies of water, with sandy bottoms, in the midst of swamps. In all they number only about fifteen, and have an area estimated at 200 sq. m., about one-half of which is contained in Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde county.
Flora.—In North Carolina's flora are many species common to sub-tropical regions and many common to temperate regions, and the variety is consequently very great. In the swamps are the bald cypress, the white cedar and the live oak, usually draped in southern long moss ”

“ All persons otherwise qualified may place their names on the voting register, provided they can read and write any section of the constitution in the English language and have paid on or before the 1st of May the poll tax for the previous year. An exception to the educational requirement is made in favour of any male person who was, on the 1st day of January 1867, or at any time prior thereto, entitled to vote under the laws of any state in the United States wherein he then resided, and in favour of lineal descendants of such persons. ”

“ Until nearly a century after the founding of the Carolinas there was not a town in North Carolina that had a population of 1000, and the urban population of the state was exceptionally small at the beginning of the rapid rise of the manufacturing industries about 1880. ”

“ The effect of this was that in January 1835 the legislature passed a bill for submitting the question legally to all the voters of the state, although this bill itself limited the proposed convention's power relating to representation by providing that it should so amend the constitution that senators be chosen by districts according to public taxes, and that commoners be apportioned by districts according to Federal representation, i.e. five slaves to be counted equal to three whites. ”

“ Neither can the husband convey real estate without the wife's consent, and a widow may dissent from her husband's will at any time within six months after the probate of the same, the effect of such dissent being to allow her the right of one-third of her deceased husband's property, including the dwelling house in which they usually resided. ”

“ Agriculture.—Until the Civil War agriculture was about the only important industry in the state, and at the close of the 19th century it was still the leading one; but from 1880 to 1900 the ratio of agriculturists to all inhabitants of the state engaged in some gainful occupation decreased from 75.3 to 64.1%. The land included in farms amounted in 1900 to 22,745,356 acres or 73% of the total land surface of the state, and the percentage of farm land that was improved increased from 26.5 in 1870 to 36.6 in 1900. ”

“ Charitable and Penal Institutions.—In the systematic care of the dependent and defective classes North Carolina was one of the pioneer states of the South. An institute for the deaf and dumb and blind was opened at Raleigh in 1845, and another for the deaf and dumb at Morganton in 1894; by a law of 1907 every deaf child of sound mind must attend, between the ages of eight and fifteen, a school for the deaf at least five terms of nine months each ”

“ It was along the coast of North Carolina that Europeans in 1585 made the first discovery of iron ore within the present limits of the United States. Iron ores are widely distributed within the state, and there have been times since the eve of the War of Independence when the mining of it was an industry of relatively great importance. In 1908 the product amounted to 48,522 long tons (all magnetite) , and was valued at $76,877; almost the entire product is from the Cranberry mines, near Cranberry, Mitchell county. The state has two small areas in which bituminous coal occurs ”

“ The state prison is at Raleigh, although most of the convicts are distributed upon farms owned and operated by the state. The lease system does not prevail, but the farming out of convict labour is permitted by the constitution; such labour is used chiefly for the building of railways, the convicts so employed being at all times cared for and guarded by state officials. ”

“ During the first half of the 19th century North Carolina was a mining state of the first importance; in 1804 it was the only state in the United States from which gold was obtained. Operations ceased during the Civil War, and although resumed soon after its close, they became somewhat desultory. Probably the earliest large find was a 17-℔ nugget on the Reed Plantation in Cabarrus county in 1799 ”

“ The first permanent English colony in North Carolina was established at Albemarle on the Chowan river about 1660 by people from Virginia. The colony grew rapidly, and at the close of the colonial period (1776) the population numbered approximately 300,000, including English, Scotch, Scotch-Irish, Swiss, French Protestants, Moravians, and about 40,000 negroes. ”

