State Symbols
NC Symbols
Nickname: Tar-Heel State
During the late unhappy war between the
States it [North Carolina] was sometimes
called the "Tar-heel State," because tar
was made in the State, and because in
battle the soldiers of North Carolina stuck
to their bloody work as if they had tar on
their heels, and when General Lee said,
"God bless the Tar-heel boys," they took
the name.
Government in North Carolina
• North Carolina has 100 county
governments
• Everyone has at least 3 governments:
National, State, and County
• Many places also include municipalities--a city, town, or village with an organized
government.
• All these separate governments are
serving you at the same time!!
Government and Protection
• National= Maintains the army, navy, air
force, and other nationwide activities
• State= Regulates traffic, defines crimes,
national guard
• Local= Enforce state laws and establish
local regulations to protect your
communities
Mountains, Piedmont, and
Coast!
North Carolina’s Diverse
Communities
North Carolina Economy
• Agriculture, forestry, and tourism--mountains and coastal plain
• Commercial Fishing—Coast
• Military bases---Eastern part of the State
– Fort Bragg, Camp Lejeune, Seymore Johnson
AFB
Metropolitan Areas
Eastern North Carolina
-Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Greenville,
Jacksonville, Rocky Mount, and
Wilmington
Metropolitan Areas
Western North Carolina
-Asheville
-Hickory, Morganton, and Lenoir
Metropolitan Areas
Piedmont
-Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill
-Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point
-Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill
Roots of Government in North
Carolina
Chapter 12
A Bicameral Legislature
• North Carolina use to operate under a
unicameral, or one house legislature.
• Then in 1697, the colony adopted a
bicameral, or two house, legislature.
– Royal Governor and his council made up the
upper house
– House of Burgesses made up the lower
house elected by the people.
First in Freedom
• The colonial governor continued to try and
impose laws and taxes on the colonists
that the Assembly opposed.
• The governor refused to call a meeting of
the elected representatives.
• So the colonial leaders decided to hold a
congress without the governors approval.
Toward Independence
• November 2, 1769—Governor dismissed
the Assembly but some refused to leave
(FIRST time representatives in any colony
did this)
• August 25, 1774---71 delegates met in
Wilmington and created the First
Provincial Congress
– elected representatives to the first Continental
congress
First in Independence!
• May 20, 1775—Mecklenburg Declaration
of Independence
• April 12, 1776---Halifax Resolves
Edenton Tea Party
The Constitutional Convention
• May 25, 1787—Richard Spaight, William
Blout, and Hugh Williamson were North
Carolinas representatives at the
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
• The finished constitution created a federal
system of government.
Holding out for the Bill of Rights
in 1787
• Voters in NC feared a strong federal
government
• Objected to giving Congress the power to
levy taxes
• Objected that the U.S. Constitution did not
include guarantees of rights like those
assured in their own NC Constitution. IT
DID NOT HAVE A _____ of ______!!!!
Approve or Reject the U.S.
Constitution???
• Voters elected a majority of AntiFederalists to the Constitutional
Convention in Hillsboro, NC in 1788
– Delegates defeated ratification
– Demanded a Bill of Rights be added
• Finally in Nov. 1789 in Fayetteville the NC
Delegates ratified the U.S. Constitution
only after federalists promised a bill of
rights.
The Constitution of North
Carolina
Section 2
The Constitution of 1776
• In the fall of 1776 delegates met in Halifax
and wrote a constitution for the state
• It was adopted on December 18, 1776
North Carolina 1776 Constitution
• In N.C. Constitution the 14 Articles include the
following:
– A preamble
– Declaration of rights (Bill of Rights)
– An outline of the framework of government (LEJ)
– A listing of state powers and responsibilities
– A provision for local government
– An amending clause that details the methods of
formal constitutional change.
N.C. Preamble
We, the people of the State of North
Carolina, grateful to Almighty God, the
Sovereign Ruler of Nations, for the
preservation of the American Union and
the existence of our civil, political and
religious liberties, and acknowledging our
dependence upon Him for the continuance
of those blessings to us and our posterity,
do, for the more certain security thereof
and for the better government of this
State, ordain and establish this
Constitution.
Preamble to the U.S.
Constitution (pg. 95)
We the People of the United States, in
Order to form a more perfect Union,
establish Justice, insure domestic
Tranquility, provide for the common
defense, promote the general Welfare,
and secure the Blessings of Liberty to
ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United
States of America.
