north carolina finally awakens s - mrs. martin-klein...

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North CarolinaFinally Awakens

SStudents at the Universityin Chapel Hill liked itwhen George Moses Hor-ton came to campus. Theyoung vegetable seller

from Chatham County was unusual,even for a slave who had defied thelaw and learned to read and write.Horton could take words, just aboutany set of words, and turn them intopoems. He had learned rhyming by lis-tening closely to the hymns sung atchurch. His gift for verse was handyfor the students and lifechanging forhim. George bought his freedom withthe skills of his mind.

University students fell into twocategories: those who had a girlfriendand those who wanted a girlfriend.The all-male school could get prettylonely at times, and most studentswrote long, and often boring, letters tofemales of their acquaintance. Georgecould make the letters lively and, fora small fee, provide a poem tailored forthe lady. George was particularly goodat creating acrostics, poems where thefirst letters of each line spelled out thename of the lady. More than one heartmay have been won for Carolinastudents during the 1820s and 1830sbecause of George.

Terms: Rip Van Winkle state,suffrage, credit, Trail of Tears,Democratic Party, Whig Party,curriculum, plank road, superinten-dent of public instruction, literate,free suffragePeople: George Moses Horton, DavidL. Swain, William Gaston, William H.Thomas, John Motley Morehead,Edwin M. Holt, Christopher Bechtler,Calvin H. Wiley, Mary Bayard Clarke,William W. HoldenPlaces: Qualla, Goldsboro, HighPoint, Rocky Mount, Gold Hill,Morehead City

North CarolinaFinally Awakens

216 North Carolina: Land of Contrasts

George split the money he earned in Chapel Hill with his master. Hewas then allowed to do with his time as he wanted. With the help ofwhites who admired his poems, he was able to publish them in a seriesof books. The slave became North Carolina’s first famous literary figurewhen a collection of his poems was published.

George Horton, like many North Carolinians of the early decades ofthe 1800s, started off small and gradually improved his life. During thattime, the state finally began to see improvement in the way it governedits citizens, in the education it offered its young people, and in the eco-nomic opportunities it supported with public money.

After centuries of frustration, North Carolina finally began to make itsown “goodliest land.” Not everyone shared in the new bounty, however,for North Carolina continued to support a society where some were freeand others bound.

Chapter 7: North Carolina Finally Awakens 217

Below: This is the amphitheater-shaped House of Representativeschamber in the State Capitol. Itwas used until 1961. Oppositepage, above: These gold coins wereminted at the Charlotte Mint.

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SIGNS OF THE T IMESSIGNS OF THE T IMES

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FOOD

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EDUCATION

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LITERATURE

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POPULATION

218 Chapter 7: North Carolina Finally Awakens

The state hardly grew at all during the1830s. By the end of the 1850s,however, there were over 900,000residents. Slaves made up about one-fifth of the population. Wilmington andNew Bern were the largest towns.

Braxton Craven attended New GardenAcademy near Greensboro. He wentto the Quaker boarding academy withone “loose coat,” a pair of “baggyjeans,” several “homespun shirts,”and two pairs of shoes. One pair ofshoes was “welted,” good enough towear to church.

Farming neighborhoods often had partieswhere the only refreshments werepersimmon beer and baked sweetpotatoes. Generous hosts might supplybutter for the potatoes. A traveler said heate fried pork, grits, eggs, and coffee“from Tarboro to the state line.”

During the 1840s, Henry WadsworthLongfellow wrote about escapedslaves who hid in the Great DismalSwamp. Some North Caroliniansclaimed that Edgar Allen Poe wrotehis most famous poem, “The Raven,”after visiting the area.

All the colleges set up during this periodin North Carolina were for men or forwomen. None allowed blacks to beanything but servants on campus. OnlyNew Garden Boarding School, run byQuakers, admitted both men andwomen. Even there, men and womenmet in separate classrooms.

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TECHNOLOGY

William Fox Talbot in England and LouisDaguerre in France each developed thescience of photography in the late 1830s.It took until about 1850 for “daguerreo-typists” to begin to appear in NorthCarolina. The person having a portraittaken often had to sit perfectly still formore than a minute.

Signs of the Times 219

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MUSIC

William Gaston, a New Bern attorney,moved to Raleigh to be a judge in the1830s. He and a sister composed “TheOld North State” to create state loyaltyafter a series of political reforms. It wasfirst sung at a political rally in 1842. In1926, it became the state song.

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Figure 13 Timeline: 1830–1860

1840New Capitol completed

1837U.S. Mint established in Charlotte

1835State constitution revised

1831Fires in Raleigh and Fayetteville

1856North Carolina Railroadcompleted; Hospital forthe Insane opened

1852Alamance Plaid first produced;Calvin Wiley became superintendentof public instruction

1855Egypt Mine opened

1830 1835 1840 1845 1850 1855 1860

1849California gold rush began

1847Adhesive postage stamps first used

1830President Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act

1834Whig Party formed

1838Cherokee Trail of Tears

1844James K. Polk elected president

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TARGET READING SKILLTARGET READING SKILL

Cause and EffectDefining the Skill

Everything that happens does so because somethingmakes it happen. What happens is the effect. The person,condition, or event that makes it happens is the cause. Theconnection between what happens and what makes it hap-pen is called the cause/effect relationship.

Not all cause/effect relationships are clearly defined; asa result, it is sometimes difficult to determine the actualrelationship. Often an event may have more than oneeffect, and an effect may have more than one cause. At othertimes, an effect may not even appear in a reading for a longtime.

To help you recognize cause and effect, look for• cue words or phrases such as because, as a result of, in

order to, effects of, consequently, for this reason, since,as a consequence, therefore.

Cause and Effect


• the word and or a comma instead of a cue word.• a longer text passage to read, because it may take

several paragraphs to illustrate a cause/effectrelationship.

Practicing the SkillIn Section 1 of Chapter 7, you will read how the loss of

population in North Carolina hurt the state’s economy andpolitical power. This event in turn caused the state to reviseits state constitution, which resulted in new constitutionalamendments and increased government spending. The newamendments, in turn, resulted in a boom in the state’s stan-dard of living.

Read Section 2 and describe how the invention of therailroad affected North Carolina’s development. You can usea graphic organizer like the one below.

