North Carolina: The State in the Confederation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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:

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.

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.