“ The Roanoke river is navigable to Weldon and the Cape Fear river to Fayetteville; the Neuse is navigable for small vessels only to Newbern.
Population.—The population [1] of North Carolina increased from 1,399,750 in 1880 to 1,617,949 in 1890, or 15.6%; to 1,893,810 in 1900, a further increase of 17.1%; and to 2,206,287 in 1910, an increase of 16.5% since 1900. Of the total in 1900 only 4492, or less than 1⁄4 of 1% were foreign-born, nearly half of these being natives of Germany and England, 1,263,664 were whites, 624,469 negroes, 5687 Indians and 51 Chinese. ”

“ Through most of the Coastal Plain Region, which extends inland from 80 to 150 m., the country continues very level or only slightly undulating, and rises to the westward at the rate of little more than 1 ft. ”

“ Liberal support was given to the Confederacy, both in men and supplies, but Governor Vance, one of the ablest of the Southern war governors, engaged in acrimonious controversies with President Jefferson Davis, contending that the general government of the Confederacy was encroaching upon the prerogatives of the separate states. Owing to its distance from the border, the state escaped serious invasion until near the close of the war. Wilmington was captured by the Federals in February 1865 ”

“ A movement begun by the Confederate Veterans Association in October 1889 resulted in the establishment in 1890 of a home for disabled veterans at Raleigh; this became a state institution in 1891. In 1908 a state tuberculosis sanatorium was opened near Aberdeen, Moore county. The state also takes good care of the unfortunates among the negro race. The Institute for the Colored Deaf, Dumb and Blind (1867) at Raleigh and the Eastern Insane Hospital (1880) near Goldsboro are the oldest institutions of the kind for negroes in the world ”

“ In Caswell county, North Carolina, “lemon yellow” tobacco was first produced in 1852, and the demand for this “bright” variety became so great that except during the interruption of the Civil War its culture spread rapidly. In 1879 the state's crop amounted to 26,986,213 ℔, in 1889 to 36,375,258 ℔, in 1899 to 127,503,400 ℔, and in 1909 to 144,000,000 ℔. The hay and forage crop increased from 80,528 tons in 1879 to 246,820 tons in 1899; and in 1909 the hay crop was 242,000 tons In the production of vegetables and fruits the state ranks high. ”

“ The working of children under twelve years of age in any factory or manufacturing establishment is unlawful, the working of children between the ages of twelve and thirteen in such places is allowed only on condition that they be employed as apprentices and have attended school for at least four months during the preceding year ”

“ The Cherokees have no ambition to accumulate property, but both they and the Croatans have been generally peaceable and many of them send their children to school—for the Croatans the state provides separate schools. ”

“ It is deeper and more sandy where granite is the underlying rock, deeper and more fertile on the north-western than on the south-eastern mountain slopes, and shallower and more clayey where slate is the underlying rock. ”

“ The destruction of pine forests to meet the demands for naval stores, and the introduction and increased use of the refrigerator car, resulted in much attention to the growth of garden produce for Northern markets. ”

“ When the popular vote was taken, in the following April, every eastern county gave a majority against the convention, but the West, even with the limitation which was decidedly favourable to the East, voted strongly for it and carried the election with a total majority in the state of 5856 votes. Again, however, the advantage was with the East, for the delegates were chosen by counties, two from each ”

“ Climatology of North Carolina (Raleigh, 1892) ; and H. Thompson, From the Cotton Field to the Cotton Mill, a Study of the Industrial Transition in North Carolina (New York, 1906) , contains some interesting observations on the changes in social conditions resulting from the growth of the cotton-manufacturing industry. John W. Moore, History of North Carolina (2 vols., Raleigh, 1880) ; S. A'Court Ashe, History of North Carolina (2 vols., Greensboro, 1908-⁠) are general surveys. ”

“ Under an amendment of 1835 he was elected for two years by popular vote of electors for members of the House of Commons, and no man was eligible to serve for more than four years in any term of six years. ↑ Under the Constitution of 1776 senators were elected by counties, one for each county, and representatives also by counties, two for each county—in addition, the towns of Edenton, Newbern, Wilmington, Salisbury, Hillsboro and Halifax each elected one representative ”