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C A U S E S E F F E C T S

E V E N T

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Murphey’sDreams Fulfilled

Sometimes a long wait is followed by a quickresolution. After more than a century of agita-tion by western leaders, North Carolina em-barked upon a number of reforms. The changesbegan in the 1830s, when the loss of populationhurt both the economy and the political positionof the state.

After long debate, the legislature allowed thepeople of the state to decide if a change in theconstitution would lead to better government.The people spoke, and the leaders respondedwith an improved constitution and increased gov-ernment spending. That helped produce a boomto the state’s standard of living.

Catalysts for ReformIn 1831, the capitol building in Raleigh burned

down. The fire destroyed almost all the contentsof the 1795 structure, including a statue of GeorgeWashington. People were so discouraged thatsome suggested it was not worth keeping Raleighas the capital. Residents of Fayetteville encour-aged such talk, for they argued that moving the capital to their busy townwould help everyone. Then, in 1831, much of Fayetteville burned down.

That was the last time Fayetteville had a chance to become the statecapital. The state laid a cornerstone for a new capitol in Raleigh in 1833,

Murphey’sDreams Fulfilled

As you read, look for:• what prompted the constitutional reform of the

1830s• the changes made by the 1835 constitutional

convention• vocabulary terms Rip Van Winkle state, suffrage,

credit

Above: Governor David L. Swain,a founder of the Whig party in NorthCarolina, promoted the Constitu-tional Convention of 1835.

This section will help you meet thefollowing objectives:8.3.03 Identify and evaluate theimpact of individual reformers andgroups and their programs.8.3.07 Explain the reasons for thenew State Constitution in 1835 andits impact on various groups.

Section 1: Murphey’s Dreams Fulfilled 221

and workers roofed it in 1840. The handsome granite building, with itscopper dome, is still the state capitol.

The double disasters caused many state leaders to rethink NorthCarolina’s situation. Citizens were leaving because of lack of opportu-nity and disgust with state leadership.

The old 1776 constitution set up representation by county, regardlessof how big or small or how populated a county was. Since the east hadalways had more counties, it had more votes in the legislature. What’smore, only men who owned at least 50 acres of land could vote for thecandidates for state senate. In some counties, the land ownership provi-sion eliminated one-third of the voters. Since the governor was electedby the legislature, he had little power and little to do.

The east wanted to keep the control it had gained during the Regula-tion period. Its citizens were more prosperous because they lived closerto markets on the coast. They liked low taxes and made fun of efforts bywestern leaders like Murphey to get the state to do more. This continuedeven after the census of 1830 showed that the east had fewer people thanthe west but many more representatives in the legislature. Sectionalismstill mattered more than state to many North Carolina leaders. It was nowonder that little was accomplished.

Legislator David L. Swain of Asheville argued that the state needed “aradical change in the form of representation.” Swain was so powerful avoice for change that the legislature elected him governor three years ina row, quite an accomplishment for someone barely above the age ofthirty. And, he was from the west. Governor Swain was the first to saythat the state had become like Rip Van Winkle, the character in a popu-lar story of the day, who went hunting, fell asleep for twenty years, andwoke up to find out all around him had changed. Some North Carolin-ians winced at being called the “Rip Van Winkle state.”

After more than a half dozen attempts to get the legislature to call forconstitutional change, the west rebelled. As Charles Fisher of Salisburypromised, “We of the west” would follow the example of the state ofFranklin and create another state. Fisher gained allies in some easterncounties when the free black men there began to vote in larger numbers.Black voters sometimes were the margin of victory in places like NewBern and Halifax. Tidewater leaders, in particular, wanted to change thatparticular loophole in the old form of government.

The Constitutional Convention of 1835The state’s voters went to the polls in 1835 to decide whether to hold

a constitutional convention that would address the problems. Almostto a voter, the west said yes, and almost to a voter, the east said no. Infact, the votes changed dramatically from one side of the fall line to theother. However, since the west by that time had more people, the “ayes”had it.

The best leaders from both east and west came to Raleigh in 1835 toamend the 1776 constitution. They honored the aging Nathaniel Macon

In the “Great Fire ofFayetteville,” the

town lost 600 homes,125 businesses,

several churches, andthe state house.

Above: At the ConstitutionalConvention of 1835, WilliamGaston, a Roman Catholic, foughtto end religious tests for office-holding. He was a justice on thestate supreme court.


by making him chairman. However, the real leaders of the constitutionalconvention were westerner David Swain and easterner William Gaston.Swain was from Asheville, and Gaston was from New Bern.

The greatest need was to make representation fair across the state.After long debate, the delegates compromised. Each county would stillhave at least one representative in the house, but more populous coun-ties would have multiple representatives. The more people a county had,the more legislators it sent to Raleigh. This immediately cheered the west.In return, the west agreed that the state senate would be apportioned bywealth. In other words, the wealthier a county, the more senators it got.The east was happy with this, since the east contained most of the ex-pensive land and the majority of the slaves. The compromise set up abalance of power between the two sections of the state for the first time.

As for the governor, the new amendments allowed the voters to electhim directly, instead of letting the legislature choose him. The governorwas to serve a two-year term and could be reelected once every six years.Gaston and others argued that the governor would become more of a voiceof the people at large, bringing them closer to state government.

Not all of the reforms, however, resulted in more people getting to vote.Because the writers of the 1776 constitution never considered that free blackmen might vote, such men of color had been able to go to the polls. Thiswas forbidden in the 1835 amendments. Suffrage (the right to vote) wasalso taken away from Native Americans such as the Lumbee. Because

Above: In the early 1800s, manystates expanded who could vote andwhat state offices would becomeelective. The actions of the 1835constitutional convention made thegovernor’s office an elective one.All eligible men could now vote forthe governor. As a result, votingbecame more important, and morepeople began to vote.


the senate continued to be set up ac-cording to wealth, the 50-acre provisionfor voting for that office was kept.

The convention did open up politi-cal leadership to more religious groups.The 1776 constitution had allowed onlyProtestant Christians to hold office. Thenew amendments removed the restric-tion from Catholics, but still denied Jewsand atheists (those who did not believein God) the right to hold office.

The new amendments were submit-ted to the state’s voters for approval.

They passed by a vote of 26,771 to 21,606. The vote continued to followsectional lines. Only 2,327 easterners supported the changes; only 3,280westerners opposed them. Since the balance of population had shiftedmore to the west, the amendments were approved. With the 1836 elec-tion, North Carolina was governed in the new way.

