North Carolina is truly a unique breed in terms of being a state. While North Carolina was one of the original thirteen colonies, a new state after the American Revolution, and a state in the antebellum south, it has always been unique in its political footing. From the beginning, North Carolina has tried to become the best version of itself, but as the old adage says, “the more things change the more they stay the same”. This is quite an appropriate quote to describe North Carolina. Writer Harry L. Watson describes North Carolina as the “Rip Van Winkle” state. Rip Van Winkle is the story of a man who wanders off to get away from his nagging wife and sleeps for twenty years. He wakes up to find that the world has changed around him. The same
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A quote in chapter 7 of The North Carolina Experience, by J. Edwin Hendricks, perfectly sums up the views of the citizens of North Carolina and, actually, the country as a whole, “concern for individual rights and the power of the state government were the major factors that shaped North Carolina’s role in the formation of the Federal Union.” This quote suggests that the state was advocating for a more conservative way of governing. During this time, in the late eighteenth century the political spectrum was on the right wing of the conservative party. Much like today, the colonists wanted a federal government that did not have more power than the state and local governments. After the American Revolution this was true. While there was a federal government, the primary governing bodies were at the state …show more content…
Like most of the antebellum south during the first half of the nineteenth century, North Carolina’s economy relied heavily on slave labor. During this time there is also a strong abolitionist movement taking place all over the country. The federal government at this time was pushing for an end to slavery, but states like North Carolina were advocating keeping slavery. While North Carolina was not a plantation state, like South Carolina and Mississippi, agriculture was the backbone of the economy. Without advancements in agriculture and transportation, the state’s reliance on slave labor became more imperative in order to keep the already weak economy effective. This was the case in many of the southern states. Although not all states had a weakening economy like North Carolina, the slave population was the work force of the time. One of the reasons that southern states felt the need to preserve slavery was the idea that if the north dictated this regulation, the south would continue to lose power and have no voice in the government. The loss of slave labor would also mean the loss of the labor force and, in turn, the loss of farms. During this time period North Carolina was clearly a rare breed. A “Rip Van Winkle”, growing and changing, but not knowing how to deal with these changes and content to let the world change around them. Differences in the political views among, not only the
A quote in chapter 7 of The North Carolina Experience, by J. Edwin Hendricks, perfectly sums up the views of the citizens of North Carolina and, actually, the country as a whole, “concern for individual rights and the power of the state government were the major factors that shaped North Carolina’s role in the formation of the Federal Union.” This quote suggests that the state was advocating for a more conservative way of governing. During this time, in the late eighteenth century the political spectrum was on the right wing of the conservative party. Much like today, the colonists wanted a federal government that did not have more power than the state and local governments. After the American Revolution this was true. While there was a federal government, the primary governing bodies were at the state …show more content…
Like most of the antebellum south during the first half of the nineteenth century, North Carolina’s economy relied heavily on slave labor. During this time there is also a strong abolitionist movement taking place all over the country. The federal government at this time was pushing for an end to slavery, but states like North Carolina were advocating keeping slavery. While North Carolina was not a plantation state, like South Carolina and Mississippi, agriculture was the backbone of the economy. Without advancements in agriculture and transportation, the state’s reliance on slave labor became more imperative in order to keep the already weak economy effective. This was the case in many of the southern states. Although not all states had a weakening economy like North Carolina, the slave population was the work force of the time. One of the reasons that southern states felt the need to preserve slavery was the idea that if the north dictated this regulation, the south would continue to lose power and have no voice in the government. The loss of slave labor would also mean the loss of the labor force and, in turn, the loss of farms. During this time period North Carolina was clearly a rare breed. A “Rip Van Winkle”, growing and changing, but not knowing how to deal with these changes and content to let the world change around them. Differences in the political views among, not only the