1 The Regulators
A reenactor at Alamance Battleground. Photograph by David Walbert. About the photograph
The North Carolina Piedmont had never been well-governed. In the 1760s, farmers began to organize in protest against high taxes, unfair fees, and corrupt public officials. These protesters became known as “Regulators” because they wanted to regulate the colonial government. But what began with petitions and civil disobedience ended in a violent clash of militias, the Battle of Alamance, in May 1771, and the Regulators were decisively defeated.
Was this the first battle of the Revolution or just a local uprising? Were the Regulators resisting oppression, or were they a violent mob trying to get out of paying their debts? In this chapter you’ll have the opportunity to read the words of the Regulators and their opponents and to decide for yourself.
- 1.1The Regulators
- 1.2An Address to the People of Granville County
- 1.3The Regulators organize
- 1.4"Some grievous oppressions"
- 1.5Edmund Fanning reports to Governor Tryon
- 1.6Orange County inhabitants petition Governor Tryon
- 1.7Songs of the Regulators
- 1.8The cost of Tryon Palace
- 1.9Chaos in Hillsborough
- 1.10An Act for preventing Tumultuous and riotous Assemblies
- 1.11An authentick relation of the Battle of Alamance
- 1.12Aftermath of the Battle of Alamance