Reform and the NationThe reforms passed in North Carolina were part of a broader national

movement to change how government worked. State after state in the1830s tried different ways to better the lives of more of its citizens. Sodid the federal government in Washington, D.C.

The former North Carolinian Andrew Jackson was president during thistime, from 1829 to 1837. He strongly supported families who moved westto farm. Jackson, for example, made it easier for families to buy federallands and worked to lower their federal taxes. He also used federal moneyto help banks get started in western states, so families would have an easiertime getting credit. Credit is the ability to buy something now and pay forit over time.

The reformers, however, did little to help nonwhite families. Jacksoniansstrongly supported slavery and cared little for the welfare of Native Ameri-cans. In fact, to increase the amount of federal land available to whites,Jackson forced almost all the Native Americans who lived between theBlue Ridge and the Mississippi River to move to Indian Territory (what istoday the state of Oklahoma). This caused a crisis in western North Caro-lina, where white families pressured the Cherokee for their land. Some ofthe Cherokee were made to leave, but others escaped.

It’s Your Turn

1. Why was North Carolina called the “Rip Van Winkle state”?2. How were the 1835 amendments a victory for political democracy?

This, by the way, is a keyreason why so many

North Carolina familiesleft the state during the1830s. There was moreopportunity in the West.

Map 20The Vote onthe 1835Amendments

Map Skill: Did your countysupport or oppose the 1835amendments?


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CAROLINA CELEBRIT IESCAROLINA CELEBRIT IES

Kit Carson

In many ways, North Carolina was a gate-way to the exploration of the great AmericanWest. Three of the nation’s greatest explorershad, in some way or another, a North Carolinaconnection.

Daniel Boone, the famous pathfinder, wasborn in Pennsylvania but spent his teenagedyears in what is today Davie County. DavidCrockett, the celebrated frontiersman of theearly 1800s, claimed that he had been bornin North Carolina. Most historians, however,say he came into the world on a Tennessee hill.

Kit Carson, the third famous explorer, alsohad a North Carolina connection. Althoughtradition says that Carson was born in Kentuckyand raised in Missouri, the Carson family hasalways claimed that he was a North Carolinanative. The Carsons settled near the presenttown of Harmony in Iredell County just afterthe War for Independence. Lindsey and MaryCarson moved to Kentucky after 1800, but theycame back to visit relatives occasionally. Folks in Harmonystill say that the Carsons came back in 1809 and went to adance to see their old neighbors on Christmas Eve. Christo-pher Houston Carson was born that day and named for therelative who hosted the party for the expectant parents.

Kit (the family nickname for Christopher) was orphanedas a child and put to work as a saddle maker. He ran awayat age fifteen and became a cook and errand boy on theSanta Fe Trail, the route taken by Americans to get to theRocky Mountains. Barely five feet tall, Kit soon became oneof the most famous hunters and trappers in the nation.Writers equated his feats with those of Boone and Crockett.In a career that often attracted bad behavior, Kit was knownto be fair and gentle. His “word was as sure as the sun com-

Kit Carson

ing up,” said one acquaintance. He was married twice toIndian women, but both died early in the marriages. Dur-ing the Mexican War, Carson helped lead Americans into Cali-fornia. He then became a rancher and Indian agent in NewMexico Territory. He was married the third time to a His-panic woman and settled in the town of Taos.

Carson’s last action for the nation was his least admi-rable. He drove many of the Navaho off their land and ontoa reservation. Many suffered because of the action, a sadend to the career of one white man who had long been afriend of Indians. He died after the Civil War.

Above: Carson knew several Indian languages and wasan interpreter for wagon trains on the Santa Fe Trail.


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CAROLINA PLACESCAROLINA PLACES

State Capitol

All North Carolinians have to learn one thing about spell-ing in their state. Raleigh the city is the state capital, spelledwith an “a.” The building that has housed the state govern-ment for more than a century is “the State Capitol,” spelledwith an “o.” The first refers to the community, the secondto the building. North Carolinians have had only one capitalsince the legislature first met in Raleigh in 1794, but stategovernment has had two capitols.

The first state capitol, then called the State House, wascompleted in 1796. The State House was relatively spaciouswith a small rotunda on top. Most of the state governmentoperated inside that one building for the next forty years.The building, however, burned to the ground in 1831.

Raleigh residents rushed to the fire, but it was too hot tosave much of anything. They watched in horror as the build-ing came tumbling down around a famous statue of GeorgeWashington. For a brief moment, they saw the white marble“untouched in the ruins,” right before the timbers crasheddown onto it. When the embers cooled, they found the statuedismembered.

North Carolina was more fortunate in the building of itssecond state capitol. The legislature laid the cornerstone in

State Capitol


Above: The North Carolina State Senate met in thisroom in the State Capitol until 1961. The windowcoverings feature olive wreaths, a symbol of honor.

1833. The granite for the building came froma quarry outside of town. To get the stone tothe building site, the state constructed the firstrailroad in the state. The locomotive power wasprovided by “an old horse.” This “experimen-tal” road was so amazing to nearby residentsthat they came to take rides on it, whichslowed the work on the capitol. Hundreds ofworkers from around the nation were em-ployed for years in building the capitol. Stone-cutters were brought all the way fromScotland. Some of the finest work was doneby craftsmen from Philadelphia. The imposingstructure was completed in 1840.

When the work was done, state leaderswere shocked to find out it had cost a halfmillion dollars. At that time, when North Caro-lina was so poor, a half million dollars was sixtimes the amount of taxes the state collected.It took a major effort to pay off the debt.

Since 1840, the State Capitol—NorthCarolinians always capitalize it—has servedthe state well. At first, the legislature, thegovernor, the state supreme court, the secre-tary of state, and even the state library and

the state geologist were crowded into it. More office spacefor the government became available when an administra-tion building was completed across the street in 1913. In1962, the state legislature moved into its own building ablock away. Since then, the governor and the secretary ofstate have continued to use the first floor of the State Capi-tol. The upper floors have been restored to the appearancethey had in the 1800s.

On Capitol Square are more than two dozen differentvarieties of trees from around the state, plus a number ofstatues. The most notable statue honors the three presidentsthat the state claims as natives: Andrew Jackson, James K.Polk, and Andrew Johnson.

