Antebellum
North Carolina:
Asleep and Awake
1820-1850
North Carolina:
“The Rip Van Winkle State”
North Carolina Fell Behind the
Rest of the Nation in:
Agriculture
Transportation
Manufacturing
Education
Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving
“Why depart from the good old ways
which has kept us in quiet peace and
harmony? Why leave the road of
experience, which has satisfied all, and
made all happy.”
NC Senator 1820
Nathaniel Macon
What Caused North Carolina to be
Lagging Behind in the Early 1800’s?
 Rivers in most of the state were not
suitable for navigation.
 More than 1/3 of the state could not
read.
 UNC was graduating less than 100 per
year
 Coastal geography was not suitable for
navigation.
 There was one cotton mill in the state.
 Mountain region was almost completely
isolated.
 New Bern was the largest city with only
3500 citizens, including slaves.
 Eastern county slave owners controlled
the General Assembly.
A Program for Reform!
Archibald Murphey
, state senator from Orange
County, believed that state
government should take an
active role to solve society’s
problems and safeguard its
citizens.
Murphey’s Plan for Change
 Rewrite the 1776 NC Constitution that gave
each county the same number of senators
and representatives. Base Representation on
population
 Make coastal inlets deeper
 Connect western rivers with canals to the
Cape Fear River
 New roads created in the Mountains and
Piedmont
 Free Public Schools
 Which of the above do you think is the most
important?
David Swain Is Elected As Governor to Bring
Reform!
 Born in Beaverdam Valley north
of Asheville
 Pushed many of Murphey’s
ideas
 Believed taxes should be higher
to make improvements
 Elected from Whig Party that
had been formed to oppose
Andrew Jackson and the
Democrats who were against
additional taxes of any kind.
 Are tax increases always a bad
thing?
Governor David L. Swain
1832-1835
Buncombe County
Changes in NC Religion: “The Great Revival”
 Baptists and Methodists begin to have outdoor evangelistic
meetings called Camp Meetings. Based on the depiction
below, what were these religious meetings like?
How Would the Great Revival Help Bring
Change and Reform to NC?
 The Baptists and Methodists taught democratic ideas and the value of
self-concept.
 Methodism urged members to be anti-slavery.
 Presbyterians, though not as supportive of the Great Revival, competed
with the Methodists and Baptists. The Presbyterians emphasized
education to improve the lives of North Carolinians.
 Three Colleges Founded
 Wake Forest-1834, Baptist (Wake County near Raleigh,
moved to Winston-Salem in 1950’s)
 Davidson-1836, Presbyterian (Mecklenburg County
 Trinity-1837, Methodist (Randolph County, later moved to
Durham and renamed Duke family,tobacco industrialist)
Wake Forest University
Winston- Salem, North Carolina
DAVIDSON COLLEGE
Davidson, North Carolina
Early Photograph at Davidson College in Mecklenburg County
Duke University
Durham, North Carolina
Trinity College
Randolph County Before the
Duke Gift to the College and Its
Move to Durham
1891
A New Road for the Mountains:
The Buncombe Turnpike
 The Road followed the
French Broad River.
 Livestock was driven
along the road
eventually reaching
Charleston, SC.
 The road passed
through present
downtown Asheville.
French Broad River that the
Buncombe Turnpike Followed Through WNC
Gold Brings Change to North Carolina
 1799- Teenager Conrad
Reed finds a 17 pound gold
nugget in Cabarrus County
near Charlotte.
 North Carolina will lead the
nation in gold production
until the California Gold
Rush in 1849.
 The Betchtler Mint in
Rutherfordton produced
gold jewelry and coins
worth $3.6 million between
1831-1857.
Little Meadow
Creek Where
Reed Found
Gold
More Reform for North Carolina
 Free Public Schools are
Opened in 1839.
 The Dorthea Dix Hospital for
the mentally ill is opened in
Raleigh.
 Another state hospital for the
mentally ill is opened at
Morganton ( Now Broughton
Hospital).
 North Carolina School for the
Blind is opened in Raleigh.
 North Carolina School for the
Deaf is opened at Morganton
in Burke County.
