LEARN NC

Introduction

The colony of North Carolina had never been well governed. The Lords Proprietors weren’t prepared for the task of managing a distant people and economy, and they faced rebellions from people unhappy with their rule. Later, in the Piedmont, the land office was so incompetent that settlers couldn’t always get titles to their land; counties were so large that they couldn’t effectively participate in government; and there were so few Anglican priests that settlers even found it hard to marry. And money was always in short supply, which made trade difficult and paying taxes worse.

In the 1760s, small farmers’ resentment of poor government and corrupt officials boiled over. Groups of “Regulators,” so called because they wanted to “regulate” the colony’s government, began by refusing to pay illegal court fees and progressed to mob violence. They petitioned the royal governor and tried to elect representatives who would tax them fairly and rein in local officials, but the wealthy men who controlled the government considered them rabble. In 1771, an army of Regulators was defeated by the royal governor’s militia at the Battle of Alamance.

At about the same time, the British Parliament tried to pay off its debts from the Seven Years’ War by raising taxes on the colonies and passing new trade regulations. Colonists protested these taxes, arguing that the taxes were illegal because they violated colonists’ fundamental right to self-government — they had no representation in Parliament, and colonial legislatures had never approved the taxes. Again, peaceful protests failed, and again, the opposition turned violent and resulted in battle. But where the Regulators failed, these Revolutionaries succeeded. In 1776 they declared their independence from Great Britain, and they won it through seven years of war.

On the surface the two movements look very similar. In fact, though, many of North Carolina’s Patriot leaders who fought for independence had fought to put down the Regulators, and many former Regulators fought in the Revolution as Loyalists. And there were other divisions, as well. The ethnic diversity of North Carolina’s Piedmont meant that not everyone trusted the colonial leadership. Highland Scots, in particular, fought for the king. African Americans faced a difficult choice, as well, and slaves fought for both sides in the hope of freedom. The colony’s American Indians did not trust any of the white colonists, and the Cherokee fought on the side of the British. As a result, the American Revolution in North Carolina was a civil war. Patriot and Loyalist militias roamed the backcountry, fighting each other and terrorizing residents. An expedition against the Cherokee burned villages and food supplies in an effort to starve the Indians out.

Everyone wanted liberty and freedom — but whose freedom? and how much? North Carolinians had to ask those questions as they debated independence, fought a war, and established new state and national governments. We are still asking it today.

Key questions

As in the other modules of this “digital textbook,” you’ll have the opportunity to explore the experiences of various people firsthand, through primary sources. There are petitions and declarations and speeches and laws, but there are also letters and diaries of participants, as well as cartoons and video and a slideshow. From these raw materials and background readings, you’ll answer questions like these:

  • Why were the Regulators so angry with their government and its officials — and why did they fail to change it?
  • How did North Carolinians go from being proud citizens of the British Empire to demanding their independence?
  • Why was the American Revolution in the southern backcountry so violent?
  • On what principles did North Carolinians based their new governments?
  • How do we evaluate the American Revolution and the people who fought it? Were they heroes, hypocrites, or both?