Section 1: Murphy’s Dreams Fulfilled 227

Above: The state library was once housed in this roomon the third floor of the State Capitol. Beginning with2,000 books, the library outgrew the space in 1859.The room has been restored to its 1856-1857 look.Left: Some fourteen statues grace the grounds of theState Capitol building, including this one of the threeU.S. presidents born in North Carolina.

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The CherokeeRemoval

As you read, look for:• reasons why the government wanted to move the

Native Americans west of the Mississippi River• vocabulary term Trail of Tears

In the early 1800s, North Carolina actually includedpart of another nation, the area where the Chero-kee lived. The largest Native American group in thestate still had a sizable population, despite the de-struction of its villages during the War for Indepen-dence. About 4,000 Cherokee lived in the deepestpart of the North Carolina mountains. The rest ofthe 16,000 members of the Nation lived in Tennes-see and northern Georgia.

The Cherokee in the SoutheastThe Nation adapted to the times of the new na-

tion. Many Cherokee in Georgia had begun to farmand live in frame houses, like the white settlers ofthe region. Some of the wealthiest Cherokee ownedslaves. Many Cherokee became educated to read intheir own language. Sequoyah, a member of theirNation, invented an syllabary (alphabet) that imi-tated their spoken sounds.

The Cherokee in the North Carolina mountains,however, kept many of the old traditions of hunting,

gathering, and village life. These Cherokee also claimed to be citizens ofNorth Carolina. In 1817 and 1819, the state had signed treaties with them,and they had given up large tracts of their land in return for reservations.

At the end of the War of 1812, residents of southern states rushed to getthe best lands available west of the Blue Ridge. They found that NativeAmericans still owned many of those lands. Beginning in the 1820s, whitesbegan to harass the Cherokee and other Native American groups to giveup their property. Many whites argued that all Indians should be moved

The CherokeeRemoval

This section will help you meet thefollowing objective:8.3.05 Compare and contrastdifferent perspectives amongNorth Carolinians on the nationalpolicy of Removal and Resettlementof American Indian populations.

Above: Cherokee Chief John Rossfought the federal government’splan to remove the Cherokee fromtheir lands. He lost that fight, buthe became chief of the unitedCherokee when the tribe finallyreached Indian Territory.


Above: President James Monroerecommended the removal of allNative Americans to west of theMississippi River. Andrew Jacksoncarried out the policy, resulting inthe Trail of Tears.By 1830, over 90

percent of the Cherokeecould read and write.

across the Mississippi River, awayfrom white settlement. Some Cher-okee even took up that offer andmoved to what became the state ofArkansas.

The Trail of TearsMost of the Cherokee, led by

Chief John Ross of Georgia, didnot want to be sent away from

their traditional lands. Ross and others fought the idea in the UnitedStates courts. By the 1830s, however, President Andrew Jackson hadconvinced some Cherokee to sign a treaty calling for removal to theWest. Jackson then arbitrarily ordered that “the Cherokee removal”begin, even though most of the Nation did not want to go. This federalpolicy, started in 1838 after Jackson left the presidency, forcibly pulledfamilies out of their homes and fields and sent them on their way. SomeCherokee were actually taken away with only the clothes on their backs,with no provisions to help them on the journey west. In one case, anold woman stunned the soldiers by demanding that she be allowed tofeed her dog before she would walk away. They let her do it, but re-fused to let the dog come along.

Because many of the Cherokee in North Carolina lived deep in themountains, they hid in caves and eluded the soldiers. These Cherokee

Section 2: The Cherokee Removal 229

Map 21The Trail of Tears

Map Skill: Through whichstates did the Cherokee have totravel to reach their new home?

suffered greatly. The wife and children of Yonaguska, the chief, starvedto death on the Nantahala mountainside.

Despite Cherokee claims that the treaties with North Carolina allowedthem to stay in the state, federal soldiers continued to corral the Cherokeein wooden stockades on the Tennessee River. In the midst of the removal,however, an incident occurred that helped some of the mountain Chero-kee stay in their traditional homes. A Cherokee named Tsali and his sonsescaped and hid in the mountains. But while escaping, they killed a sol-dier and mortally wounded another. The general in charge of the removaldecided that continuing to search for so many Cherokee was not working.Instead, he proposed a compromise. The soldiers would stop looking ifTsali and his sons would surrender and admit to committing murder. OtherCherokee who wanted to stay in the mountains actually brought Tsali in.One tradition among the Cherokee is that Tsali willingly gave himself upto allow his people to stay in their homes. Tsali and all of his sons, exceptone who was very young, were executed by their fellow Cherokee.

During 1838 and 1839, more than 15,000 Cherokee were forced to moveto the west, to what was being called Indian Territory (later the state ofOklahoma). So brutal were the methods of the soldiers that Chief JohnRoss convinced the federal authorities to allow the Cherokee to policethemselves on the journey. There was not enough food or shelter alongthe way. Some Cherokee were forced to sleep outside in the snow with-out cover. No one is exactly sure how many of the Cherokee died, butestimates go as high as 8,000. The Cherokee would remember this or-deal as the Trail of Tears.


Above: The outdoor drama UntoThese Hills tells the story of theestimated 1,000 North CarolinaCherokee who managed to escapeinto the mountains of westernNorth Carolina. The escapees andothers known as the Qualla Indiansformed the Eastern Band ofCherokee, which exists to this day.

It’s Your Turn

1. About how many Cherokee lived in North Carolina in the 1830s?2. What was Sequoyah’s great contribution to the Cherokee Nation?3. How did North Carolinians react to the Cherokee removal?

The Eastern CherokeeWith the help of William H. Thomas, a white who had been adopted

into the Cherokee Nation, about 1,000 Cherokee were allowed to remainin North Carolina. Because North Carolina refused to recognize the Chero-kee as citizens, Thomas spent both federal and personal funds to buyland for them. Thomas continued to hold the property in his name toprotect the Native Americans from whites who wanted the land. Hebecame the chief of the settlement along the Oconaluftee River, at theedge of the Smoky Mountains. The principal Cherokee community therewas the Qualla village. Later in the 1800s, this became the reservation ofthe Eastern Cherokee Nation.

