1. Documents and Meetings calling for Independence

2. 1st Continental Congress
September 1774
Philadelphia, PA
Delegates from some colonies came together to discuss possible actions against the British taxes and laws
Decided to
boycott British goods
Ban trade with Britain
Began to train soldiers for a possible war

3. According to North Carolinian folk-lore, some citizens of Mecklenburg Co. gathered in Charlotte on May 20, 1775 and signed a declaration of independence from Britain- the 1st of these in the American colonies.
Not a lot of documented evidence. The story was popularized in later years by some who claimed to have been signatories.
The document itself was alleged to have burned in a fire in 1800
The date of the event was memorialized on the state seal and on the state flag.
Mecklenburg Resolves

4. The Olive Branch Petition
July 5-8, 1775
Written by John Dickinson, Colonists expressed their desire to achieve “a happy and permanent reconciliation”
Directed to George III. It issued a sharp protest against repressive British policies
asked the king to halt the war,
repeal the Intolerable Acts to bring about reconciliation.
While critical of Parliament and the king's ministers, the petition described the relationship between the American colonies and the mother country as “the wonder and envy of other nations.”
Loyalty to the king was not challenged
The King rejected the petition

5. Thomas Paine’s Common Sense
Published anonymously in 1776
6 months before “Declaration of Independence”
Paine's “Common Sense” was a radical and passionate call for America to free itself from British rule and to set up an independent government.
Paine pushed for country where personal freedom and social equality would be upheld.
His pamphlet was the first to speak directly to a mass audience - it went through fifty-six editions within a year of publication
Converted thousands of citizens to the cause of American independence.

6. 4TH Provincial Congress of NC Halifax Assembly
The Halifax Resolves were the first official acts by any of the 13 colonies calling for independence from Great Britain.
The state of NC, on April 12, 1776, authorized her delegates to the Continental Congress to vote for independence.
The 83 delegates present in Halifax, NC at the Fourth Provincial Congress unanimously adopted the Halifax Resolves

7. Fourth Provincial Congress
Halifax, NC
This mural, by artist Francis Vandeveer Kughler, depicts the delegates to the Fourth Provincial Congress at Halifax leaving the Halifax courthouse at nightfall on April 12, 1776, after they had voted "to concur in independency" by adopting the Halifax Resolves. Among those in the scene are Samuel Johnson, Thomas Burke, and Cornelius Harnett

8. Why were the Halifax Resolves important?
The Halifax Resolves were taken by NC delegates to Continental Congress in Philadelphia.
Virginia followed with her own recommendations soon after the adoption of the Halifax Resolution, and eventually on July 4, the final draft of the Declaration of Independence was signed.
William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, and John Penn were the delegates from North Carolina who signed the Declaration of Independence.

9. 2ND Continental Congress
Philadelphia, PA
Summer of 1776
Delegates from each of the 13 colonies
Set up Continental Army - Washington Commander
Served as temporary government during war
Sent Olive Branch Petition
Signed Declaration of Independence

10. Declaration of Independence
Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in the morning of a bright, sunny, but cool Philadelphia day. John Dunlap prints the Declaration of Independence. These prints are now called "Dunlap Broadsides." Twenty-four copies are known to exist, two of which are in the Library of Congress. One of these was Washington's personal copy.
Written by Thomas Jefferson
July 4, 1776
Declare independence from Britain
Lists complaints against the King and Parliament

11. 5TH Provincial Congress of NC
The fifth and final congress met at Halifax from Nov. 12-Dec. 23, 1776.
This congress:
approved the first NC Constitution, along with a "Declaration of Rights."
It elected Caswell to serve as acting governor until the province's 1st General Assembly could meet to elect a governor
Set-up 3 branches of government, the General Assembly held the true power. The General Assembly picked Judges, the Governor and the members in the Council of State.
Judges had life terms
Governors had a one-year term. The Governor had little power
Only landowners could vote for Senators until To hold state office required land ownership until 1868.