Article I: Declaration of Rights
• Includes 25 guarantees of freedom
• Very similar the to Bill of Rights in the U.S.
Constitution
• Popular Sovereignty
• Separation of Powers
• Checks and Balances
Freedom, Safety, Achievement,
and Equality
• Set up a state militia to keep order
• Protected the ownership of Private
property
• Established public schools and
Universities
– Guarantees an education to citizens
• Equality was limited---men who owned
land
• Consists of two houses
– Senate and house of representatives
• Members elected every year
• Authority to pass laws, levy taxes and
appropriate public funds
• Had the power to appoint the members of
the other two branches of government
Basic outline of NC Government
• Legislative Branch--General Assembly
(House and Senate)
• Executive Branch---Governor and Council
of State
• Judicial Branch
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Article V Finance
ARTICLE VI Suffrage And Eligibility To Office
ARTICLE VIILocal Government
ARTICLE VIIICorporations
ARTICLE IXEducation
ARTICLE XHomesteads And Exemptions
ARTICLE XIPunishments, Corrections, And
Charities
• ARTICLE XIIMilitary Forces
• ARTICLE XIIIConventions; Constitutional
Amendment And Revision
• ARTICLE XIVMiscellaneous
The Constitution of 1776
• Since 1776, North Carolina’s constitution
has been amended and revised in many
ways
• But the 1776 Constitution set up state
government with three branches
(Legislative, Executive, and Judicial) which
have stayed in tact ever since.
1835 Amendments
1835
• Voters gained the power to elect the
governor and approve/reject constitutional
Amendments.
• Also took the vote away from men of
African Descent
Constitution of 1868
1868
• NC was forced to write a new Constitution
after the Civil War.
• Slavery was abolished
• 21 and older could vote regardless of race,
color, and previous servitude
• Voters elected many state department
heads and county officials
Reactions to
change
1900’s:
• Poll Tax, Literacy Tests,
and Grandfather clause
• Allowed racial
segregation in schools
• Not Amended until the
1960’s.
North Carolina Constitution
Today: 1971
• Approved by voters in 1970 and took
effect in 1971.
• Text was edited to make it easier to read
• Outdated details were changed:
-Required minimum school year was
changed from 6 months to 9 months
-Racial segregation in schools was
eliminated
North Carolina Voter
Amendments
1972—lowered the voting age to 18
1977---permited the governor to 2
consecutive 4-year terms
1996---Gave the governor the power to veto
legislation (NC was the last!)
North Carolina Declaration of
Rights
• Voters made changes to our Declaration of
Rights
• Declaration of Rights
Trivia
• The Highest Peak in North Carolina?
• What are the three major land regions in
NC?
• NC was the last southern state to do this
in May 1861?
• Oldest state university in the U.S., founded
in 1795?
• North Carolinas Longest River?
• Furniture capital of the world?
State Song:
The Old North State
-Carolina! Carolina! Heaven's blessings attend her!
-While we live we will cherish, protect and defend
her;
-Tho' the scorner may sneer at and witlings defame
her,
-Still our hearts swell with gladness whenever we
name her.
• Hurrah! Hurrah! The Old North State forever!
Hurrah! Hurrah! The good Old North State!
Rights of Citizens
Section 3
The Right to Vote
• Voting makes each citizen a government
decision maker
• The electorate decides who will represent
them in government
• Have a say in your government
**POWERFUL SYMBOL OF DEMOCRACY**
Limiting the Right to Vote
• Originally only free, white males who
owned property and were citizens of the
state and at least 21 years old could vote
• In 1835 the General Assembly even
prohibited free men of African descent
from voting
Expanding the Right to Vote
• 1868 14th Amendment
required equal protection of
the laws!
• 1870 the 15th Amendment to
the United States
Constitution extended voting
rights to all male citizens who
were 21 years old,
regardless of “race, creed,
color, or previous servitude”.
First African American elected to
the United States Senate
• Hiram Revels
• Born in 1822 in Fayetteville, NC
• Elected in 1870 to represent Mississippi in
the state senate
First African American member of
Congress from N.C.
• John Adams Hyman.
• Elected to represent N.C. in the U.S.
House of Representatives in 1875.
Expanding the Right to Vote?