Most of North Carolina had only indirect knowledge, or concern, withthe Cherokee removal. During the late 1830s, state leaders generallyworked to promote the almost forgotten plans of Archibald Murphey.Since the mountains were still isolated from much of the state, develop-ment was centered east of the Blue Ridge.

Section 2: The Cherokee Removal 231

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Whigs SupportDevelopment

The Whigs took theirname from the old word inthe War for Independencethat meant an opponent of

King George.

Above: Governor John MotleyMorehead understood that betterroads and transportation, includingrailroads, would be necessary toimprove economic conditions forall North Carolinians.

As you read, look for:• the improvements supported by the Whigs in the

early 1800s• the coming of the railroad to North Carolina• vocabulary terms Democratic Party, Whig Party,

curriculum, plank road

While Andrew Jackson was president, he made as many en-emies as friends. Jackson built up the Democratic Party dur-ing the 1830s and made it a powerful part of the nation. Thosewho disliked Jackson—who often called him “King Andrew”because he was so assertive as president—formed the WhigParty to oppose him.

In North Carolina, Nathaniel Macon and his allies werestrong supporters of Jackson, since they wanted farm fami-lies to be left alone to make their own opportunities wher-ever possible. Because Macon had the support of the east, thatsection mostly voted Democratic in the 1830s and 1840s. Incontrast, those who opposed Macon became Whigs, becausethey wanted to use government money and other financialresources to build up the state. The followers of ArchibaldMurphey soon formed the North Carolina Whig Party. Becausethey had the support ofthe west (and parts of theTidewater that liked Mur-phey’s call for dredging thesounds), the Whigs con-

trolled the state in the 1830s and 1840s.The first Whig leader in the state was

John Motley Morehead. The Virginianative had been one of David Caldwell’slast students at the log college. Aftergraduating from the University, More-head studied law with Murphey. He

Whigs SupportDevelopment

This section will help you meet thefollowing objectives:8.3.03 Identify and evaluate theimpact of individual reformers andgroups and their programs.8.3.08 Examine the impact ofnational events on North Carolina.


then became a planter and a cotton mill owner inSpray, on the Dan River where the town of Eden istoday. Morehead helped with the constitutional re-forms of 1835. He was elected governor in 1840 andagain in 1844. Morehead and other Whigs pushedforward both parts of Murphey’s plan: public edu-cation and internal improvements.

The Start of Public EducationIn 1839, the Whigs created the state’s first public

school system. The plan called for each county tohold an election to decide if it wanted to tax itself tobuild common schools that any white child—girl orboy—could attend free. If local taxes were raised, thestate would supplement the plan with money froma rejuvenated Literary Fund. Once a county providedthe funds, each neighborhood was to get a school.

Rockingham County opened the first commonschool in 1840. This was Governor Morehead’shome county. Five years later, every county had atleast one school. More than two thousand were inoperation by 1850.

During the same period, the University in ChapelHill also grew. Former Governor David Swain be-came its president, and enrollment tripled under hisleadership. Swain also broadened the curriculum(the courses offered) to include the study of law andagricultural chemistry, two subjects with great prac-tical benefit for a farming state. The University’sbest-known professor was mathematician ElishaMitchell, who used his skills to discover the altitudeof the highest mountain in the Appalachians.

The Coming of the RailroadsDespite Murphey’s efforts, North Carolina had fewer canals than al-

most any other state. The state had learned that the terrain was too roughfor canals to be built at a reasonable cost. In addition, an effort to drainLake Mattamuskeet and other swampy areas in the Tidewater—aimedat increasing farmland—came to nothing.

By the 1830s, however, a new form of transportation had been devel-oped. Engineers had successfully connected a steam engine to the gearsand wheels of what they called a locomotive, an apparatus that couldpropel itself on a rail. The invention of the railroad was one of the mostimportant things ever to happen to the state. A railroad could be builtwhere a canal could not. The steam engine could be fueled with wood,which was easy to obtain. At last, North Carolina had a way to connecteasily to the rest of the world.

This political cartoon of “King Andrew” reflectsthe belief that Andrew Jackson was arrogant and

uncompromising in his actions as president.

Children ranging fromsix to twenty-six could

attend the commonschools. School terms

were held after fallharvest and generallylasted two months.

Section 3: Whigs Support Development 233

THE ART OF POLITICSTHE ART OF POLITICS

Below: The North CarolinaRailroad began operation in 1856.The 223-mile line betweenGoldsboro and Charlotte openedup the Piedmont to commercialagriculture. Pictured is a NorthCarolina Railroad stock certificateissued in 1854 and signedby former Governor Morehead.

High Point got its namefrom it being the highest

elevation along theNCRR’s route.

Railroads, however, were very expensive. Often private businesses couldnot raise the funds needed for construction. That was especially true inplaces as poor as North Carolina. The Whigs, however, quickly decided touse state funds to build railroads. These were the first ventures on whichthe state spent more than $1 million.

The question was, where should the first railroads be built? JosephCaldwell, the University president, proposed that a track be laid fromNew Bern by way of Raleigh all the way to Tennessee. Several towns inthe state tried to build railroads but found the cost too high. For example,an effort was made to build a track from Wilmington to Raleigh, butRaleigh was unable to raise enough money. The Wilmington companyredirected the route to Weldon, on the Roanoke River, where it could con-nect with a Virginia line. Raleigh then tried to build its own railroad toGaston, another town on the Roanoke. Neither of these lines could raiseall the money needed for completion.

Despite protests from some Democrats, the Whigs used public moneyto complete the railroads. In 1837 and 1841, the legislature invested inthe construction of the two lines. The Wilmington & Weldon Railroadsoon began to return profits to the state. The Raleigh & Gaston line, how-ever, went bankrupt and had to be reorganized.

The original railroads helped only the east. Soon, the west wanted itsown railroad. Because the Raleigh & Gaston cost so much and had solittle return, it took years for the state to invest once again. In 1848, how-ever, western leaders convinced the legislature to establish the NorthCarolina Railroad (NCRR). To ensure that the state would control theventure, two of the three million dollars needed was provided by the state.


The other million was raised privately. The NCRR was routed fromRaleigh through Greensboro and Salisbury to Charlotte, skirting theUwharries much of its way. Former Governor Morehead, who hadbecome the largest private investor, was chosen to be its president. Thetracks were completed in 1856, with additional miles laid to Goldsboro,where a connection was made with the Wilmington & Weldon.