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Typical Early School Building
Dorthea Dix
James Monroe
(1817-1825, Democratic-Republican)
The Era of Good Feelings
 Born 1758, Charlottesville,
Virginia
 Wounded at the Battle of
Trenton,1776
 Proclaimed “Monroe Doctrine”Foreign nations should stay out
of the Western Hemisphere.
 Missouri Compromise: Missouri
Slave/Maine/Free
 States Admitted: Mississippi
1817, Illinois 1818,Alabama 1819,
Maine 1820, Missouri 1821
President James Monroe
Monroe Doctrine
“Stay Out of Our Neighborhood”
Missouri Compromise of 1820
John Quincy Adams
(1825-1829)Democrat-Republican
 Born at Braintree,
Mass. July 11, 1767
 Ancestry: English
 Married Louisa Johnson
 Children:2 sons, 1
daughter
 Religion: Unitarian
 No States Admitted
John Quincy Adams Photograph
Taken After Presidency-1st Photo of
Any President
John Quincy Adams
Massachusetts
Andrew Jackson-Democrat
(1829-1837) “Old Hickory”
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Born in Waxhaws, SC? NC?
Married: Rachel Donelson Robards
Ancestry: Scots Irish
Children: 1 adopted son
Religion: Presbyterian
Home: Hermitage Plantation, Nashville, Tenn.
Indian Removal Act “Trail of Tears’
Texas declares Independence from Mexico
Siege of the Alamo, San Antonio, Texas
Whig Party formed to oppose Jackson
Samuel Morse invented the telegraph
States Admitted: Arkansas 1836, Michigan 1837
Andrew Jackson
“Old Hickory”
1830 Indian Removal Act
Andrew Jackson Images
South Carolina Threatens to Leave the Union
Texans Fight for Independence at the Alamo
Martin Van Buren 1837-1841
 Born in Kinderhook,
New York
 Weak President
William Henry Harrison-Whig
(1841-1841)
 Born Charles County, Va.
Feb. 9, 1773
 Ancestry: English
 Wife:Anna Suymmes
 Religion: Episcopalian
 Harrison dies after serving
one month.
John Tyler-Whig
(1841-1845)
 Born in Charles County, Va.
3/29 1790
 Wives: 1st-Letitia Christian,
2nd-Julia Gardiner
 Children:1st wife-3 sons, 4
daughters,2nd-wife-5 sons,
2 daughters=14 children
 Religion: Episcopalian
 States Admitted: Florida
James Knox Polk- Democrat
(1845-1849)
 Born: Mecklenburg County, NC 11/2
1795
 Ancestry: Scots Irish
 Wife: Sarah Childress
 Graduate: UNC-Chapel Hill
 Children: None
 Religion: Presbyterian
 Home: Nashville, Tennessee
 Gold discovered in California
 Mexican War ( Gain California and
Southwest)
 Gain Oregon Country from British
 Brigham Young Moves Mormons to
Utah
 States Admitted: Texas, Iowa,
Wisconsin
Polk Birthplace
1 mile from Carowinds
James Knox Polk
Democrat-Tennessee
War With Mexico
1846-1848
Local History Notes (1820-1850)
Dr. Elisha Mitchell, UNC
professor, begins to
explore the Black
Mountains in Yancey
County. By 1857, he
determines that the Black
Dome( now Mount
Mitchell) is the highest
peak east of the
Mississippi River.
Early Picture of Eagle Hotel
Biltmore Avenue, Asheville
Located Across from Present Double-Decker Bus Coffee Shop
Stagecoach In Front of Eagle Hotel
Asheville,1850
Mountain Slavery 1850’s
Special Local History Note from Early
1800’s
Davey Crockett
 Born near Jonesboro, Tennessee
 (still a part of NC then in 1786)
 Married Elizabeth Patton, a native of
Buncombe County (Swannanoa Valley) in
1815
 Lived near the present site of Buncombe
Community School in Swannanoa
 Celebrated Indian Fighter, guide,
trailblazer, and US Congressman
 Killed defending the Alamo Mission in San
Antonio, Texas against Mexican troops in
1836