• By 1900 the General
Assembly had set up
discriminatory tests that
kept most African
American and Native
American men from
voting
• Women could still not
vote at this time
Women win the right to vote
• Women’s Suffrage! Held
a Convention in Charlotte
in 1914
• Marched in parades with
signs that read “Votes for
Women” and “No taxation
without representation is
Tyranny”
• Finally in 1920…19th
Amendment!
First Women elected to the General
Assembly
• Lillian Exum Clement elected in 1921.
Voting rights expanding to African
Americans
• African American
women could not
vote until the 1960’s.
• Civil Rights Act of
1964 and Voting
Rights Act of
1965…Federal
government began
enforcing voting
rights
26th Amendment
• 1971 the 26th amendment lowered the
voting age to 18 throughout the nation
• In NC even 17 year olds can register to
vote in the primaries if they will be 18 by
the General Election.
Voting Procedures
• To be eligible to vote in North Carolina:
– Be a citizen of the U.S.
– Be at least 18 years old by the next general
election
– Lived in his or her voting precinct for at least
30 days
– Not be serving a sentence for conviction as a
felon
– Be registered to vote
Where can I Register to vote?
• License office (DMV)
• Board of Elections Office
Registering to Vote
• Mail in registration forms are available
online, high schools, libraries, and many
other places.
• This form is then sent to the county board
of elections
• Voters must register at least 25 days
before an election so that the board of
elections can prepare the voter rolls.
Casting a vote
• Registered voters go to the polling place
in their precinct where election officials
check the voters name
• Absentee ballot—mail or at the office of
the board of elections.
• Early voting!
Voting
• Voters must approve any amendments to
the North Carolina constitution and give
the government the authority to borrow
money through REFERENDUMS!
Election Day
• Elections for federal, state, and county
offices are held in even-numbered year on
the first Tuesday after the first Monday
in November.
• Municipal elections are held in oddnumbered years---dates differ from place
to place
Counting the Ballots
• Citizens from each precinct serve as
election officials and manage the voting
according to state election rules.
• Once polls close these officials count the
ballots in their precinct and report the
votes to the county board of elections—
county then reports to the state board of
elections
• Results or returns are available that night!
Two-Party State
• For most of the 1900’s, the Democratic
party won all the statewide offices and
controlled the General Assembly in N.C.
• BUT today we are a TWO-PARTY state in
which both the Republican and
Democratic parties compete for offices!
Splitting the Ticket
• “split ticket” voting v. “straight ticket”
voting
• Registered Democrats crossed over and
elected republicans into office
Partisan Elections
• Candidates run on a party platform.
• Political Parties often recruit candidates to
run for office
• Teach candidates and volunteers how to
campaign and run ads
• Each parties candidate shares similar
views on what government should do.
• Party label gives voters a quick way to
choose candidates.
Nonpartisan Elections
• Political parties are not listed
• City Councils, school boards, judges
Primary
Elections
What is the
purpose of
primaries??
Why voter participation is
important?
•
•
•
•
Choose your government leaders
Voice opinions on officials and issues
Your vote may decide an election
Referendums!
Candidates Running for Elections
• Candidates first file and intent to run for
local public office with the county board of
elections.
• File with the state board of elections if you
are running for state or federal offices
• In NC candidates must pay a filing fee.
• The board of elections then prepares a
ballot listing all qualified candidates for
each office to be filled
The Civil Rights Movement
Section 4
Legalizing Segregation
• Jim Crow Laws
– Required racial segregation in places such as
schools, public transportation, restaurants,
parks, and other public facilities.
– The 1875 N.C. Constitution banned white and
African American children from attending the
same schools.
– What supreme Court Case would overturn
this N.C. law?
NC Responds to Integration
• N.C. Governor Luther Hodges
recommended that the Pearsall
Commission take over the supervisory
duties regarding enrollment and bussing
that the state had handled.
• The Pearsall Plan was intended to prevent
the integration intended by the Brown
v.Board decision.
Pearsall Plan
• Pearsall Plan Amendments were added to
the N.C. constitution by the voters.
• The Pearsall Plan was declared
unconstitutional in 1966 with the Swann v.
Charlotte Mecklenburg Board of Education
supreme court case.
Sit-In Movement
• In the early 1960’s, civil rights groups held
marches, demonstrations, and boycotts to
end segregation in public places.
• In February 1960 four African American
freshmen from N.C. A&T sat down at
segregated F.W. Woolworth’s store lunch
counter in Greensboro.
– Refused to leave the until they were given the
same service as white customers.
Woolworths Lunch Counter