What a change the railroads brought! For the first time since the settle-ment of Roanoke, North Carolina was on the map, gaining the attention ofthe whole world. When they were new, first the Wilmington & Weldon (at161 miles), then the NCRR (at 223 miles) were the longest railroads in theworld. North Carolinians believed that they had finally caught up withprogress elsewhere. As one supporter argued, the rest of the country would“come to see and appreciate the enterprise and talents of Old Rip!”

North Carolinians immediately saw economic gain in the railroads.The cost of shipping all kinds of goods was cut in half, compared tohauling them by wagon. Moreover, farmers could time when they shippedtheir produce to get the best price. For example, when it was learnedthat prices were high in Petersburg, Virginia, farmers all over the CoastalPlain rushed to their nearest depot to send their harvest to Petersburg.

There were also secondary effects. The towns of Goldsboro and HighPoint grew up around important railroad sidings. The largest town not toget a railroad, Fayetteville, resorted to a cheaper innovation. It supportedthe construction of plank roads, often called “farmer railroads,” madeout of planks laid out like a deck across the roadbed.

The plank road enabled farmers to keep their wagons above the mudand ruts that had slowed travel in the past. Plank roads extended fromFayetteville across the Uwharries all the way to Taylorsville. The longestone connected Fayetteville with Salem, crossing the NCRR at High Point.These toll roads worked well for a few years, but high maintenance costs,due to rain and rot, led to their abandonment.

Map 22Early NorthCarolinaRailroads

Map Skill: Which line wentthrough Henderson?


Social ImprovementsThe spirit of development spread across the state. To care for North

Carolina’s impaired citizens, the state set up several welfare institutions.Governor Morehead convinced the legislature to set up a school for thedeaf and blind. What would later be called the Governor Morehead Schoolwas opened in Raleigh during the 1840s for citizens from across the state.In 1849, after a special plea from Dorothea Dix of Massachusetts (a pio-neer in the proper care of the mentally ill), the state established theHospital for the Insane in west Raleigh. The site was opened in 1853. Itsoon came to be called Dix Hill, to honor Mrs. Dix.

The Whig legislature also encouraged the chartering of private acad-emies and colleges. The principal Christian denominations in the stateduring the 1830s soon established schools to train their young men to beministers and lay leaders. In 1834, the Baptist Literary Institute was openedtwenty miles north of Raleigh. It later became Wake Forest College. (Thecollege did not move to Winston-Salem until the 1950s.) Quakers opened

New Garden Boarding School in1837. A half-century later, it grewinto Guilford College. Presbyteri-ans north of Charlotte set upDavidson College in 1837, namingit for the fallen hero of the Battleof Cowan’s Ford. In 1838, Method-ists established a small school totrain teachers at the village of Trin-ity in Randolph County. Originallycalled the Normal Institute, it waslater reorganized as Trinity College.It later moved to Durham and grewinto Duke University.

Support for educating womenbecame more widespread once the

trains brought prosperity. The Moravians had started Salem Female Acad-emy in 1802. That school offered the best higher education for womenin the state for decades. During the 1840s, each of the major denomina-tions also set up schools for young women: Greensboro Female Collegefor Methodists; St. Mary’s in Raleigh for Episcopalians; and ChowanBaptist Female Institute in Murfreesboro. All three still exist but havechanged through the years.

Industrial BeginningsThe Whigs also chartered cotton mills, setting the stage for the later

growth of that industry in the state. There had been a few mills before the1830s reforms, most notably the cotton mill at the falls of the Tar Riverowned by the Battle family. The town of Rocky Mount grew up around it.

More than a dozen factories were set up in the 1840s. Most of themwere located on tributaries of the Cape Fear River, since the marketing of

Top: Dorothea Dix convincedNorth Carolina legislators that thestate must take better care of itsmentally ill. Above: The legislatureincorporated the North CarolinaInstitute for Education of the Deaf,Dumb, and Blind in 1845.


It’s Your Turn

1. Which political party controlled the state in the 1830s?2. Why were few canals built in North Carolina?3. For what was the factory run by Edwin M. Holt best known?

the cloth was most easily done in Fayetteville. The largest factory was atRockfish, near the site of today’s town of Hope Mills.

Edwin M. Holt ran the best-known mill, the Alamance Factory nearthe site of the Regulator battlefield. The Holts produced the first dyedcloth in the state in 1852. They called their product “Alamance Plaid.”Soon other factories made their own brands of plaid.

As Alamance Plaid became North Carolina’s first famous product, thestate itself was becoming well known for moving ahead in many socialand economic areas. The telegraph was first installed in the state in 1848,which helped North Carolinians communicate more closely with the restof the nation. In fact, the 1850s was the first decade when North Caro-lina seemed as caught up in growth and change as any other Americanstate. “They cannot call us Ole Rip anymore,” said one state leader.

Above: Thomas Michael Holt, sonof Edwin M. Holt, was the one whoactually invented the AlamancePlaids. Thomas later served asgovernor of North Carolina from1891 to 1893.


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“The Rainbow ofPromise”

As you read, look for:• North Carolina’s own gold rush• improvements in transportation and education• the shift of power from the Whigs to the Democrats• vocabulary terms superintendent of public

instruction, literate, free suffrage

“The Rainbow ofPromise”

North Carolina’s awakening was notable in ways other than just educa-tion and economics. The number of people who lived in towns doubled.Between 1835 and 1850, the number of newspapers published in the statemore than doubled. After 1850, Raleigh and Fayetteville had daily news-papers. By that time, there was much more to read about, for NorthCarolinians had begun to move forward in their daily lives.

They began to brag that “the Old North State” was no longer asleep.They had “the first state university in the nation,” the “most elegant statecapitol in the country,” a “plentiful and varied” soil, and “a steady, so-ber, industrious population.” Mary Bayard Clarke, one of the first poetsin the state, extolled, “Old Rip is awakening . . . his years of slumber, atlast have gone by, and the rainbow of promise illuminates the sky.”

MiningThe discovery of gold in California in 1849 excited the whole nation,

and a few North Carolinians headed west to seek their fortune. Others,however, stayed home to do the same thing.

North Carolina had been known as a gold-producing state ever sincethe Reeds opened their mine in Cabarrus County in the early 1800s. Pros-pectors rushed to the area to pan for gold in Uwharrie streams. By the1830s, mine owners were sinking shafts deep into the ground. At onetime, fifty mines were in operation. Several mines were dug under thetown of Charlotte. So much gold was found in the state that the federalgovernment established a branch of the United States Mint here in 1837.West of Charlotte, so much gold was found in streams that ChristopherBechtler, and later his son and his nephew, ran a private mint nearRutherfordton from 1831 to 1849.

Above: Christopher Bechtleropened a private mint in 1831.

This section will help you meet thefollowing objectives:8.3.03 Identify and evaluate theimpact of individual reformers andgroups and their programs.8.3.08 Examine the impact ofnational events on North Carolina.

A mint is a place wherecoins are made. Coins

were made at theCharlotte Mint until thestate seceded in 1861.


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HISTORY BY THE H IGHWAYHISTORY BY THE H IGHWAY

Bechtler’s Mint

Below: This is Christopher Bechtler’s house inRutherfordton. He did some of his minting here.

Evidence that North Carolina had the first “gold rush”in the nation can be seen at the Mint Museum in Charlotte.Some of the choicest coins are those stamped by the privateBechtler Mint in Rutherfordton. For more than twenty years,Christopher Bechtler, a German immigrant, made $2.50 and$5.00 gold pieces for miners from all over the foothills. Heminted the first gold dollar in the nation. In ten years, he pro-cessed more than $3 million in gold into coins and bullion.The opening of the Mint in Charlotte in 1837 cut down on histrade, and the business soon closed after his death.

Bechtler’s Mint

Section 4: “The Rainbow of Promise” 239

Top: The U.S. Mint in Charlottewas moved to its present locationin 1933, where it is part of theMint Museum. Above: The discov-ery of gold in Cabarrus Countybrought miners to the state.

The most famous mine site became Gold Hill, started in1842 at the edge of the Uwharries in Rowan County. At theheight of activities during the 1850s, Gold Hill had fifteenmines in the space of a square mile. Shafts were dug downeight hundred feet. More than three thousand people workedthe mines in rotating shifts. The gold was processed out ofthe ore using seven steam engines. Many of the miners wereimmigrants from Europe, including experienced miners fromCornwall, England.

North Carolinians tried to mine other valuable products. Ironore was taken out of the Cranberry Mine, located in the moun-tains, west of the present town of Spruce Pine. Several ironfurnaces were operated near the “Ore Bank” on the South Forkof the Catawba River. These furnaces produced iron plugs thatblacksmiths could use to make tools and household items. Thelargest operation was at the Vesuvius Furnace in LincolnCounty. North Carolina’s first coal mine opened in 1855 atCumnock, in what became Lee County. The Egypt Mine, as itwas called, operated through the Civil War.

Railroad FeverEveryone became caught up in the excitement over railroads. The

decision by the legislature to fund the North Carolina Railroad benefitedthe whole state. When the line was completed from Goldsboro to Char-lotte, farmers and millers in the west could for the first time send theirgoods all the way to Wilmington at a reasonable cost.


Left: With the discovery of a newcuring process by a Caswell Countyslave, tobacco production nearlytripled in the 1850s. Above: Slavespicking cotton.

By the late 1850s, the state had chartered the Western Railroad, whichwas to go from Salisbury to Asheville. Within five years, the line wasopen all the way to Morganton. A line from Wilmington was laid throughCharlotte to Lincolnton and Rutherfordton. One ambitious companyhoping to lay a line from Charleston through North Carolina and acrossthe Appalachians named itself the Atlantic, Tennessee, and Ohio Rail-road. The line never got beyond Taylorsville in Alexander County.

Former Governor Morehead headed an effort to run a rail line fromGoldsboro to a site near Beaufort. He called the new community at theend of the line Morehead City. The completion of the line encouragedBeaufort fishermen to ship oysters on ice to Raleigh and other towns.

The impact of the railroads could be seen in the fields. Planters on theCoastal Plain more than tripled the amount of cotton they grew during thedecade. Tobacco farms multiplied in counties along the Virginia line, espe-cially when a railroad reached Danville. Caswell County in particular grewso much tobacco during the 1850s that it became the richest county in thestate. In the Uwharries, farmers learned that their flinty soil could growvery fine wheat. Since the depots in Greensboro and Salisbury could shipbarrels of grain every day, the productivity of the west grew as well.

In 1850, only the counties along the state lines with South Carolinaand Virginia were very prosperous. By 1860, counties in the middle ofthe state had “entered the market” to make more money. In Wayne


Above: The University of NorthCarolina almost doubled its campusduring the decades of reform. To theleft is the New West building, to theright the New East. Each housedone of the debating societies of theuniversity on the top floor. They arestill there to this day.

County, for example, the nearnessof Goldsboro encouraged farmersto grow cotton. Their productivitywent from 300 bales in 1850 to4,000 bales by 1860. In DavidsonCounty, wheat production in-creased from 80,000 to 250,000bushels.

Education and LiteracyBy the 1850s, every county de-

veloped common schools. In ad-dition, the state had developed aschool system to make sure asmany white children as possiblereceived a decent education. In 1852, Calvin H. Wiley of Guilford Countybecame the first superintendent of public instruction. Wiley intro-duced standards for teachers and published a magazine to help teach-ers improve their skills. He also wrote the first textbook on NorthCarolina history.

In addition to the common schools, there were more than four hun-dred private academies scattered across the state during the 1850s. Col-leges were started in Oxford, Louisburg, Newton, and Raleigh. ThePresbyterians started a college for women in Statesville. Among its firstteachers were the daughters of Dr. Elisha Mitchell, the University geolo-

In 1860, North Carolinahad the best schoolsystem in the South.

Nearly 120,000 studentsattended more than

3,000 schools staffedby more than 2,700licensed teachers.


It’s Your Turn

1. Where was a branch of the U.S. Mint established in NorthCarolina?

2. What impact did the railroads have on agriculture?

gist who had measured the altitude of the highest peak in the Appala-chians. The University in Chapel Hill doubled its size with the comple-tion of New West and New East halls.

By the 1850s, more North Carolinians were literate (could read andwrite) than ever before, and they had more of their own literature to read.Many of the early books printed in the state had a religious theme. Theywere either collections of sermons or a short history of a particular de-nomination. One of the most popular was a biography of the ReverendDavid Caldwell. Calvin H. Wiley, the superintendent of public instruc-tion, published novels with the well-known titles of Alamance andRoanoke. Mary Bayard Clarke in 1854 edited the first collection of NorthCarolina poetry. Sixty poets were included.

In 1857, Hinton R. Helper of Salisbury published The Impending Cri-sis of the South, the first national bestseller by a North Carolinian. Helper’sbook criticized the politicians of North Carolina and the rest of the Southfor their defense of slavery.

Two-Party PoliticsNorth Carolina’s two political parties went through changes in the 1850s.

The once-dominant Whigs lost control of the state when their nationalorganization fell apart over the growing slavery controversy. Folks in the

west and the Tidewater still votedfor former Whigs, but the Demo-crats generally ran the state duringthe 1850s. They developed a major-ity once William W. Holden, theleading Democratic newspaper edi-tor, convinced them to becomesupporters of railroads and schools.

The Democrats took advantageof the resentment felt by poor vot-ers that they could not vote in statesenate elections. Democrats cameto champion free suffrage, the

ability of all white males age twenty-one or over to vote in all state elec-tions. This reform did away with the 50-acre land ownership requirementto vote. Western Whigs unwisely opposed the free suffrage amendmentto the state constitution, which helped the Democrats in the east.

When the free suffrageamendment was ratified,about 125,000 voters

received the right to votefor their state senators.

Top: The poet Mary Bayard Clarkewas a descendant of earlyAlbemarle families. She grew up inRaleigh and lived for a while on aLouisiana sugar plantation. Shereturned to Raleigh during the CivilWar. Above: Hinton Rowan Helperof Davie County made southernersangry. His book, The ImpendingCrisis of the South (1857), chargedthat slavery held back the economicprogress of the South. The book wasbanned in North Carolina.


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CHAPTER REVIEWCHAPTER REVIEW

Summary• Changes in the state began in the 1830s, when the

loss of population hurt both the state’s economyand its political position. North Carolina finallybegan to improve in the way it governed itscitizens, in the education it offered its youngpeople, and in the economic opportunities itsupported with public money.

• The constitutional amendments of 1835 addressedthe way representation was determined for thelegislature. But they also denied suffrage to freeblacks and Native Americans.

• In the late 1830s, Native Americans—includingthe Cherokee in western North Carolina—wereforced to move to Indian Territory (present-dayOklahoma). The story of their removal has beencalled the “Trail of Tears.” Some Cherokee didmanage to stay in their mountain homes.

• The Whigs who controlled the state in the 1830ssupported improvements in public education,railroads, and social reforms.

• The coming of the railroad, the state’s own “goldrush,” and the improvements in education allcontributed to North Carolina’s growth.

• The once-dominant Whigs lost control of the statein the 1850s. The Democratic Party took overpolitical control.

Reviewing People, Places, and TermsCreate a crossword puzzle using 12 of the following words

or people from the chapter. Create clues for each of thewords.

Alamance Plaid

credit

curriculum

Democratic Party

free suffrage

literate

John Motley Morehead

North Carolina Railroad

plank road

railroad

Rip Van Winkle state

suffrage

superintendent of public instruction

Trail of Tears

Whig Party

Understanding the Facts1. Give two reasons why North Carolinians left the

state in the early 1800s.

2. How did the old 1776 constitution set up represen-tation in the legislature?

3. What was the most important issue discussed atthe constitutional convention of 1835?

4. How did Andrew Jackson change the way Americangovernment worked?

5. Why did whites want to move the Cherokee andother Native Americans to Indian Territory?

6. Which political party was formed in opposition toAndrew Jackson?

7. What were the two areas of Murphey’s plan that theWhigs worked to implement?


Chapter Review 245

8. Why was the coming of the railroad so significantto North Carolina?

9. What metals were successfully mined in NorthCarolina during this time period?

10. When Democrats ran the state during the 1850s,what issue did they champion?

Developing Critical Thinking1. Why was the fire in Fayetteville in 1831 so devas-

tating? What effect did the loss have on NorthCarolina? How do you think the way fires werefought in the early 1800s affected the amount ofdamage that was done?

2. The North Carolina constitutional amendments of1835 declared that the state senate would beapportioned by wealth. What do you think wouldhappen if that were the case today?

3. What modern developments have brought NorthCarolinians closer together, as the North CarolinaRailroad did?

Applying Your Skills1. In January 1835, North Carolinians voted on

whether to have a constitutional convention. Thevote was 27,550 to 21,695 for the convention.Only 2,701 westerners voted against it, while only3,611 easterners voted for it. (a) How many NorthCarolinians voted? (b) What was the margin(number of votes) of victory? (c) How manywesterners voted to hold the convention? (d) Howmany easterners voted against holding theconvention?

2. On a blank North Carolina map, draw the route youbelieve the North Carolina Railroad took fromRaleigh through Greensboro and Salisbury, toCharlotte, skirting the Uwharries.

Exploring Technology1. Go to web site www.heritagewnc.org/People/

swain_david_l.htm. On a separate sheet of paper,arrange the following appointments and achieve-ments of David Swain in order of occurrence. Besure to include the year dates.

a. David Swain and William Graham spoke with ageneral in General William Sherman’s army andconvinced him not to destroy Raleigh or theUniversity.

b. David Swain was involved in a buggy accidentand was confined to his bed for a month.

c. David Swain was chosen to be the governor ofNorth Carolina for one year.

d. David Swain received a horse as a gift fromGeneral Sherman, and his daughter Nelliemarried the man who had led the troopsoccupying Chapel Hill.

e. David Swain was first elected to the legislature.

f. David Swain became the president of theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Writing Across the Curriculum1. Write a paragraph describing the different ways in

which the invention of the railroad helped NorthCarolina.

2. Suppose you are helping Calvin Wiley write histextbook on North Carolina history. Write a letterto him suggesting several topics or areas of contenthe should include.

Encountering Diversity1. Explain why eastern North Carolina continued to

have more power and representation in thelegislature than western North Carolina eventhough the census of 1830 showed that morepeople lived in the western part of the state. Wasthis fair or unfair? How would North Carolina’spower be distributed today if the same rules ofpower and representation applied?

2. Do you think the start of public education helped orhurt the advocates of slavery in North Carolina?Explain.

north carolina finally awakens s - mrs. martin-klein...

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